Friday, December 5, 2008

Discovering Anti-Wrinkle Creams

By Julie Samtsonn

Okay, so we're all getting older, right? Yes, right, but even though this is true, we can still look our best.

In these enlightened times there is no reason for anyone to have dry skin. This is because there are just so many anti-wrinkle creams and potions available to us. They all claim to make our skin supple smooth and young looking even though we are technically "over the hill."

Let us pause a moment before we go into what makes anti-wrinkle cream effective and consider the reasons your skin starts to age and wrinkle. As we age common problems arise; among them age spots, sagging, wrinkling etc. There can be a number of reasons for this. Sometimes it is just hereditary and other times our lifestyle and habits effect our skin. Here is what happens as your skin begins to age. You will experience a decrease in collagen, your skin does not generate as many new cells and to make matters worse accumulation of "free radicals" prevents new skin cells from being properly formed.

You will find that your skin will naturally wrinkle as you age, regardless of what you do. However a good quality anti-wrinkle cream can help to slow the process down and even reverse some of the effects of skin aging. Bear in mind that your lifestyle will also affect skin aging. Diet and drinking enough fluids will affect your skin, as will habits like smoking, drinking and getting enough sleep.

There is a glut of anti-wrinkle creams and anti-aging potions on the market but it is good to know that the best ones will have ingredients like the following in them:

One of these ingredients is called retinol. It is a very effective part of anti-wrinkle cream. As well as being derived from vitamin A it is also a powerful antitoxidant. It will also help the skin to rejuvenate itself. It is a fact that a 20 year old will experience complete outer skin replacement in 28 days, however a 40 year old person will take twice as long. This means that as we age we will need to quicken up the process of skin rejuvenation. Retinol does this by dissolving the old skin layer and allowing the new skin to come.

Alpha hydroxy acids and the newer beta and poly hydroxy acids are acids derived from fruit. These acids are exfoliants, which means it removes the outer layer of skin and encourages fresh new skin to appear from beneath. This is similar to one of retinol's functions, but hydroxy acids produce a minor "injury" to the skin that also encourages new collagen growth to occur in the skin layers themselves. One drawback to hydroxy acids is that they do make you much more photosensitive, so always wear sunscreen when you're out in the sun.

Coenzyme Q 10 is a powerful antioxidant; in fact it is one of the strongest out there. Its purpose is to neutralize free radicals. These free radicals are toxins that damage new skin cells and make your skin age faster. It is also thought that this substance will stimulate the growth of collagen.

It is thought that Kinetin may help to moisturize the skin and increase collagen growth. It is relatively new and more clinical trials must be done to see the real results.

It is good to remember that the price of anti-wrinkle cream does not necessary indicate the effectiveness of it. A better idea is to check out the product carefully yourself. You can see reviews and testimonials of the product and make your own judgment. You can save a ton of money and really get your money's worth. - 16083

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