Wrinkles are creases or folds in the skin. In aging skin, they occur because of the loss of elasticity and generalized loss of skin thickness that accompanies aging.

Even though the skin wrinkles as a sign of aging, age alone is not the only cause. Some wrinkles are created by mechanical movements that we reproduce on a regular basis such as laughing, sleeping, or squinting. This repetition creates hairline depressions that appear around the corners of the eyes, mouth, and forehead. The new wrinkle formation can be linked to the skin's loss of elasticity.

Wrinkles are also caused by overexposure to UV rays, both UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays cause tanning, wrinkling, and melanoma while UV rays can harm skin by increasing the synthesis of proteolytic enzymes that degrade collagen, the connective tissues located under the skin.

There are 3 types of wrinkles:

Crinkles are the very fine wrinkles that occur in aging skin and show everywhere, not just in places that have been exposed to sunlight. Elastic fibers in your skin start to deteriorate around the age of 30, but you might not notice it until sometime later. This kind of wrinkling occurs even without sun exposure, but is probably exacerbated by UV rays.

Glyphic wrinkles are wrinkles that we all naturally have, but which are accentuated with aging. If you have taken to wearing turtlenecks or scarves to cover lines that have appeared on your neck, you know what a glyphic wrinkle is. These wrinkles tend to become more marked with muscle contraction or with facial expressions.

Furrows are deep wrinkles that start to form on the faces of aging people. These wrinkles are mainly straight lines that appear on the forehead, corners of the mouth and eyes. They are so common that they've been christened crow's feet or laugh lines. Repeated movement and UV exposure accentuates their spread. It is difficult to eliminate these types of wrinkles when they appear between muscle groups. Furrows that surface around mouth and eyes remain visibly noticeable even when you are not smiling or squinting. They may not be eliminated, but can be minimized in size.

If we were to create a special type of wrinkle filler or view aging as an illness, then wrinkles could be viewed as small, improperly cured wounds. Doubtlessly wrinkles are characterized by flawed build-up of collagen and imperfect skin cell ordering, which is also seen in healed wounds, albeit on a much larger scale. If so, could the elementsthat control the process of injury healing (by minimizing scar formation and improving skin remodeling) have a potential to prevent or even minimize wrinkles? Well, maybe. A good example of a wound-healing agent that seems to also have anti-wrinkle potential is the type of compounds named copper peptides, small proteins that minimize scar formation.