Anti Aging Skin Care: It is All About the Ingredients

by Renee Smallwood

Good skin care is anti aging skin care. There are a plethora of choices, when looking for an antiaging skin cream. The best choice is only as good as the effectiveness of the ingredients. When choosing a product, read the label carefully.

There are things that should be included and some ingredients that you want to avoid.
The other thing to watch for is how the ingredients work together. Ask yourself, why was that ingredient included in the formulation? To do that requires some study on your part, but you will learn things the big cosmetic companies do not really want you to know. And end up with products that meet your anti aging skin care needs.

Do not believe everything that you read. Make up your own mind. Anti aging skin care is not an exact science and there is a lot of conflicting information out there. But if the products you choose have quality ingredients and do not have anything known to be a filler or harmful in them, then the time spent will be well worth it.

Take, for example, a recent article published in a popular health magazine. It went through a four step plan to look younger by reducing fine lines at home. The plan is presented to improve skin health by decreasing the breakdown of collagen and using ingredients to stimulate formation of new collagen and hyalronic acid (helps the skin attract and retain water). The regimen uses several "ingredients" to tone the skin and soften the fine lines. This is what most of us are looking for.

What the article talked about were general concepts and then suggested specific products to use. While it is the easy answer to the question of what products to choose, it is definitely not the best answer. One question that came to mind was, how did the author come up with those choices for anti aging skin care? And what made her qualified to recommend them?(Her title was senior editor) Then, in looking at the ingredients in the mentioned products, each had things that should definitely be avoided.

Where can you investigate the ingredients listed in a product you are considering? Start with the Internet. A great resource is the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep cosmetic safety guide. It lists the ingredients for over 40,000 cosmetics and personal care products. The data base is huge and continues to grow. These ingredients are then cross referenced against 50 toxicity and regulatory databases.

Some of the major ingredients to avoid in antiaging skin cream are mineral oil, fragrance, and any kind of paraben. Mineral oil is a petroleum by product that coats the skin to keep moisture in. It interferes with the skin's ability to eliminate toxins. Fragrance can have thousands of ingredients, many that are known to be toxic or carcinogenic. And the parabens,used as preservatives, interfere with the endocrine system of the body and may cause cancer. And none of these ingredients promote anti aging skin care. They actually have the opposite effect of doing harm instead of good.

What quality ingredients should be in a good antiaging skin cream? Things like Coenzyme Q10 which protects against aging caused by UVA rays and reduces wrinkles. There definitley should be antioxidants like natural Vitamin E or grapeseed oil. Also, look for natural emollients like Maracuja (passion fruit extract), which is rich in linolenic acid that helps to revitalize the skin.

For more quality ingredient information visit my website.

About the Author
Renee Smallwood investigates natural, healthy products. To learn more about anti-aging products, using breakthrough natural ingredients go to http://beautifulhealthyskin.blogspot.com