As you grow old, you may notice wrinkles forming around the corners of your eyes. Called crow’s feet, the wrinkles are more noticeable when you frown or laugh. Although they increase as you grow older, you don’t have to chalk it up as being an expressive feature or consider it as part of graceful aging. Other factors can also contribute, including too much exposure to the sun and environmental pollutants.

Wrinkles form when collagen production diminishes. As a connective tissue, collagen forms a cushion-like layer beneath the skin to keep the latter plump and smooth. Another structural protein, elastin, helps to keep the skin’s elasticity, enabling it to contract and expand with the usual muscular movements.

Skin regeneration occurs when older skin cells die and fall out, allowing new skin cells to form. The rate of regeneration is high during infancy and childhood, but diminishes as you age. During your youth, you may notice scrapes and cut heal quickly with minimal scarring. That’s because of rapid skin cell regeneration. As you age, however, skin regeneration slowly diminishes, and you gradually lose the healthy texture of your skin.

Aside from aging, other causes of crow’s feet include:

Dehydration

Hydration is important for organs and tissues to function normally, especially in the case of the skin, which is the body’s largest organ. Not consuming enough liquids can lead to skin dehydration. Combined with the wind’s drying effects and air-conditioned rooms’ dry indoor air, dehydration can take a toll on the skin. During dehydration, the skin’s regeneration process suffers.

Environmental Pollution

The most exposed part of the body is the skin, especially the mostly-uncovered facial skin. Unsurprisingly, the skin takes the pressure of constant exposure to cold, heat, radiation, dust, and chemical substances. This includes the chemicals in cosmetics and face washes used to beautify and clean the skin.

Solar Radiation

Solar Radiation

When you are exposed to sunlight, you instinctively squint your eyes, but that’s the least of sun exposure’s ill effects. The sun’s ultraviolet radiation can cause tissue damage as it can penetrate easily into the dermal layer, and it can also affect the skin’s topmost layer.

Depending on the duration of exposure and the sun rays’ intensity, the damage is done even if you don’t see sunburn signs. Fine wrinkles and loss of skin elasticity are common UV damage, or photo-aging, symptoms. Thus, perpetual exposure to the sun can lead to skin aging.

Nutrient Deficiencies

The skin regeneration process can be expensive with regards to raw materials that go into cell production. These raw materials include minerals, vitamins, lipoproteins, and amino acids.

A diet mainly containing processed food has little of the vital nutrients that we can derive from fruits, fresh vegetables, meat, fruit, unprocessed grains, and pulses. From a nutritional standpoint, we are essentially starving. Sugar and alcohol expedite the wrinkling of the skin.

Medications

There are many ways to get rid of crow’s feet, and some of them include conventional prescription and non-prescription ointments and creams.

Non-Prescription Wrinkle Creams. Anti-wrinkle creams’ effectiveness partly depends on the active ingredients. Antioxidants, certain peptides, and retinol can result in moderate wrinkle improvement. However, when it comes to non-prescription creams, results may be temporary as they are less potent than prescription creams.

Topical Retinoid. Vitamin A-derived topical retinoids like tazarotene (Tazorac, Avage) and tretinoin (Retin-A, Renova) can reduce skin roughness, splotches, and fine wrinkles. As they can easily burn the skin, you have to constantly wear protective clothing and use a broad-spectrum sunscreen. Retinoids may also cause dryness, redness, itching, and a tingling or burning sensation.

Natural Crow’s Feet Removal

If you are averse to using conventional medication, you can still use natural ways to get rid of crow’s feet. Make sure your skin gets the essential nutrients and vitamins needed to stay hydrated, healthy, and firm.

1. Aloe Vera. Rich in antioxidants, aloe vera can defend against free radicals that can lead to wrinkles. Aloe vera also has essential minerals and vitamins that help tone, brighten, and moisturize the skin.

Squeeze the gel out of a fresh aloe vera leaf. Apply a liberal amount of the gel on the affected area before you sleep. Wash your face with cold water as you wake up. Do this nightly for a few weeks.

2. Milk. Milk can help lessen the appearance of eye wrinkles, as it has glycol acid to help exfoliate dead skin cells and promote collagen production. Make sure, though, that your milk is hormone-free and organic.

Soak a cloth in milk and put it on the affected eye area. Leave it on for 10 minutes before rinsing it off with cold water. Do this process twice daily.

3. Egg Whites. Egg whites can help minimize crow’s feet by tightening the skin. Egg whites contain potassium for skin hydration, protein for tissue repair, and magnesium for younger-looking skin.

Beat the egg white until foamy. Apply the egg white on the area surrounding the eyes as well as the cheekbones. Leave on for 10 minutes, and then rinse off with water (cold). Do this twice weekly.

4. Coconut Oil. Coconut oil has vitamin E that nourishes skin tissues and cells. It also has linoleic acid that reconnects skin tissue and delay the formation of crow’s feet, sagging skin, and fine line formation. Rub gently several drops of extra virgin coconut oil around your eyes every night before sleeping.

5. Vitamin E. Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that is vital for new skin cell regeneration. It can tighten the skin that surrounds the eyes to reduce crow’s feet’s appearance, while keeping the skin moist and plump.

Open up 2 capsules of vitamin E and place the contents in a small bowl. Apply it on your crow’s feet and other eye wrinkles, and massage the area for several minutes. Do this every night before sleeping.

6. Lemon Juice. Lemon juice has citric acid and has exfoliating properties to eliminate crow’s feet. Lemon juice’s astringent properties can make skin softer and reduce blemishes.

Rub gently some fresh lemon juice on your crow’s feet, and leave the juice on for 5 to 10 minutes. Rinse off with cold water, and use the remedy twice or thrice daily.

7. Avocado. Avocadoes have monounsaturated fatty acid to revitalize the skin. Avocadoes’ high vitamin E and D content can stimulate collagen production to reduce crow’s feet appearance.

Mash a ripe avocado’s flesh and apply it on the affected area. Leave the avocado paste on for 20 minutes, and then rinse off with water (warm). Do this daily to keep the skin wrinkle-free and moisturized.

8. Cucumber. Cucumber has riboflavin, thiamin, niacin, and vitamins B6 and B5, which all help to nourish your skin. Cucumbers’ soothing properties can help to reduce the appearance of eye wrinkles.

Grate one cucumber and apply it around the eyes. Keep it on for 10 minutes, and then rinse off with cold water. For several weeks, use remedy twice or thrice daily.