6 Surprising Reasons You're Getting Wrinkles

Inactivity is bad for your skin — seriously. A recent study from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine showed that people who worked out for 30 minutes twice a week had markedly better skin composition and visibly healthier skin that those who were sedentary.

"Sitting too long in front of a computer at work can also be a culprit, as squinting in front of a screen all day can cause furrows between the brows to develop," says Dr. Sonia Batra, MD, a dermatologist and cohost of The Doctors. What's more, "staring down at a phone or tablet frequently can cause deep horizontal creases in the neck, also called 'tech neck.'"

Your skin's natural oils are what protect it, keep it hydrated, and maintain the barrier function of the skin, so you don't want to wash your face too aggressively.

"When the skin is very dry, cracked, and fissured, it can also become inflamed," says Batra. "Avoid harsh soaps and cleansers, don't scrub overzealously and use lukewarm water — hot water can be very drying. Very dry skin also accentuates wrinkle."

Whether it's super sunny or not, don't forget your shades. "Wearing sunglasses prevents squinting, which can help to avoid crow's feet around the eyes and between the eyebrows," says Batra. Also, sunglasses with UV filters keep harmful rays from damaging skin around the eyes. "The same goes for regular glasses – wear them."

Kids might laugh at your silly faces, but do them too much and you'll get some serious wrinkles. "Your mom was right – make funny faces enough, and your face will freeze like that! Repetitive facial movements such as smiling, frowning, and raising eyebrows can cause grooves in skin that become deeper and more permanent as you age and your skin loses elasticity," says Batra.

Drink plenty of water, as that's good for your face and hydration, but ditch the straws.

"Just as frowning causes wrinkles, repeated straw drinking causes people to purse their lips, and this in time creates wrinkles," says Dr. Debra Jaliman, board-certified NYC dermatologist, assistant professor of Dermatology Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and author of the book Skin Rules: Trade Secrets from a Top New York Dermatologist.

"The repetitive muscle motion of pursing the lips causes the wrinkles around the
mouth. These can be very deep and can age the face immensely," she says. Skip the straw and drink directly out of the can or bottle, or pour your beverages into a glass, instead.

Ditch the cigs (for many reasons). "Smoking also causes wrinkles around the lips. When someone smokes, they are also pursing their lips repetitively and in time this causes wrinkles around the mouth," says Jaliman. What's more, smoking also affects the blood supply to the skin, so it ages the skin as well, she says.