Aging Is Not the Only Cause of Wrinkles

TCM physician introduces 4 tips to fight aging and prevent wrinkles

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Does the reflection in your mirror belie your real age?

With advances in present-day medical cosmetology, there are many available ways to reverse the appearance of aging and eliminate wrinkles. Apart from surgery and injections, there are also various skin care products to choose from. However, Dr. Huang Xianmin of Taiwan’s Zhenhuan Chinese Medicine Clinic believes that modern-day people start to age a full generation earlier—for example, a 30-year-old person could see the wrinkles of a 60-year-old appearing. He believes that the key issue lies in the bone structure of the face and thus provides four ways to strengthen the face bone to slow down aging.

When traditional beauty methods get you stuck on the removing wrinkles treadmill, strengthening the facial bone structure may be another option for anti-aging. Dr. Huang provides four ways to achieve strengthening of the facial bone structure to result in a more youthful appearance.

Three Levels of Skin Aging

There are three levels of skin aging, loss of muscle and soft tissue, poor blood circulation, and poor facial bone structure.

Dr. Huang said that skin aging is not confined to just one single factor of the epidermis, but is also closely related to the following three factors:

1. Loss of Muscle and Soft Tissue

When the muscle and collagen tissue under the skin are deficient, it’s like a tent without support, which will easily collapse and form wrinkles. This is how the wrinkles on the face come about.

2. Poor Blood Circulation

Blood provides the nutrients needed by body tissues. When it is affected, it means there is a problem with the body’s overall nutrition, the viscera, and qi and blood coordination. At the same time, blood circulation is also related to the bone structure in the third factor.

In TCM theory, qi is the “energy” or “vitality” that constitutes life in the body, and the substance that replenishes nutrients in the body is generally called blood. Qi and blood circulate around the body together to maintain the balance and stability of various tissues and organs.

3. Poor Facial Bone Structure

Good bone support will provide a better foundation for blood circulation. Proper blood circulation is not only related to the heart but also related to the stretching and relaxation of the muscles and fascia. If the mobility of the bones is low, it will block the movement of the deep fascia, which will cause poor blood circulation, with the blood not able to deliver nutrients to the body. When the skin’s cells and facial fascia lack nutrients, its elasticity will also decline. If it gets worse, it may cause an imbalance between the left and right side muscles, resulting in an unbalanced and concave-convex facial appearance.

The ancients said: “A continuously moving door hinge does not wear out, and a flowing stream does not rot.” When the mobility of the facial bones worsens, the soft tissue on the bones does not grow, and with the loss of collagen, the skin fails to hold up and wrinkles and sagging ensue.

Skin Collapse Roadmap

Dr. Huang further explained that as we grow older, the most common area of facial bone aging starts from below the orbicularis oculi muscle, spreading to the levator lip muscle, towards the zygomatic major muscle, and reaching as far as the zygomatic minor muscle. The result is, within the said area there are signs of shrinkage and collapse, equivalent to a kind of facial osteoporosis.

When there is no cell tissue underneath the skin to support it, the skin will sag, and nasolabial folds will appear. When the sides of the jaw become more narrow—appearing like a chicken’s beak—flesh on the sides of the mouth and marionette lines will also appear. At the same time, the muscles connecting the upper eye sockets will become more concave, creating a situation like encountering a landslide during rock climbing—when the rock shatters and cannot be held onto—resulting in the face drooping and forming tear troughs. When the ligaments and muscles under the eyes loosen, coupled with any deficiency in nutrient supply, they will droop further and form eye sacs.

When the facial bone collapses and sinks inward with age, medical aesthetic fillers may not give the desired effect. Some people may even become more droopy because the base of the face is too concave to bear the extra weight of the fillers.

Nowadays, many women are keen to transform their faces into sharp chins through bone shredding. Dr. Huang said that the alteration will definitely have an impact on the overall facial bone structure, and will make the face more likely to sag in the next 5-10 years. In fact, according to current research in Western medicine and his own clinical experience, Dr. Huang said the sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise of people today may cause face-bone aging a full generation earlier than that of our seniors. Even some 30-year-olds have already experienced such transformations in appearance.

Four Ways to Fight Aging and Prevent Wrinkles

The best way to improve the collapse and depression of facial bones is to practice weight training for the face. The piezoelectric effect of weight training can increase bone density and maintain bone health. Dr. Huang said that face weight training is divided into two parts, holistic, and localized.

Whole-Body Weight Training

Osteoporosis is a whole-body phenomenon, and the facial bones will not deteriorate independently of other bones in the body. Except for patients with oral cancer or brain cancer undergoing radiotherapy treatment, as long as the whole body performs weight training, the facial bones will have both the density and structure enhanced. These days, you can see many “ageless fitness beauties” still able to maintain a healthy figure and youthful appearance despite their true age.

Localized Weight Training

This targets primarily the face muscles. Dr. Huang suggested that facial weight training can be achieved by exercising the muscles of mastication and tongue, and by clicking the teeth against each other.

1. Train the Muscles of Mastication

Dr. Huang believes that early signs of facial aging are linked to less chewing time. While it’s important to note that there can be various factors contributing to the aging process, including genetics, lifestyle, and environmental factors, the concept of chewing and its potential impact on facial muscles and structure is worth exploring.

The abundance of soft, processed foods available today makes it unnecessary to chew as much as one does when eating natural whole foods. Chewing unprocessed foods increases the strength of the chewing muscles.

Dr. Huang suggested that you eat more raw and whole foods that take time to chew—jerky is one good example—and chew until your mouth becomes tired. You can also increase the chewing of daily meals, say up to 30 times for every mouthful. Chewing slowly is not only good for the stomach, but also helps the face perform muscle training.

2. Tongue Muscle Training

Dr. Huang and dentist Zhao Zheyang co-developed a set of tongue exercises to strengthen the tongue muscles. Let the tongue draw circles in three places inside the mouth: between the lips and teeth, the left cheek, and the right cheek. Do 10 forward and then 10 reverse rotations in each area. Try it slowly so that the tongue can reach every part of the mouth. Tongue muscle training not only can strengthen facial muscles, but also decreases snoring during sleep.

3. Clicking the Teeth Against Each Other

Sun Simiao of the Tang Dynasty mentioned in his “Thirteen Methods of Health Preservation” that clicking the teeth thirty-six times in the morning will prevent the teeth from falling out until old age. In addition to keeping our teeth healthy, clicking the teeth will also produce slight vibrations during the process that allow some pressure on the bones and muscles that foster growth momentum. Clicking the teeth every morning is lightweight training for the face that helps the facial bone structure become more stable.

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