Anti-Wrinkle Creams – The Hidden Truth

Wrinkles are a very common and prominent sign of aging. They are an indicator towards the decline of the fullness of your perfect beauty. Women are more concerned about the appearance of these fine lines on the skin and pray to get rid of them. There are a variety of creams, gels and lotions available in the market that claim to help you out of your wrinkled skin. Those annoying folds and pouches on the skin can be really irritating and every lady deserves to get a helping hand for them

There are various types of anti wrinkle treatments available in the market. You must choose wisely according to your skin type and severity of wrinkles. If you are having wrinkles and pouches because of your age, you need to use different type of products from those who are having these wrinkles due to other reasons such as bad eating and lifestyle habits. Most anti wrinkle products tend to only hide the appearance of lines on the skin rather than completely curing them. The small molecules and particles of the cream penetrate the skin and temporarily give an effect of a more taut and re plumped surface. They tend to hide the cracks and lines of the skin and help it look younger.

To choose the right sort of skin rejuvenation products; One must look for anti-wrinkles that have ingredients like AHA’s, peptides, antioxidants, retinol and vitamin C and E. Besides these primary measures, a good skin doctor can help you battle wrinkles. There is nothing better than a personalized and custom made skin care treatment, because every case is different and should be treated differently. So if the wrinkle problem does not seem to be age related, and if the creams and gels and lotions are not doing any good to you, then you know what you need to do.

Choosing Moisturizers to Reduce Wrinkles

If you aren’t sure what they do, moisturizers are used to replace natural skin oils to cover tiny fissures (or openings) in the skin, and to provide a soothing protective film. Thus, evaporation of the skin’s moisture is slowed, which helps to improve the appearance and feel of dry and aging skin. An effective moisturizer increases water content, reduces water loss, and restores the skin’s ability to retain water.

Who doesn’t want smooth, hydrated, healthy skin? From basic formulas that claim to keep skin moist, to concoctions that promise an end to aging skin and wrinkles, the choice of a skin moisturizer can be overwhelming. You can look at information on moisturizers for different skin types.

(Scientists say a moisturizer will smooth skin to temporarily make wrinkles less apparent, but unfortunately, moisturizing your skin will not have any long-term effect on wrinkles.)

Look for products that:

* help to make the skin smooth and supple
* duplicate and enhance the skin’s natural moisture retention mechanisms
* are good to sensitive skin – hypoallergenic, non-sensitizing, fragrance free, non-comedogenic (Read about Sensitive Skin Other Skin Conditions.)
* absorb rapidly and last long

Remember, too, just because a product has a certain ingredient, that doesn’t necessarily mean it has enough of it to make a difference. Dermatologists look for a number of substances to complete a moisturizer’s make-up:

* Emollients such as plant and mineral oils, shea and cocoa butter, petrolatum, cholesterol, silicones or animal oils (including emu, mink and lanolin). These lubricating ingredients soften and smooth skin while helping it to retain moisture.
* Water-binding agents that keep water in the skin, called Humectants, are important for skin damaged by sun and dehydration, but they won’t help your skin retain water.
* Occlusives, which are substances that physically block water loss in the stratum corneum, or layers of the skin, include: Petrolatum (in a minimum concentration of five per cent is the most effective occlusive), followed by lanolin, mineral oil, and silicones such as dimethicone, which act as a protective part of skin barrier creams.
* Soothing agents and anti-irritants, such as bisabolol, allantoin, burdock root, aloe, licorice root, glycyrrhetinic acid, green tea and chamomile extract, are added to many moisturizers to help skin handle ingredients that may cause irritation.
* Pure mixtures of amino acids are useless as moisturizers, while pure solutions of glycerin are ineffective, and propylene glycol by itself is irritating. However, alpha hydroxy acids, such as lactic acid or glycolic acid, appear to help reduce roughness and scaling.
* Vitamins and antioxidants, including vitamins A, C and E, get mixed reviews. Some experts say these ingredients have the ability to heal and hydrate, while others insist there’s little evidence of their effectiveness when applied topically, especially in the quantity found in most moisturizers.

