Mirror mirror on the wall – is that another wrinkle ? It seems that worrying about wrinkles is becoming a major preoccupation of women today. Younger and younger women. A major survey for a pharmacy chain found that over a third of women over 30 are using an anti-ageing product. (My friend Jan found her first wrinkle at 18 and then started to obsess about it– how sad is that?)
Unfortunately, though a few wrinkles on a manly face makes him look “more rugged” or “more interesting” wrinkles on a women’s face are thought by many to put her on the slippery ski slope to old age and terminal loss of attractiveness.
The Bad News. Once you skin is “aged” there is no way to “unage” it – so what can we do ? (Other than the large paper bag over the head ploy?)
Well, experts think that heredity and genetic factors account for between 25-30% of facial aging (so you can’t really blame it all on your parents). This means that 70% or more is down to lifestyle factors, and especially exposure to environmental hazards.
So, to slow down the development of “le face prune” and Stop Those Wrinkles Developing you should:
(unless you really want those amazingly intricately wrinkled top lips like little purses and crinkly cheeks like crepe paper)
- Keep your face OUT of the sun
(Use a sunscreen blocker AND a sunhat – and then use fake tan. For everyday use make up with a sunscreen.)
- Eat healthy food and limit alcohol
(Your skin needs good nutrients and needs protecting against the dehydrating effect of large amounts of alcohol)
What about those anti-aging products ? Do they help ?
There are several ingredients of anti-aging products that are known to have a measurable effect on skin.
- Sunblocker – if used correctly protects against UV deep epidermal damage which is culmulative over the years and cannot be reversed
- Vitamins A, C and E taken internally are known to have some effect in mopping up dangerous “free radicals” created by smoking and other environmental pollution damage. Their use in creams to put on the skin is less clear, though Vitamin A does have some effect on the appearance of the depth of wrinkles and Vitamin C boosts the circulation and helps skin brightness.
- AHAs (Alpha-hydroxy acids or fruit acids) help the skin shed the top epidermal cells and improve the skin’s appearance
- Retinoids – act on the skin to increase the production of new cells so over a few weeks make the skin look thicker and more compact. But after around 20 weeks it will be as good as it gets – and it goes back to how it was before when you stop using it.
But – and this is a big BUT – most researchers trying to prove that products have no effect are usually only talking about short-term studies, for example interviewing women, say over 6 weeks. Nobody has yet done a really long-term study on how such products may help to delay skin aging.
What do you think ? Are you for the paper bag or the pot of cream?