Effects of fine lines and wrinkles on your appearance
Wrinkles are the most visible signs of aging – and they appear on our faces, especially around the eyes and mouth. People you meet notice them right away. Wrinkles and fine lines drastically change your appearance and make you look older.
For decades, we’ve accepted crow’s feet and other wrinkles as an inevitable side effect of aging. But recent dermatological discoveries have revolutionized skincare and created a generation of anti-wrinkle creams that really work. We have to ask ourselves, have we seen the end of wrinkles?
Causes of wrinkles and fine lines
A variety of factors contribute to the aging of facial skin. These factors break down into two different categories: environmental (external) and genetic factors.
Environmental factors include exposure to ultraviolet light, pollution (including smoking and second-hand smoke) and diet. Environmental factors are, to a degree, under your control. Unfortunately, genetic factors are not. Your genes determine the metabolism of your skin cells, the thickness of your skin, the robustness of elastins and virtually everything else about your skin. (Thanks, Mom.)
The latest anti-wrinkle products address environmental damage. They can’t change your genes but they do provide nutrients and compounds to nourish and support your skin. Let’s examine the key features of the best anti wrinkle creams.
Next-generation anti wrinkle creams
Dermatologists and scientists have developed some pretty amazing ingredients that can make some pretty big promises come true. Want to get rid of fine lines and wrinkles? Now it’s possible without dermabrasion or fractal laser treatment or a syringe full of toxins!
Look for these key ingredients in your wrinkles cream:
Peptides (specifically acetyl hexapeptide, palmitoyl oligopeptide and palmitoyl pentapeptide): Synthetic fragments of collagen molecules that easily penetrate deep into the skin and stimulate your cells to create new collagen. Acetyl hexapeptide has the wonderful side effect of relaxing the muscles that cause tension-type wrinkles.
Hyaluronic acid: This is the most powerful moisturizer known to mankind. Hyaluronic acid binds with up to 1000 times its own weight in water and bathes your skin’s elastin fibers in healing moisture. The result is smoother, softer skin. Hyaluronic acid also helps to plump the skin, eliminating fine lines.
Retinol: This form of Vitamin A is like espresso to your skin cells. It stimulates them to grow and divide faster. If you exfoliate gently and regularly this leads to that elusive glow that signifies health and youth.
Don’t waste your time with creams that include:
“Nanoprisms” or microscopic reflective particles: Tiny crystals of silicon dioxide lighten and brighten wrinkles. These special effects are cosmetic only, and don’t last any longer than the application of your skin cream. Nanoprisms don’t stimulate rejuvenation of the skin, or do they encourage healing. (“Pearl cream” is a thousand-year-old form of these nanoprisms.) Not recommended.
Collagen or marine collagen: Collagen molecules are huge (well, actually they’re tiny, but on a molecular scale they’re massive). In fact, they’re too big to actually penetrate your skin. When you apply a cream that contains collagen, it just lays there on your skin and does nothing. Not recommended.
Other considerations for finding wrinkle relief
Unfortunately, anti-wrinkle products that contain the special ingredients outlined above are expensive. The ingredients themselves are difficult and time-consuming to produce and therefore formulas that contain them tend to be pricey. In wrinkle creams, like in so much of life, you get what you pay for.
When researching your anti-wrinkle alternatives, be sure to read plenty of online reviews.
