Saggy skin, wrinkles, photoaging, redness, sunspots, yellowing, dark pigments. The beauty industry has made us aware of so many problems we never knew existed with our skin. We all want to combat these for younger, smoother skin and how we have tried. Cosmetic surgery, skin peels, creams, oils, lotions, chemicals, animal excrements, plant extracts, you name it, someone’s done it.
It seems though that anti-ageing cream is the big hit of the day. A huge part of the beauty industry is now dedicated to creams that promise rejuvenation for your skin. There is something for all budgets and all are promising to be your little miracle in a pot. But with so much jargon and promises how do you cut through it all and find the ingredients that work? What is worth the hefty price tag and what isn’t?
The Jargon
To understand what is worth our hard earned rands it is important to get to grips with a few key terms floating around. The following are the main components of most creams out there:
Peptides: These are amino acids. They can penetrate the skin and stimulate it to produce collagen and elastin (what keeps skin tight and smooth). It is an expensive ingredient and the low range creams often don’t include enough of it to be effective.
AHA’s (alpha-hydroxy acids): These fruit acids improve the smoothness and feel of skin. Though they are effective, a physician must dispense the required levels as they can cause irritation. Sensitive skins beware!
Antioxidants: We all know Vitamin C & E are good for the skin. They can combat sun damage and encourage rejuvenation. Watch out for the unnecessary hefty price tag attached though as Vitamins can’t always penetrate the skin and are notorious for being unstable. This means that the results won’t always be consistent.
Co-Enzyme Q10: This is a vitamin-like substance that can help skin protection. It has been on the market a long time and an old favourite of beauty creams.
Retin-A: This has been used to treat acne for over 40 years and is great for increasing cell production, collagen and reducing dark pigments. High doses (over 0.05%) can cause dryness but lower doses (between 0.025% - 0.05%) can be very effective.
SPF: SPF stands for sun protection factor and is designed to filer UVB rays from the sun. The higher the SPF number, the higher the protection for your skin. Most creams come with some SPF factor and although it won’t improve damaged skin, it will certainly go some way to stop it from getting worse.
So what do I buy?
For something that you will need to use everyday to see results, you don’t want to be breaking the bank on it. So to look for an affordable daily cream, Retin-A and co-enzyme Q10 products offer some of the better results. Most high-priced creams won’t be able to offer greater improvement and for the cost you might as well see a dermatologist.
Unfortunately there is no miracle cream out there that is going to turn back the clock. However, looking after your skin and using a quality product with the right ingredients for your skin type will make a difference. It is very important that if you have sensitive skin you don’t introduce it to stripping agents like AHA’s and Retin-A’s as it could make it worse. These products also break away protective barriers of your skin and make it susceptible to UV damage.
Prevention is always better than cure. Maintain a healthy diet, wear sunscreen (or use creams with SPF protection) and exfoliate daily to give your skin a healthy glow.
