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What About Anti-Wrinkle Products?

by Paula Begoun

Do anti-wrinkle products really work? Read an excerpt from Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me by Paula Begoun and find out the truth.

The bad new is that there are no skin-care products that get rid of wrinkles. I know the onslaught of claims the cosmetics industry asserts is overwhelming and convincing, but there is no reliable or published research showing any of it to be true. Or at least not the way we hope these products would work, and there is definitely nothing in the world of cosmetics that will do the job, especially when compared to the types of medical procedures performed by cosmetic surgeons or dermatologists. The good news is that there is a good deal of research showing a noticeable improvement with certain topical treatments that aren’t medical procedures. Just don’t expert miracles and don’t get seduced by the endless frivolous promises flaunted for skin-care products.

One of the fundamental characteristics of sun damage is that the outer layer of the skin becomes thickened and yellow, while the underlying layer, where new skin cells are produced, becomes damaged, generating abnormal cell growth and hypermelanin production. The abnormal cell growth also results in malformed elastin, collagen deterioration, and distorted circulation of the blood and lymph systems. Regular use of sunscreen can slow this damage, allow for some improvement, and prevent further destruction. Topical tretinoin has been shown to partially reverse the clinical and histological (structural) changes induced by the combination of sunlight exposure and chronological aging. A formulation of tretinoin (as in Renova, Avita, Tazorac, or a generic tretinoin product) has been extensively investigated in multicenter, double-blind trials and has been shown to produce significant improvement with four to six months of daily use, when compared with application of the vehicle alone, as part of a regimen including sun protection and moisturizer use (Sources: Cosmetic Dermatology, December 2001, page 38; Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2001 volume 111, pages 778-784; Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, October 2001, pages 613-618; Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 659; and Photochemistry and Photobiology, February 1999, pages 154-157).

Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) have also been widely used for therapy of photodamaged skin, and these compounds have been reported to normalize hyperkeratinization (over thickened skin) and to increase viable epidermal thickness and dermal glycosaminoglycans content. To sum this up, recent work has substantially described how the aging process affects the skin and has demonstrated that many of the unwanted changes can be improved by topical therapy (Sources: Cutis, August 2001, pages 135-142; Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, July 2000, pages 280-284; American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, March-April 2000, pages 81-88; Skin Pharmacology and Applied Skin Physiology, May-June 1999, pages 111-119; Journal of Cell Physiology, October 1999, pages 14-23; and British Journal of Dermatology, December 1996, pages 867-875).

There is every reason to consider using a combination of sunscreen (SPF 15 or greater with the UVA-protecting ingredients of avobenzone, titanium dioxide, and/or zinc oxide), topical tretinoin, and an AHA lotion, gel, or moisturizer as an effective approach for combating wrinkles. A wealth of research points to these as truly being as basic as it gets for your skin when it comes to battling wrinkles. From there, if you want to you can add a good moisturizer with potent antioxidants, which can also help, but exactly how much they help is yet to be established.

Source: Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me. Paula Begoun. Published by Beginner Press. Copyright © 2003. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.