Peoples’ preoccupation with anti-ageing skin care products that claim to make you look younger is not surprising; there is nothing wrong with wanting to continue looking young as you get older, in fact it is quite a healthy aim. This group of beauty products generally works by enabling the synthesis of collagen, the main protein of connective tissue in animals and the most abundant in our body; approximately one quarter of the protein contained in skin is collagen. Collagen is related to other natural substances which help to slow down the ageing process; this group is called antioxidants and apart from their cell repairing ability, they may be able to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.
Probably the best known of these anti-oxidants is vitamin C although no-one really knows just how much we should have each day. The problem with vitamin C derived skin care treatments is they can become oxidized when exposed to the atmosphere, often even before they are used.
More stable skin care treatments are now available that are almost as efficient and actually cost less to manufacture. These alternative products are not as effective as vitamin C but vitamin E and lipoic acid are anti-oxidants and are now being used.
The body uses vitamin E as an antioxidant and to increase the natural defense we have against sickness; one particular disease it may help to prevent is certain types of cancer. Another of these is lipoic acid which is found in every cell of our body to help generate energy for us to live; it is also known to combat the signs of aging very effectively by repairing skin damage caused by the aging process.
The use of plants has not been overlooked either with many types able to provide essences called phytochemicals which have proved successful in anti-ageing skin care products. Like lipoic acid, phytochemicals help reduce the occurrence of cancers; for instance:
* Cancer that attacks the Prostate
* Cancer of the Breast
* Cancer of the Colon
These are all on the increase around the world.
It has also been discovered that there are anti-ageing benefits to vitamins B5, B6 and B12. Although the area of anti-ageing skin care products is huge, more is being learnt about the whole ageing process and about natural products that can reduce the effects it has on our bodies as well as our skin. A great deal about the aging process has already been learned and the products available today are already far more advanced than ten years ago; however, research is moving forward rapidly and it is only a matter of time before a new generation of products becomes available.
Hopefully, these challenges will get resolved in due course and better and cheaper anti-ageing skin care products will be produced. It may be time to learn that not every synthetic anti-aging product is going to work; it is doubtful if science can replace natural skin care remedies. You know all these things but how many do you practice? Regular exercise, restful sleep, drinking plenty of water, eating a healthy diet and keeping your stress levels low are all necessary.