Today, skin care is about more than beauty products… it is about the science of literally trying to turn back the clock and fight the “normal” signs of aging. As little as a decade ago, most of the anti-aging products on the market were doing nothing more than masking the signs of aging rather than actually treating them. Today, science is playing a much larger role in the development of skin care products and Father Time is in for the battle of his life.
What Changed?
So, what has caused this massive shift in the quality of anti-aging skin care? Simply put, the ingredients and how they are used. We are also able to better understand just how deep specific ingredients are able to penetrate beyond the epidermis of the skin. To be honest, this is something that is constantly evolving, as we are finding ingredients or combinations of ingredients that penetrate more than a dozen levels into the skin’s layers to help protect and nourish the skin.
Accidental Discoveries Benefit Skin Care Science
As often happens in science, one of the major breakthrough’s in skin care was an accidental discovery. Pro-retinol, which is a form of Vitamin A, was first used as a treatment for acne. However, some patients that were using it started to report they were seeing their wrinkles start to tighten and even disappear. This opened up a whole new world for dermatologists. More importantly, it introduced a legitimate ingredient to help fight off the aging process.
Repairing and Treating the Signs of Aging
For many years, we were told skin damage could never be treated. The advances in science, however, have found that not to be necessarily true. Dependent upon the severity of the problem, we are now able to repair the epidermal barrier of the skin. This can be done with procedures, such as a chemical peel and laser treatments, as well as by treating it with topicals that penetrate deep into the epidermis to repair the underlying skin layers.
The Big Difference in Today Vs. Yesterday’s Products
One of the biggest factors in today’s products are the active ingredients in the skin care products we use. However, as a consumer, you must be aware of the actual concentration of the active ingredients to ensure they can actually deliver on the promises being made. Lower-end products will often include ingredients simply to have them on the label and tout the “active ingredient” and its benefits.
Some products may make you look good that day but when the product is washed off at the end of the night, you wake up the next day looking a day older. Proof is in the pudding, as they say. “Real” anti-aging products will improve your appearance over time my maximizing the advances in science as they relate to skin care products.