How do anti aging creams work

However, there are a few things you should know before purchasing to guarantee real, longer-term results. Nervous about your budget? Don't be! You may think the pricier the better when it comes to getting results, but that isn't necessarily true. Joel Schlessinger. The truth behind whether a topical product works or not comes down to the ingredients it's packed with. Retinol is a key ingredient when it comes to reversing the signs of aging. Desmer Destang. Retinol is an active form of vitamin A.

As we age, our bodies lose vitamin A naturally, which is what helps create those signs of aging such as wrinkles and a dull complexion. But retinol can reverse this.

Dendy Engelman. As Dr. Schlessinger explains it, "retinol essentially teaches aging skin cells how to behave like younger, healthier cells by encouraging them to turnover more rapidly. Another key ingredient in anti-aging skincare: antioxidants, which do in fact promote repair and healing when you have already mature skin.

But their main anti-aging benefit is prevention. Antioxidants help protect the skin from free radical damage and environmental stressors such as UV damage or pollution.

These antioxidants come in many forms, including vitamin E and C, green tea extract, niacinamide, and resveratrol. One side contains a growth factor serum that restores plumpness and diminishes fine lines, while the other side features a serum chock full of antioxidants to even skin tone and smooth skin texture.

Tsippora Shainhouse , MD, dermatologist in Los Angeles, likes this multi-purpose serum because it contains a number of anti-aging ingredients to target different signs of aging. Hyaluronic acid draws hydration into the top layers of skin for a temporary plumping effect; ferulic acid helps undo UV and pollution-related free radical damage; alpha hydroxy acids gently exfoliate dull dead skin cells that can settle into fine lines; and retinol stimulates new collagen growth.

Nussbaum recommends a vitamin C serum in the morning, because it offers potent antioxidant protection against free radical molecules that damage skin. It also brightens. She likes this one, which combines vitamin C, E, and ferulic acid to rejuvenate skin and prevent new damage. Consider this another reason to hit up your local drugstore. Enter this dark spot corrector, which relies on lightening ingredients like turmeric, birch bark and rice bran extract to fade the appearance of hyperpigmentation.

The delicate skin around your eyes deserves special care. Want more tips like these? Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram. IE 11 is not supported. Because products like moisturizers, night creams, and foundation with supposed anti-aging properties are categorized as cosmetics, not drugs , their marketing claims are not held to the same level of scrutiny that medicines are. They may not even be required to undergo scientific trials at all.

If you're going to buy something, have it be sunscreen. Rieder, MD, assistant professor in the Ronald O. Your best bet is to prevent sun damage — which can cause or worsen signs of aging — before it happens. Shari Lipner, MD, Ph. Both Rieder and Lipner agree that retinoids which are prescription-strength and retinols which are lower in dosage and available over the counter are the products most compellingly and reliably proven to be effective in undoing skin aging.

Lipner explains that, unlike most active ingredients touted as supposedly anti-aging, there is data going back decades which supports the use of retinoids in reducing wrinkles and other signs of aging. So if your hope is to turn back the clock on wrinkles that have already formed, your best bet is to seek out retinols or retinoids. Many topical anti-aging products are moisturizers or have moisturizing effects.