Crow’s Feet in Your 20s, Treat and Prevent Them

The skin around your eyes is the thinnest skin on your entire body. That’s why the eye area is the most vulnerable to wrinkle-causing elements. It’s the first one to show signs of aging. But before freaking out over crow’s feet in your 20s, let’s get one thing straight. Do you actually have crow’s feet? And no, the wrinkles that appear only when you squint your eyes don’t count. To clear the confusion, here’s the thing you need to know about wrinkles in your 20s.

If the wrinkles around your eyes appear when you smile and go away when you relax your face, you have active wrinkles aka dynamic wrinkles. In that case, you can just relax and focus on a more preventative approach.

If the wrinkles are always there and don’t go away even if you’re doing your resting B face, then welcome to the club. You have static wrinkles that need intervention and we’re there to help.

Crow’s feet start to appear usually in your mid-20s and they become more prominent starting from your late-20s. Even though there are things you definitely can do to treat and prevent them, some things are out of your control.

And let’s not forget the fact that the age you’re born into is full of elements that have the potential to cause premature aging.

Just to give you an idea, global warming or blue light emission, both of which do affect skin aging, were not the primary concerns of your grandma when she was busy slathering lead makeup all over her face.

As we established, some things are beyond your control when it comes to dealing with wrinkles. When it comes to things that are in your control, below are the reasons why you get crow’s feet in your 20s and how you can treat and prevent them.

Why Do You Get Crow’s Feet in Your 20s?

1. Sun exposure

Besides the obvious, which is genetics, the most common cause of crow’s feet is unprotected UV exposure. At this point, it’s no secret that sun exposure is the number 1 cause of external skin aging (1).

Sun exposure has the ability to harm the skin on a cellular level, also called photo-aging. It destroys the collagen in the deeper layers of the skin, affecting skin renewal and causing loss of volume and elasticity. It also dries out the skin and makes it look paper-like.

2. Excessive facial expressions

Making facial expressions is a contributing factor to getting crow’s feet in your 20s (2). However, this is an inevitable part of aging. You can’t afford to not smile for the rest of your life fearing that you’ll get crow’s feet if you do so.

However, you may have habits that are making you contract the muscles around the eyes more often than you should. Smoking and biting your nails are two of them. And let’s not forget that smoking is a whole can of worms that causes both intrinsic and extrinsic aging.

Also, maybe you need prescription glasses but don’t want to deal with them because you get by. In that case, you may be squinting excessively without being aware of it. Seemingly unimportant habits like these can have a cumulative effect on getting wrinkles around the eyes as well as your entire face.

3. Lack of proper under-eye care

Dry and dehydrated skin is more susceptible to wrinkle-causing elements (3). Without proper hydration, the skin lacks the necessary protective layer to defend itself against UV exposure and pollution. Skin that is constantly losing moisture won’t be able to bounce back from the dehydrating effects of the sun.

How to Get Rid of Crow’s Feet in Your 20s

1. Sun protection

Protect the eye area as you’d protect your newly-manicured nails. Use sunscreen, sunglasses, and hats to limit UV exposure. You may think that wearing sunscreen around the eyes doesn’t have anything to do with getting rid of wrinkles. Wrong!

Normally, your skin has the ability to neutralize free radical damage caused by the sun. But unprotected sun exposure prevents your skin from healing itself. Essentially, your skin is overwhelmed by the exposure and can’t produce enough antioxidants to fight back.

No amount of topical antioxidants can have the same effect as sunscreen would. By protecting your skin, you create a window where your skin has the time to renew, heal, and bounce back. That’s why sun protection is the most important thing you can do to treat and prevent crow’s feet in your 20s.

2. Eye creams

Do not underestimate the importance of under-eye skincare in your routine. Even if you’re using a very basic hydrating eye cream, you’ll still be able to improve the look of crow’s feet.

Eye creams made with hyaluronic acid instantly plump up the skin. They hydrate the area and act as wrinkle fillers. Hydrated and plump skin looks smoother and healthier.

3. Antioxidants

Antioxidants have the distinct ability to actually reverse UV-induced skin damage. So, besides getting a healthy dose of antioxidants from your foods, consider using an antioxidant eye serum or an antioxidant-infused vitamin C eye cream.

If you prefer to be more proactive about crow’s feet in your 20s, you can consider using a retinol eye cream. It’s the ultimate anti-ager to reverse wrinkles and stimulate collagen formation.

4. Injectables

Getting preventative Botox in your 20s is a great way to reduce existing wrinkles and delay the formation of new ones. With Botox, you limit unnecessary facial expressions and prevent wrinkles from settling in. The good thing about Botox is that you can start getting injections as early as your mid-20s.

Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers are also a great way to plump up the skin. However, it may just be too much for someone in their mid and even late-20s. Because fillers are instrumental for skin that lacks volume with deep-set wrinkles, which is not so common for someone in their mid and late-20s.

The Takeaway

Noticing fine lines and crow’s feet in your 20s doesn’t mean it’s too late to do something about them. In most cases, even a simple skincare routine that’s followed religiously makes a huge difference. Include hydration, moisture, sun protection, and exfoliation. You’ll see that things start to look a lot better very quickly. And sometimes, applying your eyeliner in the wrong way or using too much concealer with a very heavy texture around the eyes can make things look worse than they actually are. So, before jumping into the more aggressive options, consider following a skincare routine suitable for your age. And it goes without saying that a healthy lifestyle enriched with healthy foods, regular exercise, and sleep makes all the difference.

Read Next: The Best Night Serums For Your 20s

References:

1. Chaudhary, M., Khan, A., & Gupta, M. (2020). Skin Ageing: Pathophysiology and Current Market Treatment Approaches. Current aging science, 13(1), 22–30. https://doi.org/10.2174/1567205016666190809161115
2. Swift, A., Liew, S., Weinkle, S., Garcia, J. K., & Silberberg, M. B. (2021). The Facial Aging Process From the “Inside Out”. Aesthetic surgery journal, 41(10), 1107–1119. https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjaa339
3. Ganceviciene, R., Liakou, A. I., Theodoridis, A., Makrantonaki, E., & Zouboulis, C. C. (2012). Skin anti-aging strategies. Dermato-endocrinology, 4(3), 308–319. https://doi.org/10.4161/derm.22804