The anti aging and skin care industries are huge. Millions or billions of dollars are spent by consumers on anti aging skin care treatments, and so there is big money to be made. And there are plenty of big companies in the anti aging and cosmetics industry that take advantage of this.

The result is that many mainstream anti aging skin care products just don’t work. The cosmetics and skin care industry is quite unregulated in the US, and so the big cosmetics and skin care companies can put any product on the market without first proving that it works, and even without showing that it is safe for the people who use it.

As a result there are many anti aging skin care treatments available that don’t work, and contain suspect, or known to be dangerous ingredients.

But they sell in spades to cater to the desire of so many consumers to look younger, or at least to believe that they will look younger. And so there are hundreds of well known brand name products that promise all sorts of anti aging benefits everywhere you look.

So, how do you navigate your way through all this to choose an anti aging skin care treatment that does work, and doesn’t contain ingredients that you should be scared of?

Here’s how not to choose a good anti aging product.

1. Don’t buy any skin care products that include fragrances in them. Now of course everyone likes to smell good, and the cosmetics companies pander to that, by adding fragrances to their products. Apply the cream and smell good and look young all at the same time.

There’s 2 problems. Firstly you won’t look younger because chances are the skin cream won’t make you look younger, though you may feel good about having used it.

Secondly, fragrances are not good chemicals to put on your skin. Because that’s what they are, chemicals that smell good, and many of them aren’t that good for you. It’s the same with perfumes, for example, but if you apply a perfume it’s only a small squirt on one spot, it’s not massaged all over your face where it disappears, into your blood. So just use a perfume instead.

2. Don’t buy skin care creams that have collagen in them. Now this at first glance appears counterintuitive doesn’t it? Everyone knows that collagen, or the breakdown of collagen in your skin, leads to sagging and wrinkling of the skin so putting more collagen on must be good.

Not necessarily. Yes it’s good to replenish the collagen, however collagen molecules are quite large and don’t really enter the skin. So rubbing it on might make you feel good, but doesn’t really add to the levels of collagen in your skin.

The best way to improve the collagen levels in your skin is to stimulate the body to produce more collagen itself.

However remember, the big cosmetics and anti aging companies are in the business of selling their products. If they put collagen on the label people buy it. And if they put it in a fancy bottle and get a good looking celebrity to say how much younger they look using it, then it will sell.

Even if it doesn’t do anything for you. Even if it’s got suspect ingredients. It will sell.

That’s marketing for you.

Problem is, all this marketing is expensive. The good looking celebrity has to be paid, usually lots, the fancy bottles need to be purchased, and the advertising costs a bomb.

So the anti aging skin care treatment that really doesn’t do much costs a bomb too. But that’s ok because people believe that if it’s expensive it must be good. So they pay anyway.

So there is 2 things to avoid when looking for a good anti aging skin care treatment. There’s more but this is getting long.

Does all this mean that you should give up on anti aging creams and products because they don’t work? Not at all. There are excellent anti aging products that work fine, produced from ingredients from plants that are safe to use.

But they are produced by small niche companies that you’ve probably never heard of, who quietly produce high quality products at reasonable prices because they don’t pay the good looking celebrities and spend up big on TV advertising. That’s why you’ve never heard of them. If they started doing that their products would cost a bomb too.

So don’t despair. I’ve given you some things to look for when buying an anti aging skin care product, and told you that there are excellent products available. Now it’s your turn to find them.



Thanks to Peter Clark for contributing this article to our Anti-Aging blog:

Natural Anti Aging Products

Can you answer Addison’s question about Anti-Aging?:

I am 34 years old and I am starting to notice small lines developing. So I want to start with an anti aging skin care product line or routine. Can someone tell me what they are using or what you recommend and your results.

Have you claimed your own money-making niche yet?

In order for an anti aging skin care product to be effective and safe, manufacturers must use care when choosing ingredients.  Most anti aging skin care products do not perform as they should.  And, cosmetic companies seem to forget that our skin is more delicate as we age.  So, they include harsh ingredients and chemicals that can increase, rather than decrease the damage that has been done by the years.

It really scares me to think that anyone would buy an anti aging skin care product from HSN or QVC.  There is absolutely no way to know what those anti aging skin care products contain.  People learn the hard way.

If you read some of the reviews, you will see that there are numerous adverse reactions.  In many cases, the lips, eyes and face are drier and look no better than before.  And, anti aging skin care products are not cheap, so it’s not like you can afford to just try something else.

But, you are going to be an informed consumer.  We are going to tell you what ingredients to look for, as well as those to be avoided.  Let’s start with collagen.

An anti aging skin care product that contains collagen fiber is worthless.  The stuff was derived from cow hide and designed to be used by surgeons who inject it into the lowest of the skin’s layers.  There it acts like air or water in a balloon and stretches out the wrinkles and fine lines.  It only lasts for a while.  It is not replacing your body’s own collagen fibers.  It’s actually replacing some of the fat cells that are lost in that lowest layer as you age.

