Besides our natural ageing process, there are a range of other factors that cause our skin to age. Sometimes, this ageing comes much earlier than you expected. Various reasons, including physical changes in the structure of our skin and excessive exposure to sunlight, can lead to the ageing of the skin. Irrespective of the reasons behind skin ageing, many people seek to reverse this trend and keep their skin as young-looking as possible. The predilection to maintain a youthful look has created an immense demand for anti-ageing skin care products today.
As much as beauty brands make promises about their anti-ageing creams, masks and serums, do they actually work? Read on to learn everything you need to know about anti-ageing skin care products.
The Properties of Anti-Ageing Creams and Why they Work
1. Hydrating
Anti-ageing creams are packed with hydrating properties that work to make your skin smooth and plump. This, in turn, helps to smooth out the wrinkles. Modern products include ingredients like hyaluronic acid that attract water and bind it to the layers of your skin. Hydration also protects the skin from external agents that can harm the skin.
Hydration makes your skin look full and plump, creating smooth skin because wrinkles and fine lines become smaller and inconspicuous. Some other ingredients to look for include glycerine, lactic acid, ceramides, and fatty alcohols: all these ingredients help to hydrate your skin.
2. Exfoliation
Exfoliation is often associated with facial and body scrubs. However, there are some other ingredients that offer exfoliation without actually scrubbing your skin. In these products, key ingredients dissolve the bond between the top-most surface of cells, exfoliating the skin. Ingredients like niacinamide help in accelerating the process of skin renewal. Niacinamide is a form of Vitamin B3 and is naturally found in various foods such as milk, eggs, yeast, cereals, and more.
It is extremely effective in reducing the appearance of uneven texture, wrinkles and fine lines, hyperpigmentation, spots, pores, and blotched skin and also helps in brightening the skin. Some brands like Luminosite have products containing niacinamide that helps in removing dead skin cells helps in revealing young, smooth, fresh, and bright skin beneath without the need for abrasives.
Another ingredient found in some anti-ageing skin care products that helps in the exfoliation of the skin is AHA or Alpha Hydroxy Acid. The natural skin cell cycle tends to slow down as we progress in age, causing the dead skin cells to build up on the skin. Accumulated dead skin leads to other issues, including age spots, wrinkles, and acne. Using a product containing AHA helps in shedding these dead skin cells, removing the dull skin and giving way to bright and glowing skin.
3. Antioxidant
Anti-ageing skin care products contain antioxidants work by eliminating free radicals that promote premature aging. Ingredients like green tea or Vitamin C and other natural products are good sources of antioxidants. Free radicals can harm cells, DNA, and protein of the skin, therefore damaging elastin and collagen, which are crucial building blocks of skin. When the collagen and elastin are damaged or weakened in the skin, wrinkles are formed. Therefore, antioxidants fight to keep the free radicals from damaging the skin and prevent the formation of wrinkles and other signs of ageing.
4. Tightening
Loose skin is caused because of loss of collagen. Anti-ageing skincare products are known to make the skin tight and youthful. Ingredients like retinol are known to stimulate collagen and promote cell formation of the skin. Retinol is essentially Vitamin A and is one of the most important components when it comes to anti-ageing skincare products.
When applied to the skin, retinol helps in reducing wrinkles and fine lines by boosting the production of collagen. They also enhance your skin color and make it bright by increasing the production of new blood cells in your skin. Retinol also offers other benefits such as softening rough skin, fading age spots, helping with uneven pigmentation, and accelerates the production of skin cells. However, you must be consistent with the use of retinol, and are only likely to see significant results after using it for at least six months.
Tightening effects are also offered by clay as an ingredient in skin care products. Clay helps in removing toxins from pores and heals the skin by reducing inflammation. It also cures dark spots and acne. A single application of a good quality clay mask can make you instantly feel rejuvenated and fresh.
Final words
Anti-ageing skincare products can work well, provided they have the right ingredients that have properties to give you smooth and youthful-looking skin. Look for products with ingredients like retinol, niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, and be sure to choose products made by a trusted brand.