Side Effects of Skin Creams

Choosing Mosturizers

Moisturizers aren’t without their side effects. If you have these symptoms, see your doctor:

* sweat retention (miliara rubra, i.e.: petrolatum and lanolin)
* irritation (urea; lactic acid; propylene glycol; solvents)
* allergic contact dermatitis (fragrances, preservatives, i.e. parabens, formaldehyde, Quaternium 15 and Imidazolidinyl urea; lanolin; additives, i.e.: vitamin E and aloe vera
* photo contact dermatitis (fragrances, UV filters)

The skinny on skin – five points

* Study the active ingredients listed on labels in order of the amount contained. If soothing aloe vera or vitamin C is 15th on the list, you’re not getting much of it
* Be wary of claims that products will increase your own natural collagen or elastin, whose job is to keep skin plumped up and youthful-looking. The molecules in these products are too big to actually penetrate the skin.
* Wash your face no more than twice a day with a gentle cleanser formulated for dry skin. Washing more often can dry your skin.
* Add a few teaspoons of olive oil or lavender-scented oil to your bath.
* Steer clear of added fragrance, preservatives and botanicals, which may irritate already dry skin

Get your money’s worth

Which is better? High-end brands or low-cost brands? Drugstore shelves seem to have an overwhelming choice of products, with each company vying for your dollars. Experts say that often low-cost brands are just as effective. You can stretch your money’s worth of product by applying your moisturizer on damp skin – it will absorb better.

Find The Right Facial Cream for You

For you as a consumer in the billion-dollar skin care industry, lack of information about products is costly, and you have to bridge the gap between. Without accurate information, you are throwing your money away, because you are completely at the mercy of advertisers and marketers. Knowing more specific information about your skin needs, such as your true skin type, you can take control of your skin.

In 2001, the average American owned about five hundred dollars’ worth of cosmetic products, and this amount has surely risen dramatically as more and more expensive product lines have been developed since that time. Do you really need to spend that much to get quality skin care? No. What truly matters is not your skin cream’s price, but whether it’s right for your Skin Type. No matter how glamorous its packaging or delicious its feel, that four-hundred-dollar cream is not right for everyone. (In fact, some types don’t need to use any skin cream at all.)

Proper information – not hype – will save you the expense, trouble, and waste of buying the wrong products-while directing you to the right ones. Ingredients are the only thing that should drive your purchasing decisions and once you’ve learned what all the jargon and 14-syllable words mean, you too will be better able to read a cosmetic label and figure out if it’s appropriate for you.
Again, products should be chosen based on their ingredients first, manufacturing practices, and formulations.
Also try to research the clinical trial data of the products, when available, to choose wisely those that have proven effective. Leading dermatologists recommend following these criteria before buying any skin care:

Make sure the product…

1. Contains the right ingredients for your skin type
2. Contains sufficient amounts of active ingredients to be effective
3. Do not contain counterproductive ingredients
4. Are formulated effectively for your needs
5. Are packaged to maintain stability of the active ingredients
6. Are cosmetically elegant (smell good and feel good)
7. Are Approved from those who’ve used them
8. Are easily available for purchase

Select the Right Anti Aging Skin Care Products

Most of us are very concerned about our aging skin. This shows in our willingness to spend large amounts of money on anti aging skin care products. Not only do we purchase large quantities of anti aging skin care treatments, we spend billions on cosmetic surgery to look younger as well. None of us want to look older than we are; we would rather look much younger.

The fact that we spend millions on anti aging skin care products and treatments every year actually shows that the majority of the treatments do not work as they say they will. If they did, we would not have to keep trying different kinds of products for our aging skin.

That is not to say there aren’t good anti aging skin care products on the market. There most definitely are – and here are some pointers for choosing the right ones.

