Wrinkles. The scurge of the aged who care about their looks. Wrinkles are a part of getting older, and today I’d like to look at what causes wrinkles, and whether wrinkle creams, or what is better known as anti wrinkle creams, do anything at all.

Wrinkling of our skin is a factor of aging. We all form wrinkles on our face and fine lines on certain areas such as around our mouth and eyes as we age. This is regardless of our skin care routine or the skin care products we use. If we age sufficiently wrinkles and fine lines will develop, we cannot prevent that. However they form at different ages and to different degrees for each person.

Lets first look at the factors that cause wrinkles. Then lets have a look at whether anti-wrinkle creams and skin care products and anti aging products in general do anything to prevent our aging skin from wrinkling.

Firstly there are causes that are a direct result of the deterioration of our skin condition.

Our skin is comprised of 3 layers. The epidermis, or the outer layer, the dermis, or next layer in, and the subcutaneous tissue, below the dermis.

As we age our skin ages it loses various substances that all contribute to skin condition. Collagen in the dermis, for example, an important component of skin health including suppleness and elasticity in our skin. As we lose collagen the dermis thins, and loses elasticity.

Elastin is a substance that is found in the dermis. It has strong fibers and these provide skin strength and elasticity too, and as we age we also lose elastin, and the elastin fibers weaken.

Our epidermis loses some of it’s thickness. The epidermis helps keep us from losing skin moisture, and as it thins it is less able to do this, so our skin can dehydrate.

And there are fat cells in the subcutaneous layer which decrease in volume, and as the fat cells  make our skin look plumper and fuller this also contributes to the break down of our skin health.

All these factors combines will cause wrinkling of the skin and lines around the eyes and mouth.

Secondly there are lifestyle factors which help contribute to unhealthy skin. Unhealthy skin is more likely to form wrinkles than healthy skin, and so if we have unhealthy skin we will be more prone to wrinkles. Both more wrinkles and getting them at an earlier age.

Unhealthy skin is like everything else in our body. It’s directly attributable to factors which make us unhealthy generally. They include poor diet, and lack of exercise. If you want to be healthy in general, as well as have healthy skin, you need to pay attention from as early an age as you can to good diet and lots of exercise. Good diet includes lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.

And there’s 2 other lifestyle factors that contribute hugely to poor skin health and early onset wrinkles. Sunburn and smoking. Whatever you do don’t get sunburned regularly or at all, and don’t smoke.

So, the big question, can wrinkle creams or skin care product prevent wrinkles.

There’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that you can’t totally prevent wrinkles as you age, unless perhaps you try botox or cosmetic surgery and that’s risky and unlikely to work long term.

The good news is that there are excellent skincare products and anti wrinkle creams available that really do work. Modern science is finding answers to all sorts of health and cosmetic problems, and skin health as we age is no exception.

For example 2 recent breakthroughs in skin care science have discovered the importance of a Japanese seaweed in maintaining skin health. That’s a major reason why Japanese women seem to have much better looking skin in old age.

And it’s even possible now to produce skin care products using active ingredients from such exotic sources as the wool of sheep, and these have been shown to work extremely well for optimum skin care.

Unfortunately though you won’t find these types of active ingredients in the anti wrinkle creams or skin care products that you see advertised on TV or on the shelves of your local store. The big brand name companies aren’t those making the discoveries and adding the ingredients to their products that they should. They probably don’t need to, they sell so much anyway.

No the best anti wrinkle creams in the world are actually made by a small niche company that produces exceptional quality products that work extremely well to limit the formation of wrinkles, and for optimum skin health in general.

But chances are you’ve never heard of them, because they don’t advertise on TV.

So that’s how wrinkles form. Everyone gets wrinkles if they live long enough, but if you use the very best wrinkle creams and skin care products, and stay healthy generally, you’re way ahead of those that don’t.

In a day and age when everyone is looking to smoothing out wrinkles, people are also looking to save money.  All you need to do is search on the internet for home wrinkle remedies and you will find a list of ideas or tips.  We are also a society of instant gratification, so the question remains, are home wrinkle remedies enough to satisfy the average consumer?

Everyone would like to see results from the very start of any product that we purchase.  If we want a gourmet coffee, we go to the drive through to save time.  If we need a meal, we hit a fast food restaurant.  We are constantly looking for the next get rich quick scheme, and have very little patience for anything that takes time and hard work.  So when I hear of people looking for a home remedy for wrinkles, I am always surprised.

Home remedies are great in concept.  They open your eyes to certain ingredients usually found around the home that may have some moisturizing, or lifting aspect to them and they counsel you to use it to solve your wrinkle problem.  Sure you can rub eggs or sour cream all over your face and it may eventually have an effect, but if you are looking to eliminate wrinkles for real, this may not be the best approach.  Perhaps if you did this twice a day, every single day for the next five years you may see the same amount of results as you do by using a top notch, medical grade wrinkle cream in only sixty days.

People choose to use home remedies in an effort to save the money of buying comparatively expensive wrinkle cream.  But think about how much you would spend on continuously buying those ingredients to keep them in your home if you used them everyday.  And for how long would you have to use them to see the same level of results.  Clearly, in the long run, it is much cheaper to purchase the wrinkle cream.  And you will be happy with the results that you get, in the time frame that you want them. 

The truth of the matter is, your desire for results and lack of consistent focus makes purchasing a wrinkle cream the only real solution to fighting the signs of aging.  In just a portion of the time consumers receive over a thousand times more results than you ever would from a home remedy.  Keep in mind that results on wrinkles are measure in minute increments.  Under a microscope the length and depth of wrinkles are measured to be considered an effective wrinkle fighting cream.  And these creams have medical grade ingredients, not some natural, less concentrated ones. 

As much as consumers would love to believe that they can get the same results at home as they can from powerful wrinkle fighting creams, studies show that they do expect less from the home remedies.  These studies show that women over 40 understand that buy using the home remedy they are less likely to see the results that they expect, but use the remedy in addition the wrinkle creams that they purchase, not as a substitute.

This thought process is clearly the best and probably the most effective one to battle the signs of aging.  By supplementing the home remedy in addition to the purchased wrinkle cream, consumers get the best of both worlds.  The natural ingredients and the more concentrated ones can combine in synergy to leave your skin looking softer and smoother.

It is not just our societal norms that make home remedies a poor option to fighting wrinkles, it is that science has made tremendous growth in the anti aging industry.  Creams are created today that eliminate wrinkles 60-70% better than the best wrinkle cream made just two years ago.  And if results are what you are looking for, then a wrinkle cream is the best option.  Save home remedies for treating skin prior to the aging process and for those who are extremely patient and dedicated.