To Deal With Wrinkles, You Need High-Quality Ingredients
Wrinkles are a natural byproduct of aging. The older you get, the more you will notice these lines on your skin appearing. In addition, age causes your skin to get looser and be less firm. To reduce the appearance of wrinkles, it’s essential to use high-quality ingredients that will have only positive effects on your skin. From this handy article, you will learn what ingredients to look for in anti-wrinkle creams that actually make a difference for your skin. In addition, you will learn what causes wrinkles and how to prevent signs of aging by improving both your skincare regimen and your lifestyle.
Why Do We Get Wrinkles?
As you age, your skin starts to get looser and retain its shape less. As a result, lines and wrinkles begin to appear in your skin as it loses its firmness and structure. There is a lot going on inside your body behind the scenes that causes this change in your appearance.
One of the main biological causes of wrinkles is oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is an imbalance between the antioxidant levels in your body and the level of free radical activity in your body. Not sure what antioxidants or free radicals are? Keep reading.
Free Radicals and Oxidative Stress
Free radicals are molecules in your body with an unpaired electron. What does this mean for your wrinkles? The aging process is impacted by free radicals because they are searching within your cells for molecules to steal electrons from. As this process occurs, the cells in your body can start breaking down and not functioning as effectively as they normally would. Free radical activity in your body can increase in response to poor lifestyle habits and environmental factors like pollution.
Excess free radical activity in your body can cause the cells in your skin to stop producing the proteins that make your skin strong and healthy. One of these key proteins is collagen. Collagen provides your skin with structure and firmness, allowing it to maintain shape. Without an adequate amount of collagen production, wrinkles will start to show up on your skin as it weakens. Another key protein produced by your skin is elastin. Elastin helps your skin to stay flexible while still retaining its shape. Without enough elastin being produced in your skin, your skin will begin to get looser and sag more.
As you might have guessed based on the abundance of anti-aging products on the market, there are ingredients that can make a difference in the appearance of wrinkles on your skin. High-quality anti-aging products contain ingredients that directly impact the production of elastin and collagen in your skin, keep it moisturized, and slough off dead skin cells that can negatively affect your skin’s appearance.
However, not all anti-aging products are created equal. Some products use lots of filler ingredients or do not source their active ingredients from the best possible sources.
The following five ingredients are worth looking for in anti-wrinkle creams – but look for creams that are made well and don’t contain unnecessary ingredients!
1. Vitamin C
As an antioxidant, vitamin C is a great choice for an active ingredient to use to fight wrinkles. The active ingredient in a skincare product is the component of the product that has the most significant effect on your skin. A good wrinkle cream will contain enough of its active ingredient to have an impact on your skin without overdoing it. Too high of a concentration of the active ingredient can cause your skin to get irritated.
Because vitamin C is an antioxidant, it can prevent the age-inducing effects of free radical activity in your body. In addition, vitamin C can help even out your complexion and leave you with younger, healthier looking skin.
2. Vitamin E
Another antioxidant that is often found in skincare products, vitamin E is an ideal active ingredient for use in eye creams. This antioxidant can play a major role in dealing with wrinkles around your eyes without being too harsh on the sensitive skin in the area around your eyes.
Using an eye cream that contains vitamin E will positively impact the appearance of the skin around your eyes, which is one of the most sensitive patches of skin on your entire body. This area needs to be avoided when using products that are not designed for it.
Fortunately, vitamin E can help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and bags under your eyes, all without causing the irritation that other ingredients might cause.
3. Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid can be a valuable component in an anti-aging skincare routine. This acid is naturally produced by your skin and helps support your skin’s ability to retain water and maintain a full, youthful look. When you’re trying to keep that youthful glow going well into your later years, hyaluronic acid is a great ingredient to take advantage of.
Hyaluronic acid can be found as an active ingredient in serums, moisturizers and other skincare products and is often used for its anti-aging benefits. Unlike other acids like salicylic and glycolic acid, hyaluronic acid serum will not act as an exfoliant. Instead, this acid is beneficial to use for fighting the appearance of wrinkles because of its ability to keep your skin moisturized.
In addition to helping your skin retain water and stay moisturized, hyaluronic acid also stimulates the production of collagen in your skin. Like vitamins C and E, hyaluronic acid allows your skin to produce this valuable protein that is instrumental in keeping your skin looking youthful well into your later years.
4. Green Tea
Green tea extract is another antioxidant, and of course has anti-aging benefits. Using green tea extract topically has been found to increase your skin’s ability to stay looking young as you age. This is because green tea, like vitamins C and E, supplies your skin with the antioxidants it needs to fight off the harmful effects of free radicals.
If you’re wondering about the impact that drinking green tea might have on your skin, there’s good news. Eating and drinking natural sources of antioxidants can have a positive effect on your skin’s health. Making green tea a regular part of your diet will help your body get the antioxidants it needs to stay healthy and youthful looking!
5. Retinol
Retinol is another ingredient with anti-aging benefits. You can use retinol to control the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines because of the ingredient’s ability to stimulate collagen production and even out your complexion.
Retinol is a derivative of vitamin A, meaning it is an antioxidant. As we’ve discussed, topical antioxidants are ideal for stimulating the production of important proteins such as collagen and elastin which will help your skin retain its structure, firmness, and flexibility.
An anti-wrinkle cream with retinol will usually take at least a few months to show noticeable results, so it is worth being patient when using this ingredient. However, retinol has been found to have a significant effect on reducing the appearance of wrinkles over time.
If you are using a product with retinol and are not yet seeing results, don’t be discouraged. In addition, if you have sensitive skin and are experiencing minor irritation from using retinol, this does not mean you have to stop using the ingredient – you may just have to change the amount you use or the frequency you use it.
If you have sensitive skin, it is often best to start out with application of a retinol anti-wrinkle cream only twice a week at most. If this frequency does not cause any issues, you can move up your application of the cream to three days a week. Like exfoliation, use of a retinol-based product does not need to be a part of your daily skincare routine – it’s more of a weekly aspect of your regimen.
Should I Use a Cream, a Serum, or Something Else?
Choosing which skincare products with retinol to use depends on your specific needs and what skin issues you are trying to work on.
An anti-wrinkle cream with retinol is ideal for anyone who does not have oily skin. This is because some cream-based skincare products have comedogenic, or potentially pore-clogging, ingredients that can cause problems for people with oily skin. If you have oily skin, a retinol serum may be a better option for you. A serum with retinol allows you to separate your application of the ingredient from use of a moisturizing cream. For people with oily skin, a non-comedogenic moisturizer is essential!
If you are unsure about how to best approach use of retinol in your skincare regimen, consulting your dermatologist is a great idea. Your dermatologist can help you evaluate your skin type and what your skin’s specific needs are. This means you’ll know how to use retinol in a way that is most suitable for your skin. Good luck!
Sources:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/301506
https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/retinoids-for-wrinkles
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/do-retinoids-really-reduce-wrinkles
