How to prevent and reduce wrinkles

The information provided in this page is designed to improve the overall appearance of your skin by supplying it with gentle, effective, and protective ingredients that have a proven track record for helping wrinkled skin look and feel better. Providing such benefits to skin on a daily basis will enhance its health and appearance, encourage collagen production, and help generate normalized skin cells, which means wrinkles can be greatly reduced!

There is no magic potion or combination of products in any price range that can truly make wrinkles disappear. The wrinkles you see and agonize over (not to be confused with fine lines caused by dryness—these are easily remedied with a good moisturizer) are the result of cumulative sun damage and the inevitable breakdown of the skin’s natural support structure.

The basis of the following step-by-step plan is what the skin needs to repair itself and function optimally:

A good sunscreen whose formula goes beyond basic sun protection. The first and foremost best defense against wrinkles is the daily use of an effective, well-formulated sunscreen rated SPF 15 or higher. Daily application of a sunscreen (be it in your moisturizer or foundation) is critical to preventing new wrinkles and keeping existing lines from deepening each year. The basics to look for are a product rated SPF 15 or higher, and make sure it has one of these ingredients listed as active to ensure adequate protection from UVA rays: avobenzone (also known as Parsol 1789 or butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane), titanium dioxide, or zinc oxide. Beyond that, it is extremely beneficial if the sunscreen you choose is also loaded with antioxidants, anti-irritants, cell-communicating ingredients and ingredients that mimic the structure and function of healthy skin.
Retin-A, Renova, Avita (drug name tretinoin) and Tazorac (drug name tazarotene), prescribed by your doctor or dermatologist, are still the gold standards among topical prescription products for improving the appearance of sun-damaged (wrinkled and discolored) skin. Vitamin A in any high dosage in skin care products are vital for ‘normalizing’ the skin.

AHA and BHA’s. One significant consequence of sun damage is that the outer layer of skin becomes thickened, discolored, rough, and uneven. The best way to help skin shed abnormally built-up layers of dead, unhealthy skin is to use a well-formulated alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) or beta hydroxy acid (BHA) product. Such exfoliation will not only even out skin tone it will also produce a significant improvement in the texture of skin. Another benefit is that exfoliating away accumulated layers of dead skin cells helps other products penetrate the skin and be far more effective. The most researched forms of AHAs are glycolic (synthetic) or lactic (natural) acids. Salicylic acid is the sole BHA option.

Hydroquinone-based, skin-lightening products, which are NOT recommende for darker skins. If sun- or hormone-induced discolorations are present, a skin-lightening product is needed. Look for one with a texture you prefer (cream, lotion, gel) that contains 1% or 2% hydroquinone. This ingredient has an abundant amount of research showing its safety and efficacy in improving the appearance of brown discolorations by inhibiting melanin production. Hydroquinone is also available in higher concentrations by prescription. You may want to consider a skin-lightening product that also contains glycolic or salicylic acid because these exfoliants can speed up the results. Although hydroquinone has the highest efficacy and longest history of safe usage behind it, there are alternatives that have shown some promise for lightening skin They include mitracarpus scaber extract, Uva Ursi (bearberry) extract, which contains arbutin, and forms of arbutin. Other options with some degree of research regarding their potential skin lightening abilities are kojic acid, licorice extract, azelaic acid, and stabilized vitamin C.

Be gentle! Don’t forget that gentle cleansers and products that don’t contain irritating ingredients play an important part in helping your skin look better. Using a gentle, water-soluble cleanser further minimizes skin irritation, prevents moisture loss, and won’t leave a skin-dulling residue. No cleanser will change a wrinkle, but cleansing skin gently and reducing irritation and inflammation helps the healing process that occurs from such products as sunscreens and tretinoin.

A well-formulated moisturizer (serum or liquid textures if you have normal to oily or blemish-prone skin) can go a long way toward improving skin’s texture, enhancing its radiance, and creating a smoother, suppler surface. A gel, cream, serum, or lotion that is loaded with antioxidants, ingredients that mimic the structure of skin, cell-communicating ingredients, and anti-irritants can generate new collagen, create normalized skin cells, and reduce further damage. Make sure the packaging will keep its beneficial ingredients stable once the product is opened. That means opaque tubes or bottles with pump applicators or small openings, and avoiding clear packaging and jars of any kind.

Because most cosmetics companies (and the cosmetics industry at large) are acutely aware of consumer desire to forestall aging and stop wrinkles in their tracks, you will repeatedly encounter products at every retail venue promising to lift, firm, and tone the skin, along with decreasing wrinkles via this week’s miracle ingredient or complex. Don’t fall for it, at least not at the expense (and it often is very expensive) of not using an effective sunscreen or considering the proven options above for improving the appearance of sun-damaged (wrinkled) skin.

Almost without exception, if an anti-wrinkle claim sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That doesn’t mean the product in question isn’t worth considering, just that is isn’t the fountain of youth so many of us are perpetually seeking.