4 Important Ingredients in Natural Wrinkle Creams
Friday, July 16th, 2010
A natural wrinkle cream containing antioxidants, proteins, plant extracts and nourishing oils could be exactly what you need to improve your skin’s health and appearance. Here’s a look at the benefits of specific ingredients.
Grape Seed Oil
Grape seed oil can be used for cooking. Some chefs like it because of its unique “filming” ability. It forms a film over the pan and the vegetables being cooked. This allows them to use less oil.
When applied to the skin, the film acts to hold moisture in. The benefits of use may include reduced wrinkles, scars and stretch marks. It can help improve circulation. Because of its antioxidant activity, it protects against free radical damage (one of the causes of cellular aging) and it may reduce your risk of skin cancer.
You can purchase grape seed oil at gourmet food stores and use it “as is”. Or, you could look for a natural wrinkle cream that contains it. It may be particularly beneficial for repairing damage around the eyes.
Wakame Kelp Extracts
Wakame is one of the most nutrient-rich varieties of kelp. Kelp is simply another name for seaweed. It is sold in health food stores around the world. The extracts must be properly prepared in order to be used on the skin.
The minerals in wakame are necessary for balancing the skin’s moisture content. The extracts have antioxidant activity and contain B vitamins that help to provide protection from sun damage, another cause of wrinkles.
But, the primary benefit of wakame has to do with the skin’s hyaluronic acid content. Along with collagen and elastin, hyaluronic acid is essential for smooth, firm skin. Without wakame, the skin’s hyaluronic acid content decreases with age. Wakame keeps that from happening.
Coenzyme Q10
Any natural wrinkle cream worth its price will contain coenzyme Q10. There is more scientific evidence supporting its benefits than there is for any other single ingredient.
Coenzyme Q10 is a popular dietary supplement. It is particularly beneficial for the heart. It keeps heart rates stable and helps with some kinds of murmurs.
The concentration of coenzyme Q10 in all of the cells of the body starts to decrease with age. The skin’s COQ10 is quickly depleted during sun exposure.
Scientists have had to reduce the size of the COQ10 molecules in order to allow them to penetrate deep into the skin. A natural wrinkle cream containing this reduced form is beneficial for reducing wrinkles and reversing sun damage. It not only protects against free radical damage. It reverses it.
Vitamin E
You might not know that most of the vitamin E for sale in the US is synthetic, derived from petrochemicals. There are only a few companies that still use the naturally occurring form of the antioxidant.
The benefits of use may include a reduction in fine lines and the prevention of age spots. It can also be used to replace the irritating artificial preservatives that so many companies use.
There are other ingredients that should be included in natural wrinkle cream. You might want to learn a little more about them before you buy.
Over the Counter Wrinkle Remedies – Sorting Through the Latest Fads
Monday, July 12th, 2010
Over the counter wrinkle remedies may contain a number of ingredients or only one. Hyaluronic acid has become a popular choice for creams and lotions, but doctors say that it does nothing when applied topically. The reason for its inclusion in cosmetics has nothing to do with its effectiveness.
Hyaluronic acid, collagen, elastin and an assortment of synthetic fillers will stretch out wrinkles when they are injected into the deepest of the skin’s layers. The injections are widely advertised. They have different brand names. You have probably heard some of them.
They are available at day spas, dermatologist’s offices and from cosmetic surgeons. They range in price from $400 to $1000 per shot. The immediate effects may wear off in as little as three months. The effects provided by the so-called “collagen boosters” will not appear for several months.
So, if your goal is to look great for your daughter’s wedding, then a hyaluronic acid injection might be a good choice. It is less likely to form hardened nodules under the skin’s surface. It can easily be dissolved with another injection if you don’t like the results. But, if you are looking for effective rub-on wrinkle remedies, it won’t do a thing.
You might say that cosmetic manufacturers are riding the coattails of the injection’s popularity. The companies did the same thing when collagen injections were the “in” thing. They use advertising claims like “safe Botox alternative” or “no needle cure for wrinkles”. The truth is that none of these solutions are cures.
Some creams and lotions are beneficial as long as you use them on a regular basis. Using the term “cure” leads people to believe that you can use it once and never have to bother with it again.
There are effective topical wrinkle remedies, but they must be used on a daily basis for three weeks to three months before you see optimum results. Optimum in this sense means that you might notice some improvement early on, but you will see even more as time goes by.
If you stop using the cream, lotion or gel, the benefits will fade away. It’s kind of like staying out of the sun.
Dermatologists say that if you protect your face from the sun consistently for six months, you will look five years younger. Your skin will look smoother and more even-toned. But, a day at the beach will redo the damage.
Topically applied wrinkle remedies containing collagen or hyaluronic acid are a waste of money, because the molecules are too large to penetrate the skin’s surface. It is true that the skin’s collagen and hyaluronic acid content decreases with age, but that issue cannot be addressed by using a cream or lotion containing them. The key is to protect what is present or stimulate the production of more.
Wakame kelp extract is an ingredient known to prevent the skin’s hyaluronic acid levels from becoming depleted. Functional Keratin is known to stimulate collagen production. Some of the more advanced over-the-counter wrinkle remedies contain both of those ingredients. That’s the kind of remedy to look for.
Natural Skin Care – Creating Healthy Skin from the Inside Out
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
A natural skin care routine can keep your face free of blemishes, healthy looking and wrinkle-free for years to come. The first step is one that you may have overlooked completely. It all starts with eating right.
Doctors have been saying for years that we are what we eat. Some have been laughed at and discredited. But, scientific researchers continue to provide evidence supporting their conclusions.
If you read the news, you may have seen a report a few months back about how tiny molecules called “AGEs” cause wrinkles. AGEs are actually advanced glycation end-products. They form as a result of a chain reaction that can be initiated when we eat simple carbohydrates.
Asking the average person to cut simple carbs out of their diet is akin to asking a dog to give up his bone. The simple carbs include bread and other baked goods, soft drinks, candy, white potatoes, French fries and white rice…in other words, fast food and restaurant-fare.
Those might be things that you like to it. But, if you would consider cutting back on the simple carbs in your diet, you will enjoy better health as the years go by.
Now, what foods should be included in a natural skin care diet? All fruits and vegetables (except the white potato) should be included. The antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables help to protect the skin against photo-aging…in other words, wrinkles caused by the sun.
You might consider switching from soft drinks and coffee to green tea and water. Drinking lots of water helps to maintain the skin’s moisture balance. The antioxidants in green tea help to protect against photo-aging. Some of the natural skin care products on the market contain green tea extract, but there is little evidence supporting the benefit of applying the extract directly.
Salmon comes highly recommended because of the omega-3 fatty acids it contains. Omega-3 fish oil supplements seem to improve the skin’s firmness and structure according to some research.
Let’s suppose you are eating right and taking some good nutritional supplements. What’s the next step?
Most sources would say that wearing sunscreen is the next step. Even though the latest research indicates that sun-screening compounds are not good for your skin’s health and contribute to the increased incidence of vitamin D deficiency that has been seen in recent times, some dermatologists are still adamant about always wearing sunscreen on your face.
There are going to be some times that you need a sunscreen, like when you spend the day at the beach. When that happens, look for the broad-spectrum sun-block zinc oxide. Some of the better natural skin care cosmetics contain it.
On a daily basis, you should use an anti-aging cream that contains coenzyme Q10. It is the only antioxidant that has been proven to protect against and reverse sun damage.
The form of coenzyme Q10 included in the product makes a difference. The nano-emulsion form is the most effective.
The best natural skin care creams do not contain sunscreens. We just don’t know enough about them to assume they are safe.
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