Anti-wrinkle?

My friend and I are having a debate...when should you start using anti-wrinkle products? I am so confused because my mother told me that I didn't have to until I was in my mid-twenties...yikes that's like 2 years away...but I recently went out of town to visit a friend of mine and her roomate used products like that and she is only 20!! So, when do you really start using them?

I've been moisturising since i was a teenager and i'm 45 now and still do it.

I like to think i take care of my skin, but i've read many times in magazines that these anti-wrinkle creams don't do any different to what a normal moisturiser does.

The moisturiser i have used for years and is a popular one is NIVEA. It's not expensive and it does the job.

I saw this here and tend to agree:

When should I start using anti-wrinkle cream?

After the age of 25. First wrinkles do not depend only on age but on other factors as well – UV sun rays, lack of vitamins, consuming alcohol, nicotine and psychological and physiological state of health. Many factors advance the development of free radicals, the main cause of skin ageing. It can be prevented with a special combination of vitamins and UV rays protection. Cosmetic care with these ingredients is recommended after the age of 25.

Just wanted to add that although I don't use anything myself, I've heard good things about Olays Daily Complete Lotion for the summer months and the cream for the winter months.

Interesting, thanks guys. I have a routine I do every morning and evening. I use a toner...I wonder if that is too harsh for my skin. I have slightly oil skin, but is getting better within time. My mother use to sell Mary Kay, but it was so expensive she started selling Avon. I use Avon products! I love it! They are some great things in the book I am looking at right now, I might get some more advise from my mom, but as of right now, I just need to keep using sunscreen since I have fair skin and red hair!

I use Avons facial scrub once a week, its brilliant!

I like this site - www.cosmeticscop.com

She gives lots of good skin care advice, and explains what skin creams & anti-wrinkle products actually do, vs. what they claim to do. It has lots of archived product reviews & articles on skin care.

BTW, living in Texas, the #1 best anti-wrinkle product is sunscreen! Glad you know that one!

I actually started taking extra care of my skin when I was in my early twenties or so. And I agree the best wrinkle preventer is sun-screen/block. I'm also a big fan of moisturizer and lotion, a bit of a fanatic actually. Now that I'm in my late twenties I'm very glad that I always avoided the sun and moisturized because I can really see the difference between my skin and my friends that didn't stay out of the sun.

I use E45 Cream or Vasaline Intensive Care every day. I hate to sunbathe and my foundation is an spf one.

Although I agree with the sunscreen advice, I think a lot depends on the individual's skin. Personally, I believe that all of these skin care companies make women THINK that they need all of these products unnecessarily.

I never used a single product, outside of plain old soap and water, until may a year or so ago. (And they say NEVER to use soap on your face....)

The 'expert' at the counter wanted to know what routine I had been using on my face, since my skin was so good. I now use a very light moisturizer with an SPF of 15. I am in my mid-40s.

Wow...that's great Deb!! I have wonderful skin except for the occasional blemish...and I have lots of freckles which I love! I am not buying into all of the hoopla of all the products that they say you "need"! I need to start using more mositurizers though!

I use Vinefit by Lancome. It's expensive, but it is nice and light. I also really like the built-in sunscreen. My skin is fair, and in Florida, sunscreen is a must, especially for me.

Normally, when I am home in NZ, I use Boots No 7 - they have these moisurisers that I LOVE - I miss it so much - maybe if I can do a deal with a UK member, let me know

While I am in the US, I use L'oreal for day lotion with an SPF of 15 and for night lotion, I use Olay. I used to use Cetaphil, but it makes me break out in a rash - weird. Also, when I am out in the sun, I wear a baseball cap to keep the sun off my face.

Here is a recent article from Newsweek, international edition.

The link does not have any pictures unlike the article in the magazine. The person mentioned Alisa Kauffman whom the article said that patient mistake her for a dental-school student, is pictured in the magazine and I have to say she looks more like 20 odd than 44 years old.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4933613/

No Time for Any Wrinkles
Women have more beauty-treatment choices than ever. Is that a good thing?By Jennifer Barrett
Newsweek International

May 17 issue - Alisa Kauffman has been practicing dentistry for nearly two decades, but some new patients still mistake the petite, 44-year-old New Yorker for a dental-school student. "I tell them it's just the Botox," she says, but the popular treatment, which paralyzes the muscles that form wrinkles, is actually just one weapon in Kauffman's anti-aging arsenal. She began applying Retin-A (trans-retinoic acid) daily to wrinkle-prone areas of her face at 28, well before the vitamin-A derivative became widely accepted as a topical treatment for fine lines. At 40, she added more potent products. Besides periodic Botox shots for her forehead and eyes, every few months she gets injections of Restylane to smooth the skin by her mouth. Kauffman also regularly undergoes intense pulse-light (IPL) treatments—laserlike pulses of high-intensity light that penetrate the skin—to get rid of a sprinkle of sun spots on her face. "I am very vigilant," says Kauffman, an attractive redhead. "I try to take care of things before they happen."

