There are ever-increasing number of anti-aging creams available, and while you are reading this sentence, another one has probably been launched. It is, therefore, a huge business for cosmetic companies, because no woman wants to look old.

What an anti-aging cream should do

An anti-aging cream, in theory, should diminish fine lines and wrinkles. It should firm the skin and increase your skin’s elasticity. It should even out your skin tone and texture. It should also help prevent collagen breakdown and help stimulate the growth of new collagen.

Not every anti-aging cream will have all these properties, but whatever you choose to use in your regimen should be effectively tackling these concerns.

The truth of what an anti-aging cream can’t do

They can’t totally eliminate severe wrinkles, creases, and folds, but they can soften their appearance. No OTC cream can completely replace lost volume in the face. 

Ingredients! Ingredients! Ingredients!

Despite many OTC anti-wrinkle creams promising the latest ingredients, many of them are still treating your skin exactly as your mothers did twenty, thirty or forty years ago.

The latest and greatest ingredients and claims so prominently displayed on the latest and ‘greatest’ expensive cream jars are often usually nothing more than cleverly worded promises.

Till now, the only skincare products that have been studied for safety and effectiveness, and are approved by the FDA to treat aging skin, are Retin-A. These are prescription creams and not available OTC. 

So far, there is no OTC anti-wrinkle cream that can legitimately claim to be scientifically proven and FDA approved to treat wrinkles.

When price doesn’t matter

Do note that products with higher prices not necessarily mean more effective, though they generally do mean a product with more higher-grade ingredients.

The importance of ingredients

Nowadays, the latest and superb ingredients and claims so prominently displayed on the latest and ‘miracle’ expensive anti-aging cream jars are usually nothing more than just cleverly worded promises that do not deliver anything. Most of the time, these ‘greatest’ ingredients are just some ordinary ingredients which do not serve the purposes that the products claim to be. 

There are numerous wrinkle creams in the market have misleaded consumers by using ‘innovative’ ingredients which only have hydrating benefits, inflated the claims to eliminate wrinkles.

The ‘right’ percentage to be effective

Do you know that the ingredients which are prominently displayed on the packaging and advertisements, are often present in minuscule quantities in the jar? You’ll probably be asking, ‘why aren’t adequate quantities added to the products?’.

Well, the reason is simple as many of these ingredients are quite expensive. Often, some may feel irritating to the skin and the cosmetic companies may be concerned about high returns.