WRINKLES.

Report #6475 3/18/95

A recent article in the American Journal of Public Health shows that smoking markedly increases facial wrinkling. The only other known factors include exposure to sunlight and strong winds.

The prevention of facial wrinkles include/ avoiding smoking, sunlight and strong winds/ and applying sunscreens. The treatment for wrinkles include estrogen creams, but not pills,/ collagen or fibril foam injections that cost between $600 and $1000 and help smooth out wrinkles for only up to 6 months,/facial peels in which a doctor uses a weak acid to peal off the outer layer of skin,/alpha hydroxy acids which are weak acids extracted from fruit that peal off the outer layer of skin to make the skin appear to be smoother for a day or two,/a new pulsed dye CO2 laser that costs around $500 for one application around the mouth and helps smooth out wrinkles for up to a year,/dermabrasion that smooths out wrinkles for up to a year and involves a doctor removing the outer layer of skin with a rotating disk or a wire brush/ and plastic surgery that smooths out sagging and wrinkling by stretching the skin. Massage cannot tone facial muscles and rid you of wrinkles because there are no muscles in skin.

Doctors have known for more than 50 years that lack of estrogen at the time of the menopause often causes a woman's vagina to become dry and thin and that vaginal creams containing estrogen help prevent this. Recent research shows that prescription estrogen creams made by adding 18.75 mg of Premarin to any facial cream, applied to the face three times a week for up to 6 months can decrease wrinkling and dark spots.

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News