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That's much easier to do these days. The quest for youth—or, at least, the appearance of it—is ages old. But the range of nonsurgical, anti-aging options has soared in recent years. Most women are wary of going under the knife in their 30s and 40s, but they'll undergo a temporary treatment that can smooth their skin in one lunch break. Less costly and more convenient than surgery, cosmetic injectables, IPL therapy and other wrinkle remedies are booming as more and more women incorporate them into their beauty-maintenance routines. According to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, injections are by far the most common cosmetic surgeries, making up about 14 percent of all procedures.

A few years ago doctors relied on collagen that came from cows and required a skin test. Now there's a range of fillers, from Restylane to CosmoDerm and CosmoPlast—both made from human collagen that require no test—and, of course, Botox. "They're extraordinarily quick to perform and have an extraordinarily rapid recovery—if there is a recovery period at all," says New York surgeon Philip Miller, who performed Kauffman's procedures. He and other practitioners say the uncomplicated nature of the treatments keeps women coming back for more. "I have several female patients who feel that because they are in the workplace and around so many young people, they need to do whatever they can to —keep up a more youthful appearance—without using surgery," says Boston dermatologist Lynn Baden. "It makes you look good, so why not do it?" says Robin Rothkopf, 46, a real- estate investor in Newton, Massachusetts, who has had Botox, Restylane and human-collagen injections. "Every single person I know does it. Young and old—everybody."

While the side effects of such treatments appear minimal, few studies have tracked long-term use. The psychological impact on women is also a concern. Clinical psychologist Rita Freedman, author of "Bodylove: Learning to Like Our Looks and Ourselves, A Practical Guide for Women," calls it the "creeping disease." "One woman gets Botox and then her neighbor and relatives look at her and feel relatively unattractive and feel they need to do something, too," she says.

Women in the work force seem particularly susceptible to such pressure. "Working women are judged in a different way than men; they have to be equally productive but also keep their appearance up," says Elliot Jacobs, a Manhattan plastic surgeon who treats several high-powered executives. Brazilian attorney Juliana Campos Ferreira, 36, is fit and trim but still goes in for low-impact procedures—including Restylane injections and ultrasonic cellulite treatments—whenever she feels her appearance flagging. "I'm a lawyer, not an athlete," she says. "Any little thing at all and I go right in for maintenance."

Younger women are not immune. While nearly half of Americans who underwent minimally invasive procedures last year were between 35 and 50 years old, almost 20 percent were between 19 and 34. That has critics of cosmetic procedures particularly concerned. "When people in their 20s and early 30s are running off to have Botox, there's a real problem. We place far, far too much emphasis on youth and beauty," says Lia Macko, coauthor of "Midlife Crisis at 30: How the Stakes Have Changed for a New Generation—And What to Do About It."

But research shows that more attractive people get better jobs and salaries, and more respect from peers. "We have evidence showing that, whether we like it or not, appearance does matter," says David B. Sarwer, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and director of education for the school's weight and eating disorders program. "They get preferential treatment in a variety of situations across a life span. And we know that especially with women, we equate beauty with youthfulness. So trying to present yourself as looking as young as possible might actually make practical sense."

Though maybe not financial. At $500 or more per session, noninvasive treatments can add up. Ferreira spends $330 for an annual application of imported Restylane facial-sculpting gel. Still, she says it's worth it. "I'd gladly go in every year for the rest of my life to help me stay pretty," she says. "But if I had to submit to major plastic surgery, I'd have to think twice."

Women like Ferreira and Kauffman might be able to decrease their visits, and maybe their bills, in the near future. Several longer-lasting treatments are on the horizon. One is Radiance, which contains calcium hydroxylapatite (a component of teeth and bones) and has been shown to keep wrinkles filled for more than three years when injected. Another, polylactic acid (marketed as Sculptra), stimulates collagen production to fill wrinkles and is widely used in Europe. It has been shown to last up to 18 months. (Restylane's effects, on the other hand, wear off after four to nine months.)