What to Consider When Buying Anti Aging Skin Care Products

Avoid skin care products that contain fragrances or other chemical ingredients. These can actually cause more harm than good as they absorb into your body. Foreign chemicals do not belong in the body. It is counter productive to use chemicals on the skin for an anti aging treatment.

Use perfumes and body sprays to add a nice scent to your skin instead. The difference between sprays and lotions is that with a lotion, you are rubbing the chemicals into your skin. Sprays are less concentrated and left on the surface.

Products that contain collagen are a complete waste of time. The claims made by skin care manufacturers who put collagen into their anti aging skin care products are completely false. The only true way to put collagen into the skin is to use something that stimulates natural collagen production.

The Results are in the Ingredients, Not the Advertising

The majority of those in the skincare industry are out to make money and that is their primary goal. They will spend millions of dollars on advertising just to get people to buy their product. Most of the time, the product is not as good as they claim it to be because it is not made with the best ingredients. It seems they would rather spend good money on advertising than on quality lotions that are effective.

Using Celebrities to Endorse Anti Aging Skin Care Products & Treatments

Celebrities are often used to promote products. A good example of this is Proactive Solutions. Vanessa Williams and Jessica Simpson both promote this anti-acne skin care line. The painful truth is that they are highly paid for their endorsements. That is not to say the product does not work, but rather it reveals a different sort of motivation behind their advertising.

Smaller companies that put money into their products are the best bet for your money. When it comes to anti aging skin care products, it is far better to buy from smaller companies that put their money into the ingredients rather than in the pockets of celebrities.

UV Radiation Causes Wrinkles

For a six billion-year-old star, the sun is certainly in the news a lot lately, mainly because it is still a source of uncertainty and confusion to many of us.

The center of this confusion is the sun’s ultraviolet A (long-wave) and ultraviolet B (shortwave) rays. Our understanding of exactly what kinds of damage each causes to the skin, and how best to protect ourselves, seems to shift every year as new research comes out. For example, it was once thought that only UVB was of concern, but we keep learning more and more about the damage caused by UVA. And new, improved forms of protection against UVA keep emerging. Keeping up with these new developments is a worthwhile challenge that can help all of us prevent sun damage.
What is Ultraviolet Radiation?

UV radiation is part of the electromagnetic (light) spectrum that reaches the earth from the sun. It has wavelengths shorter than visible light, making it invisible to the naked eye. These wavelengths are classified as UVA, UVB, or UVC, with UVA the longest of the three at 320–400 nanometers (nm, or billionths of a meter). UVA is further divided into two wave ranges, UVA I, which measures 340-400 nanometers (nm, or billionths of a meter), and UVA II which extends from 320–400 nanometers. UVB ranges from 290 to 320 nm. With even shorter rays, most UVC is absorbed by the ozone layer and does not reach the earth.

Both UVA and UVB, however, penetrate the atmosphere and play an important role in conditions such as premature skin aging, eye damage (including cataracts), and skin cancers. They also suppress the immune system, reducing your ability to fight off these and other maladies.
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UV Radiation and Skin Cancer

By damaging the skin’s cellular DNA, excessive UV radiation produces genetic mutations that can lead to skin cancer. Both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the World Health Organization have identified UV as a proven human carcinogen. UV radiation is considered the main cause of nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSC), including basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). These cancers strike more than a million and more than 250,000 Americans, respectively, each year. Many experts believe that, especially for fair-skinned people, UV radiation also frequently plays a key role in melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, which kills more than 8,000 Americans each year.
UVA

Most of us are exposed to large amounts of UVA throughout our lifetime. UVA rays account for up to 95 percent of the UV radiation reaching the Earth’s surface. Although they are less intense than UVB, UVA rays are 30 to 50 times more prevalent. They are present with relatively equal intensity during all daylight hours throughout the year, and can penetrate clouds and glass.
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UVA, which penetrates the skin more deeply than UVB, has long been known to play a major part in skin aging and wrinkling (photoaging), but until recently scientists believed it did not cause significant damage in areas of the epidermis (outermost skin layer) where most skin cancers occur. Studies over the past two decades, however, show that UVA damages skin cells called keratinocytes in the basal layer of the epidermis, where most skin cancers occur. (Basal and squamous cells are types of keratinocytes.) UVA contributes to and may even initiate the development of skin cancers.

