Peoples’ preoccupation with anti-ageing skin care products that claim to make you look younger is not surprising; it is only natural that as people get older they want to continue looking young so will use products that help them achieve this. Skin is important so a great deal of effort goes into the preparation of beauty products especially those that increase the production of collagen, which is the primary protein in skin; twenty-five per cent of the skin’s protein is collagen. Collagen is related to other anti-ageing substances found in the body and other substances; called antioxidants, they help flush out toxins from the body and help reduce the signs of aging.

Probably the best known of these anti-oxidants is vitamin C although no-one really knows just how much we should have each day. The problem with vitamin C derived skin care treatments is they can become oxidized when exposed to the atmosphere, often even before they are used.

More stable skin care treatments are now available that are almost as efficient and actually cost less to manufacture. These alternative products are not as effective as vitamin C but vitamin E and lipoic acid are anti-oxidants and are now being used.

Found in human blood, vitamin E is not only an antioxidant but is designed to increase the immune system’s resistance to disease and can also help ward off cancer. Lipoic acid which is found inside every cell of the body helps generate the energy that keeps us alive and functioning. It is known to combat the signs of ageing very effectively by reversing skin damage caused by the ageing process.

Phytochemicals form the other category of anti-ageing skin care products which are special chemicals that are extracted from plants with a variety of that are used in skin care today. Another benefit, like that of alpha-lipoic acid, is their ability to reduce the prevalence of certain cancers like prostate, colon and breast cancer.

Other vitamins from the B group are also used in anti-ageing skin care like vitamins B5, B6 and B12 for example. This is a vast area that has the potential for many new anti-ageing skin care products and services in the future but research needs to continue.

Whilst a great deal has been learned about this subject, it is only the tip of the iceberg and more long term effective methods need to be discovered to reverse or slow down the effects of time. With the research that is now taking place, many people are confident that in time, more effective, cheaper anti-ageing skin care products will be discovered.

At the moment though, science is still behind the field of natural anti-ageing methods and it might take some time to replace them. Natural methods are known, but few people actually follow them; what proportion of the population actually eats healthily, takes plenty of exercise, drink sufficient water and obtain restful and regular sleep?

This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 7:42 am and is filed under Skin Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.