We have all seen advertisements and infomercials on television, in print and everywhere on the Web of creams that offer potential customers skin cream that will make the skin look 10-years younger, reduce under eye darkness and reduce wrinkles. There’s an old adage “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is,” and that applies to most of the anti-aging creams that spend a tremendous amount of money on infomercials, especially the most expensive ones and many ingredients in these anti-aging creams are suspect at the very least.
Hydroxatone Creams
This brand offers a variety of products such as eye cream, facial cleanser and various age-reducing products with a starting price of $89 and they will send you more products once a month.
One ingredient in these wrinkle-reducing creams is something called Argireline, which is a peptide and a shortened version of the Botox chemical. It reduces wrinkles by inhibiting the reaction that allows muscles to move. It is supposed to be used only on the forehead and eyes.
Although there is some evidence that Argireline may reduce wrinkles after 30 days, there have been reports of facial sagging due to the inhibiting muscle movement. There have been no known or very little clinical studies as to the effectiveness of this ingredient or the side effects.
Hyaluronic acid is another of Hydroxatone’s ingredients and is a natural substance present in the human body. High concentrations are found in the vitreous fluids in the eye and joints. It’s used medically for joint disorders and cataract surgery. It is also injected for joint pain or taken by mouth. The medication is extracted from rooster combs or produced by bacteria in the lab.
Cosmetically, Hyaluronic acid is used as lip filler by injection and there’s been a lot of interest in Hyaluronic acid as an anti-aging cosmetic and has been promoted as such. Although studies are ongoing, so far no clinical or scientific studies have verified anti-aging properties or side effects it may cause.
Meaningful Beauty
Meaningful Beauty is another advertised anti-aging ‘wonder’ product advertised on television by the actress Cindy Crawford. The product is supposed to contain the juice from a rare melon as its main ingredient.
Meaningful Beauty has a few ingredients that are known as good moisturizers as well as a few dozen other ingredients that most can’t pronounce. As with other anti-aging products, no studies have been done that back the advertised claim.
Some of the ingredients, such as almond oil, glycerin, zinc and vitamins make it a simple good moisturizer.
What does make Meaningful Beauty different from the rest of most advertised anti-aging product is the price, generally seven products for $30 a month.
Billing
The majority of these highly advertised anti-aging products offer the customer the product free for 30 days. However, if you go past the 30 days or don’t send the unused portion back within the specified time, usually at your expense, they will begin sending you more products and billing you every month, via a credit or debit card.
Good Skin Care
Unless you are willing and well off enough to go through a face-lift, or Botox injections, there’s not much one can do about the effects of aging on the face. What skin needs most of all is moisture and any good drug store variety of skin care cream with ingredients such as NAPCA or Sodium Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid that is natural in the skin, but diminishes with age. NAPCA is just as good, if not better for moisturizing the skin than the higher priced products. It re-hydrates skin and helps retain moisture.
Aloe Vera is another ingredient to look for in a skin cream. Mostly used for burns and wounds, it recently has been found to be a great moisturizer. Look for Aloe Bardadensis in Aloe products as it is the most common form of Aloe Vera and is the best for moisturizing. Aloe Vera also contains vitamins, anti-inflammatory properties and a host of healthy enzymes.
Retinol is another very good ingredient to look for in a skin cream. Retinol is form of vitamin A and is an antioxidant, which are substances that rids the skin of free radicals that cause the break down of skin molecules and cause wrinkles. Those who are pregnant or may have sensitive skin should not use products with Retinol.
Tea extracts are good anti-inflammatory and antioxidants commonly found in skin cream.
Before you buy into the wonder drugs in infomercials, go to your local drug store and look for skin cream with the above ingredients. They are inexpensive and won’t deplete your bank account every month.
Source Mayo Clinic
Kathy Eastwood - I work as a professional photojournalist for a small community newspaper. I enjoy writing and write Web content whenever I can. I also ...
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