The very first thing you should learn is to be wary of what you read on the internet!! There is a marketing gimmick called affiliate marketing and many…actually the majority of articles that you read boosting the success of a product are basically the same thing as a commercial on TV. These people receive a percentage of the profits for each sell they initiate, and they do so by writing articles and false statements about the products success rate. I say this so that you will know to do your own investigating on a product, don’t believe the claims made by these articles; this includes the statements made about the ingredients.

Now, let’s get down to it; the way to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles is to correct the damage that has occurred. That is the first lesson in fighting aging that you must learn, treat your wrinkles as if they are an injury that you need to heal, because essentially they are. The ingredients in an effective wrinkle cream will perform this action nicely through the application of proteins (collagen and elastin), or by promoting the skin to make these proteins. There are all types of creams and lotions to help prevent signs of aging, natural or synthetic, the purpose of the cream is exactly the same…to prevent the formation, or reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

Now, unless you buy a completely organic product that lists the essential ingredients such as Vitamins A, C, or E you will need to investigate them and find out what they are typically called in English terms. For example Tocopheryl Acetate is a scientific term for a very strong, very effective, form of vitamin E. Another good example is retinol or more commonly known as Vitamin A; this list goes on and on.

So what exactly should you look for in a wrinkle cream?

Let me just say this is a trick question!! There are so many good wrinkle creams out there with the potential to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, but not one specific cream possesses every one of the hundreds of beneficial ingredients. So, I will give you some very good information to start with.

Peptides…any type, are beneficial to your skin as they are essential to repairing skin damage. Some commonly used peptides are: Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-3, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7. There are many more, but typically they will contain the word peptide in the title.

Collagen or Elastin: Are an absolute necessity to youthful looking skin, the loss of collagen and elastin are what allow our skin to wrinkle and sag in the first place. Some commonly used ingredients are called Atelocollagen, Hydrolyed Collagen, Hydrolyzed Elastin.

Vitamins: A good place to start is of course Vitamin A (retinol), Vitamin C because it helps promote the natural production of collagen, and of course Vitamin E because it is essential to the health of your skin.

Keep in mind that these are merely a few active ingredients; an effective wrinkle cream will have many other ingredients to soften the skin and support the actions of the other ingredients. But these are some very good, very essential, ingredients to start with.

The ideal goal of an anti aging face cream would be to totally annihilate wrinkles and prevent them from ever returning, but then again that would be the discovery of the fountain of youth. So the accepted goal of a face cream is to reduce the signs of aging by diminishing lines and wrinkles as much as possible, and helping to prevent them from returning. I would guess that 50% of wrinkle creams are very effective, but the other 50% are basically dressed up lotion in extremely over priced bottles. There is a way to tell the difference; investigate the product and the ingredients thoroughly, as long as the reviews are good and the ingredients make sense the product should work. Be sure not to make the assumption that just because it is way over priced it is effective.

You should also learn to tell the difference in a preventative cream and a corrective cream; know what you are looking for before you go shopping so that you don’t end up buying a lot of products you don’t want or need. A preventative cream, or creams, will include a moisturizer and some form of protective facial sun block, because the sun and wrinkles are like peas and carrots…they just go together. On the other hand a moisturizer, no matter how smooth it makes your skin feel, is not going to repair damage. You have to buy…invest, in a special cream for this, and by investing I mean these creams are usually very pricy, so prepare yourself before you get to the check out counter.

There is no one cream that has a monopoly on the industry, there are hundreds to choose from, and it all depends on your specific needs and preferences. If you are looking for a preventative product/ moisturizer you can find these in just about every shape or form, and in natural or chemically based formulas. It is hard to go wrong with a good moisturizer, but if it is the first time you have used it you should be sure to investigate it. Corrective products on the other hand are also a dime a dozen and like moisturizers they too come in a variety of different formulas, however, I am quick to say that many of these claims of repair or correction are marketing gimmicks to sell a product. Most definitely if they are solely based on the internet! When spending so much of your hard earned money be sure that the product works; there are so many out there that don’t. Educate yourself on the ingredients that are needed to repair damaged skin, this way no one can pull the wool over your eyes, and always, always investigate the product before buying it!!

[photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/mk1971/]

The Blood Countess, Erzabet Bathory of Hungary had one part of her nasty scheme right, to prevent wrinkles you must treat the problem inside and out. However, preferably you would do so with creams and supplements not the blood of virgins!! A wrinkle can be caused by several different things, but he majority of the problem, researchers have noted, are what are called free radicals. When the body ages it loses certain abilities, more specifically the ability to produce enough anti-oxidants and collagen, and this is why we have wrinkles when we are old and not when we are young. Our young, vibrant bodies are able to produce, fight off, and maintain a perfect harmony. The mere act of aging is what changes this, some say it is because of the stress in adulthood while others claim our body simply uses up its supply, what ever the cause it can be helped.

Let’s approach the two separate ways to treat wrinkles/aging. On the surface a wrinkle is the result of decreased amounts of collagen and elastin in the skin, and or the exposure to external free radicals. Yes, the aging body does have a lot to do with the development of wrinkles, however don’t think that you have nothing to do with it either. Exposing your skin to a variety of external free radicals such as smoke, pollutants, and UV rays is a HUGE cause of premature wrinkling. Paired with the decreased amounts of collagen and elastin, the body has nothing to fight these free radicals with thus resulting in the damage/wrinkles. A perfect example is a woman who smokes cigarettes; the development of wrinkles around her mouth and eyes are tremendously worse than that of a non-smoker due to the damage inflicted on her skin from the cigarette.

Pollution is another big cause of wrinkles it damages the skin in basically the same way as smoke, except via small chemical particles. By far the biggest and most common cause of wrinkled dried out skin is over exposure to the sun. Don’t get me wrong the sun provides our body with essential nutrients and vitamins both directly and indirectly. However, over baking in the actual sun OR a tanning booth is a great way to look older than your grandmother. UV rays have a very distinct way of turn the skin to…for lack of a better word, leather! And yes even tanning it up while you are young will have a negative impact on your skin later in life, and by later I mean your late twenties.

This change in the skin and body starts to happen way before most people think, we start losing the ability to produce enough anti-oxidants to kill these free radicals by our early thirties, and our skin changes way before that! Some researchers have suggested that we start losing the suppleness of our youthful smooth skin by adolescence. This means that prevention needs to start young by avoiding known causes of aging and taking great care of yourself and skin. Anti-aging supplements are a great addition to anyone’s daily routine, however when taken before the damage has occurred will benefit you the most as the point is prevention. Also, be sure to be dedicated to a good skin care routine cleansing, exfoliating, moisturizing, and above all sun blocking! It is possible to hold off the inevitable, but until the actual fountain of youth is discovered we will all develop wrinkles at some point in our lifetime, if we live long enough!

[photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaybee/ ]