When shopping for skin care cosmeceuticals with bioactive ingredients you want to select those able to live up to their many claims.
To date the FDA does not oversee claims made by these companies, therefore all sorts of claims can be made about their wrinkle and line fight abilities without any proof to back it up.
Don't trust the advertising campaigns since they will all claim to be the 'best product on the market'. Look at ingredients and listen to what the experts are saying. What have Dermatologists said about a particular skin care ingredient? You can find quality reviews from many scientific experts online that either support or deny the claims of these age fighting ingredients.
The first term you should become familiar with is Retinol (Vitamin A or Retin A). It is also referred to as tretinoin. It has been studied for its ability to improve the effects of photo aging more than any other cosmetic compound. It's commonly used as a wrinkle cream ingredient for it promise to reduce wrinkles and slow skin aging. You can also get a prescription from your doctor for tretinoin in a more pure strength...
What you want to look for is the concentration of retinol in the ingredients list. Quite often you'll find it way down at the bottom in a strength that won't provide its full potential benefit to your skin.
Another effective cream ingredient is known as alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), these acids can be either glycolic or lactic acid based. Also you can look for Beta hydroxy acids (BHA). Both AHA and BHA are exfoliants known to be effective in clearing the dead outer layers of skin cells. Keep in mind that you don't want to combine a vitamin A derivative with any AHA product. They should be used separately. Ideally, you would apply the AHA in the morning and the Vitamin A product at night.
Anti oxidants - these compounds scavenge free radicals within your body, you'll want to also use them to provide the same benefit for your skin.
Why are these so popular in skin care products? Simple. They protect the epidermal layers from oxidative stress and free radical damage. Just like you want a diet rich in anti oxidants to work from the inside, they can be used topically as well. Our skin can be damaged by sun exposure, as well as the many toxins and pollution in our everyday environments.
Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic acid) is considered one the most effective anti oxidants for skin care. The downsides are its higher cost and relatively short life span in terms of potency. You'll want to look at the packaging to ensure it's not exposed to sunlight or air, both of these will prematurely degrade its effectiveness through oxidization. In addition to its proven anti oxidant abilities, studies have shown it can also play a role in improving the cycle of natural collagen production in skin cells to give your face a fuller, more youthful appearance.
Green Tea extract, Vitamin E and Olive Oil are also other examples of anti oxidants that can be applied directly to the skin. Olive oil may sound a bit strange for skin care but its been used for generations in the Mediterranean as a way to protect and smooth facial skin.
Sunscreen or sunblock. Look for a broad spectrum protection - covering both UVA and UVB ultraviolet light. If you're choosing a sunblock you can look for either a zinc oxide or titanium based product, as they are widely regarded as being very effective since they create a physical, protective barrier from all UV rays. Some rays are known to only cause burning (UVB) while UVA are known to cause premature aging as well as some types of skin cancer since they penetrate deeper through your skin.
Hydroquinone is a phenol that is known to cause lightening of age spots (hyper pigmentation). There is some controversy with it since it has been shown to cause cancer in rats. It's been banned in France based on a study that included giving rats very high doses that was seen to lead to cancer. Questions remain about the veracity of these results since the concentration you would use on your skin would be nowhere near those used in the experiments. Typically, you'll want to look for a concentration of no more than 2%.
Hyaluronic Acid. This is a great moisturizer. If you are looking for it in a wrinkle cream product make sure it is closer to the top of the ingredients list rather than near the bottom. The cream may be promoted as including it but the concentration is really the key.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thom_W_O'Connel
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