Reduce the Appearance of Wrinkles

Crow’s feet, fine lines–what have you. When you think of the main signs of skin aging, most people think of wrinkles. These creases in our skin are a very natural part of aging, and yet it’s what most consumers want to reduce on their faces. 

Our skin is composed of elastin and collagen fibers, which offer support and elasticity (smoothness and firmness). As collagen diminishes, our skin loses this firmness and begins to sag. As a result, jowls, frown lines, and/or deep-set wrinkles (wrinkles that are there even when you’re not smiling or squinting) may appear. 

Studies show that people who menstruate have the sharpest decline of collagen, with their skin losing around 30% of its collagen supply during the first five years of menopause.

Ageless skincare uses clinically proven ingredients to boost collagen and elastin with the aim to thicken the skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. It also uses ingredients that defend against extrinsic factors that speed up the process of wrinkle formation.

Reduce Inflammation In the Skin

Inflammation is a lesser-known concept to consumers when they go searching for ageless skincare. Inflammation is your skin’s natural defense mechanism to help protect and repair your skin–such as a pimple, swelling, or sunburn.

When inflammation happens over and over again, it accelerates the aging process of your skin and leads to oxidative stress (which, in turn, accelerates the aging process). This is often referred to as “inflammaging.” Many topical anti-aging products you see on the shelves include antioxidants that combat oxidative stress, further reducing inflammation. There’s a diverse range of antioxidants to choose from and while they all technically perform the same function of protecting your skin from oxidative stress, your choice can depend on the goal of the skincare products. Vitamin C is a popular choice among many and it works well with fellow antioxidants such as vitamin E and ferulic acid. 

However, it’s important to note that inflammation isn’t always a bad thing. Some anti-aging treatments–such as peels, lasers, micro-needling, and retinoids–actually cause an inflammatory response in order to get the skin to send those signals to protect and repair your skin—like a controlled fire in forest management.

Protecting your skin in this way is ageless skincare for the long term. If you can prevent oxidative stress throughout the years, you have a better chance of preventing wrinkles and other signs of skin aging from forming down the line–or at the very least, minimizing their appearance as the years go by. 

1. Oxybenzonen

It’s been said that prevention is key to achieving that anti-aging effect. That begins with sunscreen. Photoaged skin (skin aged by the sun), as mentioned, can cause age spots, hyperpigmentation, and can break down collagen, as well as lead to more serious effects such as skin cancer. Regular use of sunscreen will help prevent those issues, protecting your skin for years to come. That’s why any morning anti-aging skincare regimen should always include sunscreen. Whether you want to create or use a chemical sunscreen, a tinted sunscreen, or a different type of sunscreen is up to you–but you can reach for ingredients like avobenzone, octinoxate, and oxybenzone.

3. Retinol

Retinoid was mentioned under the “inflammation” section, but there’s a natural over-the-counter type of retinoid that’s very popular in anti-aging skincare: retinol. This ingredient converts to retinoic acid—an active form of vitamin A—in the skin. 

This powerhouse ingredient has been shown to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, improve skin tone, and increase collagen production–all the anti-aging must-have benefits listed above.

The key to using this ingredient lies in the formulation in order to make it consumer-friendly. It’s important to find retinol that incorporates antioxidants (such as vitamin C, silymarin, or bakuchiol) and soothing ingredients (such as hyaluronic acid), so it doesn’t irritate the skin

5. Ceramides

How the skin is formed is often compared to brick and mortar–with skin cells being the bricks and ceramides as the mortar. That’s to say that ceramides are a key player in healthy, robust skin! Ceramides hold the skin together in a protective layer to help defend against environmental stressors such as pollution, UV rays, and much more.

In your youth, your skin has loads of ceramides to keep the skin healthy and supple. But, as you age, as we saw with collagen, the quantity of ceramides drops, leading to drier, rougher skin. Adding ceramides to skincare can help replenish ceramides in the skin and keep it hydrated, firm, and supple!

7. Lactic Acid

Lactic acid is another AHA but is sometimes referred to as a gentler version compared to other chemical exfoliants on the market. An isolate from the compound from sour milk, it dates back to Ancient Egypt when Cleopatra bathed in milk for softer skin. More recently (in 1996), researchers found that formulations with 12% lactic acid resulted in fewer fine lines and wrinkles