Such long-term temporary treatments, however, can only postpone the need for permanent procedures so long, say some experts. "We are trying to cut less and less," says Ferreira's plastic surgeon, Carlos Eduardo Leo, who estimates that 30 percent of his work now involves noninvasive procedures. "But I tell my patients that these are temporary solutions and that they may be just delaying a definitive operation."

Even Kauffman admits that at some point in the not-so-distant future, her temporary treatments might not be enough. Her 65-year-old mother, Theda Kauffman, who still gets Botox, had a face-lift when she was 55. Kauffman doesn't plan to wait even that long. "You don't want to do it right away," she says. "But get it before you need it. Then you keep looking good." For now, anyway.

With Mac Margolis in Rio de Janeiro

Â[emoji]169[/emoji] 2004 Newsweek, Inc.

I used Olay and got a horrible rash all over my skin, so that got sent to the trash and now I just use Vaseline Intesive Care, nothing to perfumey or too heavy! and I've never used Sun Screen. I'm 14....

Wrinkles CAN be prevented. My great-grandma lived to be 99 and with the exception of a few laugh lines around her eyes (which everyone gets), she was wrinkle free. Her secret? Sunscreen, moisturizer, NO SMOKING, and exercise. My stepgrandma follows those same rules and at 75 is also wrinkle-free. I take their practices to heart. They are prime examples of what healthy living can do.

My hair says one thing, and my skin the opposite. I come by it naturally. My Mum was the same.

I got my very dry, very fair, very sensitive skin from her. She used Nivea, but she also used soap -- nothing perfumed or anything like that --but soap, nonetheless. Her skin was still lovely when she died in her 83rd year. I don't use soap or anything else -- just a warm damp cloth to open the pores and flush the dirt. My skin is clear, and all I have is laugh lines. I also don't use makeup.

I also don't soak up the sun, or, if I can't avoid a significant exposure, use SPF 45 and a hat. But I really meant "significant exposure" -- I don't fuss a great deal about it.

For what it's worth, I'm 56. I count myself very fortunate.

That said, it's still important to remember that everyone is different. There are so many factors, and what works for one person would be a disaster for another.

I do think that all the advertising hoopla tends to be misleading and seductive. I really don't believe that most of what's offered is necessary, and I suspect that not only a lot of money, but a lot of time, could be saved if the products offered were used rather more sparingly and less obsessively.

But -- everyone is different, so you have to figure out what's going to work best for YOU. Likely the best source of information is your own family. In the end, it's all about genes. Look at the faces around you -- do they need cosmetic help in order not to dry out?

Good luck -- and remember: you are beautiful, regardless!

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

I used Olay and got a horrible rash all over my skin, so that got sent to the trash and now I just use Vaseline Intesive Care, nothing to perfumey or too heavy! and I've never used Sun Screen. I'm 14....

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Sam, use the sunscreen. The sun's effects on your skin are cumulative. I never used sunscreen, until I was almost 30 and started having small, slow-growing lesions removed, in my late 30s. After almost 20 years of using sunscreen (SPF30+), I STILL have the occasional nasty spot zapped off.

As for most moisturizers, they're useless against wrinkles. Wrinkles are formed in the underlying tissues, not the epidermis. That's how Botox works - it "freezes" the muscles that sag and wrinkle. Your skin cannot absorb moisture. If it could, you'd drown in the bathtub! All that moisturizers do is temporarily plump up that top layer of dead skin cells.

In addition to sunscreen, all that I use is soap and water, with a moderately abrasive cloth to remove dead, dry skin. Despite 46 years of Arizona sun, all I have are very fine "laugh lines" and you need a magnifier to see those.

Wow...this has turned into a great thread...Thanks guys for all of your input!

Originally Posted by vinceneilsgirl

Wrinkles CAN be prevented. My great-grandma lived to be 99 and with the exception of a few laugh lines around her eyes (which everyone gets), she was wrinkle free. Her secret? Sunscreen, moisturizer, NO SMOKING, and exercise. My stepgrandma follows those same rules and at 75 is also wrinkle-free. I take their practices to heart. They are prime examples of what healthy living can do.

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I do everything your great grandma did