Pots Are for the Recycling Container
It is not easy convincing people that creams cannot get rid of existing wrinkles. No matter how expensive pots of cream are, we can do no more than make fine lines (temporarily) less noticeable. As yet, there is only convincing evidence that Vitamin A Acid (available on prescription), after prolonged use, has a somewhat rejuvenating effect. Fortunately, this is not really so bad, as there are many ways in which we can improve wrinkles safely and effectively. So give up the “anti-wrinkle cream battle” and realise that in general the products with “wonder ingredients” for wrinkles are not the best. Buy your cosmetic products for a completely different reason. Buy cosmetic products because you want to make sure that your skin is healthy, looks radiant and is free from spots, red and dry patches. And perhaps even more importantly, buy cosmetic products because you want your skin to still look good in 10 years time. Because I promise you, cosmetic products can do that!
Anti-oxidants in a cream
An absolute requirement is the presence of anti-oxidants in your cream. And there are many of these. Certain vitamins have an anti-oxidating effect (for example Vitamin C) and there are also many plant ingredients that can do this (for example green or white tea). I have explained before how anti-oxidants work (see here). It is, however, not so easy to apply active anti-oxidants, via cosmetic products, onto your skin.
Oxygen
Anti-oxidants (as the name suggests) react to oxygen. Look what happens when you peel a banana and expose it to oxygen; the anti-oxidants in the banana react to the oxygen and the banana turns brown. This also happens to your favourite day cream; the anti-oxidants in products that become exposed to oxygen will oxidize. So it means that, when your product contains a high concentration of a certain substance, it will turn brown.
The container (pots, tubes or pump?)
So good creams with a high concentration of anti-oxidants will never be in pots! A tube is already better but an airless pump is really the preferred choice. However that is expensive and pots have a more luxurious appearance. This makes the choice easy for the manufacturer. There are also “stabilized” anti-oxidants: these have been adapted so that oxygen has less influence on them. I did try this with a number of substances and indeed it took longer for them to react. Nevertheless, they would not survive more than a couple of weeks in an opened pot in the bathroom. I won’t go on too much, but if you are looking for a cream with effective anti-oxidants check the container before you look at the contents.
Regards Jetske.
(Dr. Jetske Ultee- Research Physician Cosmetic Dermatology)
You can read more about The Requirements for Effective Anti-Oxidants,
‘Anti-Wrinkle Creams’,
‘The Search for Cosmetic Products; The Ingredients List’ and
what happens to your skin when you get older and /or you smoke.