Now let’s look at alcohol.  Most anti aging skin care products contain ethanol, ethyl, methanol, benzyl or isopropyl alcohol.  What’s wrong with it?  It dries up natural oils, which are in short supply in older faces.  That’s one of the problems that cause wrinkles and fine lines in the first place, a loss of natural oil.

Then there are all of the ingredients that are either known to cause cancer or suspected to.  If an anti aging skin care product contains any of the following, you would be better off to leave it on the shelf.  They are parabens, diethanolamine, monoethanolamine, triethananolamine or the abbreviations DEA, MEA and TEA and dioxane.  In many countries around the world, these are either banned or restricted.  But, so far, the United States has decided to allow their presence in cosmetics.

It is illogical, when you think about it, because everything that your rub on your face is absorbed through your pores and enters your blood stream.  But, let’s move on to what you do want in your anti aging skin care products.

Cynergy TK, an anti aging skin care product containing a patented form of keratin, has been shown in clinical trials to help your body produce more of its own collagen fibers, as well as elastin and new skin-cells.  Wakame, a specific type of Japanese sea algae, has proven results that are similar to these.

By increasing levels of hyaluronic acid, it improves elasticity while reducing bags, dryness and irritation.  In other words, anti aging skin care products that contain wakame “heal” the damage done by sun and the elements.

Nano-lipobelle H EQ10 is an emulsion containing vitamin E and the nutrient COQ10.  As an anti aging skin care product, it has been shown to penetrate multiple skin-layers and soak up free radicals, which are produced when the body is exposed to sun, pollutants and even oxygen.  The ingredient has been shown to improve appearance and generate a healthy glow.

Stearyl or cetearyl wax allows your skin to retain more moisture throughout the day.  It also creates an ultrafine coating that protects your face from further damage.

It is hard to find anti aging skin care products that contain all of these ingredients.  But, it is worth your time to look for them, if you want something safe and effective.



Thanks to Loredana Conley for contributing this article to our Anti-Aging blog:

Best Anti Aging Face Cream

Can you answer ks’s question about Anti-Aging?:

I just turned 26 and I’m wondering at what age I should trade in my regular moisturizer with sunscreen for an anti-aging one with sunscreen and a night anti-aging moisturizer.

Anti Aging Products Reviews

In my anti aging skin care review of dozens of products, I’ve discovered three crucial things that separate an effective anti aging skin care system from those that don’t measure up.

It’s taken me over a decade to acquire this knowledge. Like you, I’d been noticing the unmistakable signs of my advancing age: an ever-increasing number of wrinkles, skin sagging around my neck (and other places), cellulite on my legs (yuck), bags under my eyes that seem to keep getting heavier. I could go on, but I don’t think I need to–we all deal with these things.

I drank lots of water, followed a healthy diet, and tried to exercise regularly, but while those steps helped, they didn’t seem to be enough. I didn’t want to go the cosmetic surgery route. I knew there had to be good anti aging skin care products available that would really help to rejuvenate my skin.

I finally found them. And in the process, here’s what I learned from my anti aging skin care review.

1) A good anti aging skin care system does not use fragrances.

Most fragrances are actually chemicals. If you have sensitive skin, like I do, a lot of these fragrances can irritate your skin.

I also learned that many common fragrances can even impact your central nervous system, influencing your moods–and not in a good way. Who would have thought that merely putting on a cream that smells good can actually make you irritable because of the questionable ingredients it contains?

In my anti aging skin care review research, I found a few skin care products that are 100% fragrance-free. I’ve been using them ever since.

2) An anti aging skin care system should be clinically proven to work.

Popular skin care brands usually try to convince us of the efficacy of their products by having glamorous Hollywood actresses claim Product X is responsible for their ageless beauty. But how about less hype, and more scientifically verifiable evidence?

My research led me to an anti aging product that has been clinically proven to increase skin elasticity by 42% over an 18 day period. Greater skin elasticity equals fewer wrinkles, and smoother, more youthful looking skin.

Look for skin care products backed up by facts–not Hollywood hype.

3) An anti aging skin care system should use a high concentration of active ingredients.

While conducting my anti aging skin care review, I found that many of the well-known cosmetic brands that I’d been using for years contained only scant amounts of active ingredients.

These active ingredients are important–the more included in a skin care product, the greater its potency. But a lot of skin care treatments use mostly synthetic waxes and fillers, substances that have no impact whatsoever in rejuvenating your skin.

I recommend using only products that have an active ingredients composition of at least 50%. Admittedly, that’s a high percentage, but such anti aging skin care systems do exist.

Your next step? Start using the lessons I learned during my anti aging skin care review, and visit my web site to find out more about the natural skin care methods I personally use, and highly recommend.



Thanks to Evelyn Louise for contributing this article to our Anti-Aging blog:

Best Anti Aging Face Cream