UVA is the dominant tanning ray, and we now know that tanning, whether outdoors or in a salon, causes cumulative damage over time. A tan results from injury to the skin’s DNA; the skin darkens in an imperfect attempt to prevent further DNA damage. These imperfections, or mutations, can lead to skin cancer.

Tanning booths primarily emit UVA. The high-pressure sunlamps used in tanning salons emit doses of UVA as much as 12 times that of the sun. Not surprisingly, people who use tanning salons are 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma, and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma. According to recent research, first exposure to tanning beds in youth increases melanoma risk by 75 percent.
UVB
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UVB, the chief cause of skin reddening and sunburn, tends to damage the skin’s more superficial epidermal layers. It plays a key role in the development of skin cancer and a contributory role in tanning and photoaging. Its intensity varies by season, location, and time of day. The most significant amount of UVB hits the U.S. between 10 AM and 4 PM from April to October. However, UVB rays can burn and damage your skin year-round, especially at high altitudes and on reflective surfaces such as snow or ice, which bounce back up to 80 percent of the rays so that they hit the skin twice. UVB rays do not significantly penetrate glass.

Avoiding Aging Skin and Wrinkles

If you want to avoid the early signs of aging and wrinkles, there are plenty of anti aging skin care products and anti-wrinkle creams available for you. You can also look up tips and guides on how to make your skin firmer and healthier. On the other hand, there are treatments for anti aging, which are easy to follow. These treatments will not take up much of your time. The best skin care treatment does not necessarily involve expensive products. You do not have to buy costly products, in order for you to prevent wrinkles from appearing around your eyes and your mouth. Anti aging tips include simple reminders such as drinking water constantly. As simple as this step, you will be able to keep your skin healthy.

Exposing your skin to an appropriate amount of the sun’s rays is one way of preventing premature aging. Sunlight is capable of providing your skin with vitamin D, which is also great for keeping your teeth and bones healthy. However, too much sun exposure can cause skin problems. This is true especially if you expose yourself to sunlight between 9 AM to 4 PM. During these times, the heat of the sun is harmful and can lead to skin cancer and heat stroke. Minor problems caused by too much UV rays exposure include skin rashes, blemishes, and dark spots on the skin.

If you need to go out, when the sun is really hot, you have to keep yourself protected. You should wear a hat to keep your face away from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. Sunscreen lotion and cream are anti aging skin care products that keep UV rays from penetrating into the inner layers of your skin. However, you have to remember that there are some products for anti aging that are harsh for your skin. One of the best ways to know if the product is good for you or not would be to check its ingredients. You should be aware of products that contain petroleum and alcohol-based ingredients.

Another anti aging tip is to take in much filtered water. Avoid tap water since this contains chemicals that are harmful to your body and to your skin. The sad fact is that there are several individuals that do not consume enough amounts of fluids that are needed by the body. This can lead to dehydration and premature aging. Aside from anti aging skin care products, water is a great way to keep your skin looking radiant. To make your skin healthy and supple, you have to consume at least eight glasses of water everyday. This anti aging guide is better than any kind of skin care product.

You also have to remember that a proper diet is a good anti aging tip. Organic leafy greens are great for maintaining the health of your skin. Green and leafy vegetables are comprised of antioxidants that prevent free radicals from damaging your systems. Free radicals are capable of destroying your cells. Once your cells are damaged, this can cause early symptoms of aging like wrinkles.

Face creams, hand and body lotions, and moisturizers are among the most effective anti aging skin care products. They support your body’s production of elastin and collagen, which help in making your skin appear younger. What is more, these products even out dark spots on your skin and face, and they eliminate wrinkles and fine lines.