Woman World Web

February 25th, 2009 by Wendy Jackson

Reducing the visible signs of aging is the goal of many beauty companies and this is why the use of anti-aging skin care products continues to rise each year. It makes up about a quarter of the total protein content of structural protein found in skin. Most anti-aging products (collagen included) fall into the category of anti-oxidants which are the body’s method of slowing down the aging process.

Probably the best known of these anti-oxidants is vitamin C although no-one really knows just how much we should have each day. Vitamin C formulated skin care treatments suffer with a particular problem of oxidizing on contact with the air which causes a problem for users and manufacturers.

Other skin care treatments which mimic the effects of vitamin C are being tried all the time which are hoped to be more stable in the atmosphere and also cheaper to produce. These new anti-oxidant products are not quite as good as vitamin C although other naturally occurring compounds, vitamin E and lipoic acid can achieve the same effect.

The body uses vitamin E as an anti-oxidant and is also used to increase the natural defense we have against disease, including many types of cancer, it is a fat soluble vitamin in people’s blood. Lipoic acid is also an energy making component of the body, found in every cell, it can also help reduce the ageing process which affects the skin.

Other compounds called phytochemicals, have proved to be beneficial in the formulation of anti-ageing skin care products. A further benefit of these phytochemicals is their ability to prevent the onset of breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer all of which are on the increase globally.

Some B-vitamins like B5, B6 and B12 are also in use for anti-aging skin care products. The use of anti-aging skin care products is a huge scientific field to research and has far greater potential than just producing goods that reduce the visible signs of age.

Although current regimes are effective, there are still many challenges to finding better and more efficient ways to combat the effects of time. There may be many challenges still to overcome but in time scientists believe they will succeed in producing more effective anti-ageing skin care products that are less expensive and available to more people.

In some respects the real way ahead lies in our own hands as there are many things we can do to reduce the signs of aging naturally. So, drinking plenty of water, getting a good night’s sleep, exercising regularly, maintaining healthy eating habits and keeping stress at bay are essential means of delaying the aging process.