In our clinical experience, you don’t have to pay a fortune for great anti-aging skincare. Go for products you can afford and understand. The skincare industry is littered with conflicting information, and there is enormous confusion about skincare. In this confusion, certain individuals take advantage of it, and charge very high prices for products may or may not be helpful for your particular skin type -or sometimes even harm it. The big question is, will any cream ever erase lines as well as Botox? Dermatologists say there’s no such thing as a miracle in a jar. However, cosmeceuticals – cosmetics that have advanced medical-like effects – do contain active ingredients that can make significant difference to your skin, and can help lay a good foundation to your beauty future.

If you’re worried about wrinkles you need to get serious about skincare, use the right creams for you and, crucially, give them time to work. Another critical piece is prevention. Good skin care and healthcare can prevent the appearance of wrinkles, or the worsening of the wrinkles already present. However, for the wrinkles that are already present the effects for creams is disappointingly modest. A consistent, focused approach using a cream you know well is the best strategy.

Another common question is how much product do you need to apply? The answer varies for skin types, as well as fir certain creams. However, a good rule of thumb is the ‘fingertip unit’ -a fingertip sized drop of cream is good for an area the size of palm of your hand -usually 3 or 4 drops is good enough for the entire face -avoiding that ‘smothering’ sensation of clogged pores.

What makes the skin wrinkle?

Smoking in the sun is especially bad news. Even second-hand smoke is harmful to skin. Exhaled smoke contains significant levels of nicotine, tar, nitric oxide and carbon monoxide, which disrupt and weaken the skin’s barrier, leading to collagen breakdown. Smoking causes blood vessels to constrict, which limits the amount of oxygen reaching the skin. This lack of oxygen reduces collagen and elastin production. Smoking stimulates the MMPs to degrade collagen – just like the sun does. 

CAUSE: Facial expressions, stress
EFFECT: Frown lines, crows feet, smile lines

Expression lines equal character. Even Hollywood directors have started to complain that Botox has robbed actors of real facial emotion. While channeling angst may help divas to win an Oscar, it doesn’t do their skin any real-life favours. Stress triggers anabolic hormones such as cortisol. These hormones not only hamper immunity, but also increase moisture loss, leaving skin drier and more prone to fine lines. Clenched muscles in the neck, shoulders and jaw – where so many of us hold our stress- limits blood and oxygen supply to the skin on our faces. Stress can also trigger inflammation, which damages collagen, making skin appear less plump.

CAUSE: Ageing<
EFFECT: Crepey skin, deeper eye creases, nose-to-mouth lines, marionette (mouth to chin) lines,lip lines, neck rings

If you’re lucky, great skin will be in your genes. However, even if you are not, the fact that genetics may only account for 20 per cent of skin ageing may bring you some relief. Visible aging starts appearing in our thirties, when protein levels in our skin begin to decline. For women, one of the most dramatic declines occurs during menopause, when the loss of estrogen more than doubles the rate of protein decline. Up to 30 per cent of collagen proteins can be lost in the first five years, alone.

As well losing collagen, skin also loses plumpness because cell division slows with age. This is because stem cells are no longer able to divide and replicate accurately, and become dormant. There is some research with new creams containing polypetide growth factors -which can rejuvenate these stem cells, however clinical data is limited, and the use of growth factor peptides in anti-ageing creams remains controversial.

In the meantime, retinoids -which are derived from vitamin A, remain the only ingredients clinically proven to boost both collagen and hyaluronic acid in the skin.  Although retinoids can provide long-term cell growth and rejuvenation, our experience in it works better in preventing aging, with more modest results in aging reversal. Like with most good things in life and health, patience is key -and prevention is the name of the game!