The Wrinkle Cream Solution

In searching for the best anti aging wrinkle cream, you will need to consider a lot of things in deciding if a certain product or program is right for you. The most important consideration naturally would be whether the product is effective in treating wrinkles.

There are two general types of anti wrinkle cream products: the prescription variety and the over-the-counter (OTC) variety. There are more OTC anti wrinkle products out there than there are prescription anti wrinkle products because most of them are classified as cosmetics and are considered to have no medicinal value.

This is the reason why most anti wrinkle treatment out there are unchecked by regulatory bodies like the US FDA in terms of efficacy (although they did approve tretinoin in 1995 for use in treating wrinkles).

Are prescription creams more effective than OTC ones?

Many believe that they are but since no extensive clinical studies are being done on most OTC skin wrinkle cream products, there is really no way to confirm this right now. Clinical trials on cosmetic products are very rare but there have been some high profile trials have made the news lately and they are showing some evidence that at least some OTC products are indeed the real thing and may actually work as claimed by their manufacturers.

This perhaps is due to the fact that components of these products are usually thought to be effective against the known causes of premature aging and wrinkles.

Moisturizers, sunscreen and collagen skin treatments are believed to be good against countering the effects of the harmful UV rays of the sun on the collagen content of the skin.

Antioxidants and vitamin creams are believed to help us eliminate free radicals which also affect cellular regeneration and natural collagen production.

Hydroxy acids are known to be good exfoliants that help the skin shed dead skin cells and stimulate the creating for fresh ones.

While prescription wrinkle treatments may be a better way to go, there are evidence that OTC products may be worth a closer look because the principle behind their treatment claims are based on well-accepted facts. All they lack are the comprehensive scientific trials to back them up (though some of them are doing this already).

Continued from Skin or Facial Wrinkle Causes (Part 1)

Free Radicals

These are atoms that are naturally occurring in the body as by-products of metabolic and biological processes but they can cause a lot of damage if they are accelerated by getting exposed to harmful UV rays, air pollution, smoking, age, stress, sickness, etc.

The problem with these atoms is that they have an odd number of electrons that are unpaired. And since having unpaired electrons for atoms is like you being able to hear with only one ear, this produces an imbalance and instability in the atom which it tries to fix by taking the electron of another molecule to complete its pair. This electron-napping can become a big chain reaction if the amount of free radicals in your system is left uncontrolled and could leave a lot of healthy cells damaged.

The consequences of this is that the damaged cells will no longer be able to function as normal, it could get its genetic material altered or it could die in the process.

Free radicals are said to cause wrinkles because they facilitate the release of a protein that breaks down collagen.

Antioxidants are believed to be the most effective defense against free radicals because they facilitate the elimination of free radicals before they can cause cellular damage. And because there is a link between free radicals and collagen break down in the skin, it is believed that antioxidant antiaging supplements are good anti wrinkle treatment.

Habitual Expressions and Good Ol’ Gravity

Wrinkles are pretty common in the face because of facial expressions that we repeatedly do over time. As we age and as we get exposed to other causes described in these articles, our skin loses its natural elasticity and creates permanent lines due to the contraction of muscle tissues in the areas like the forehead, eyelids and the conner of the eyes.

Gravity pulls down the skin when it loses its natural firmness and elasticity. These are the skin sags that you usually see under the arms.