Women, and even men of a certain age are constantly looking for a magic bullet when it comes to anti ageing skin care. In fact, women in the UK are spending around 100 million per year, trying to look younger using anti aging cream as a non surgical facelift. The real problem is, that by the time they become of a certain age, they are always playing catch up. You have to start when you are young. Are you listening teenagers and twentysomethings?
One big ageing factor are the UV B rays that affect the skin whether the sun is out or not. This means that even when the sky is overcast and covered in clouds, these little demons get through to work on your skin to make it older. So from a young age, you are being bombarded all the time you are outside. Very few women appreciate this fact because they are more concerned about protecting themselves from the UV-A rays that come from a clear blue sky.
So from the first time you get put out in the garden in your pram, the UV-B rays have started to age you. Then for the rest of your life they carry on ageing you every time you go outside, unless you are using an umbrella. To counter this you need to be using a sun blocker at all times on your hands, face and neck. It may even be worth substituting your moisturiser for a good sun blocker.
When it comes to anti ageing skin care, there have been many creams and potions that have been advertised by people in white coats in a laboratory to suggest that science can’t be wrong and that this particular cream or that lotion can act as a non surgical facelift and will magically take years off your face, but can you really trust the hype?
Remember, these are only advertisements and they are designed to make you buy the product. The reality is that a lot of special ingredients are really chemicals that have been around for years and have only just been started to be put into face creams. One good thing is that because they are not new, the chances of any problems happening are kept to a minimum.
For example, one ingredient, Retinol, is another name for vitamin A. It is used as a skin preparation but in order to be effective it has to be used at quite a high strength and can only be obtained with a doctors prescription. The level of Retinol found in over the counter skin cream will have little or no effect although, as with all these preparations, individuals may derive some benefit through using them. You may well be better off spending your money on foods rich in vitamin A, such as leafy vegetables, certain fruit or liver.
As with many of these preparations, there is a time aspect to them. The ingredients used are degraded by contact with the air and water. This means that as soon as the preparation is manufactured it begins to decay. This wouldn’t be a problem if there was some kind of time stamp on the bottle so that you know when it was made or when it ceases to be effective because when you buy it, you do not know how long it has been sitting in the shop. Also, once you have opened the pot, it starts to degrade even more quickly so how you store it can be quite important.
As most of the anti ageing skin creams are quite expensive, especially when you look at the amount that is in the jar or tube, you may wish to consider making your own. It is not that difficult, you do not need to be a scientist but you do need to make sure everything you use is very clean. You start with the base, which can be an inexpensive moisturiser to which you add the active ingredients. Only make small batches at a time so that you always have the freshest and most active cream to work on the skin. You can find any number of different recipes for face creams and sourcing the materials shouldn’t be a problem. It is then a question of experimenting until you find the right combination that is the best for your skin type. Then you will have a non surgical facelift cream to be proud of, knowing that it is your own creation. Who knows, you could end up with your own cosmetics empire.
