We’ve all seen the tirades of anti-wrinkle cosmetic creams promising to hit the force of ageing with a titanic tsunami. Many have been disappointed but others sing the praises of some of these precious creams. So who is right? Are there creams out there that can actually reverse the signs of ageing? Or is this holy grail more mythical than fact?

Do Anti-Wrinkle Creams Really Work?

The first rule is to avoid succumbing to a marketing ploy growing in prevalence. That is – becoming cloudy eyed by scientific terms. You will find in advertising campaigns words such as emollients, aqua and humectants are used. These particular words can be translated into; lotions, water and moisturisers respectively. However, when the scientific names are used, the product appears to be some magic formula of research materials. Don’t be fooled by this.

The next thing to consider is that most things are over exaggerated and if it seems unbelievable then it probably is. There is no easy way to completely turn your face into that of a super model through just the application of a ‘super-cream’.

Are expensive products any better than cheap ones?

In a set of studies testing a range of creams with a scale of price differences some interesting results were amassed. It was found that many of the top brands had absolutely no effect whatsoever. Other brands had a slight effect but nothing any different than a regular inexpensive moisturiser had.

What does this mean? Perhaps your expensive serums are simply moisturisers wrapped up in expensive looking packaging… You are potentially better off buying a normal moisturiser for a fraction of the price.

Scientific Evidence

An advancement in technology allowed for the accurate testing of whether formula one race tracks were smooth. This same technology can now be used to detect the depth of a persons wrinkles. The machine works by projected a pattern onto the particular wrinkle of a persons face. The more these lines curve on the surface of the skin, the greater the dept of the wrinkle.

Tests uncovered some remarkable results. Using a simple and cheap moisturiser was effective in instantly reducing the wrinkle depth.

The Humble Moisturiser

Soon after treating your wrinkle with some moisturiser it starts to be absorbed by the skin. Next, the skin starts to puff up slightly thus reducing the appearance of your wrinkles. There is a very fast improvement via this method but remember it is also a very temporary method that will fade in a short period of time once the moisturiser is all absorbed.

The key thing to note here is that if you buy an anti-wrinkle cream that offers instant improvement in the appearance of your lines then don’t be fooled. Any instant improvement can be achieved with any old moisturiser. No special ingredient added in the special cream is making any special difference!

So, what products can be used to reduce the effects of ageing?

Well, a strong belief now is that wrinkles are strongly related to your genetic pool. That is, if your mum had deep crows feet then you eventually will have too. What this means is that you can’t stop the process but what you can do is slow down the process.

The Sun Trap

Little did you know that you have likely already treated your skin with the most scientifically proven anti-ageing product before – sun cream. Extensive research has shown that exposure to the sun very much causes your wrinkles to show up quicker as well as drying out and ageing the appearance of your skin.

A little sun cream goes a long way and the incredible effects it can have in reducing sun damage are more than enough to brand sun cream as an anti-ageing product.

It’s not too late

After reading this you may be fretting. You may feel that you’ve neglected your skin over the years and now your wrinkles are here to stay. Well, this may not necessarily be the case.

Creams are more of a slowing down process and thus are not very useful if you have already landed at the feet of wrinkle land. However there are other options.

Anti-Wrinkle Injections

You are probably aware of anti-wrinkle injections. This type of treatment is best supplied by a dentist as they have extensive knowledge of the facial structure. Doctors may also be well trained in this area but you should make sure that they are not specialised in another area before accepting treatment with them.

Anti-wrinkle injections are quick to administer, have little to no recovery time and are fairly inexpensive. The result is that your wrinkles can be smoothed out to make you look naturally younger. You can find out more about anti-wrinkles injections here.