Women are constantly bombarded by TV and magazine adverts selling them the promise of instantly reduced lines and wrinkles in a jar. But what few, if any, of these high-street “miracle” creams have is the right combination of stable active ingredients or delivery systems to actually change the skin.
The state of your skin is the biggest giveaway of your age. While cosmetic procedures can turn back the clock, if the quality of your skin is poor you can still look older than your years.
“Surgery does not have any effect on the quality of the skin so it is no good lifting poor quality dull skin,” explains consultant plastic surgeon Mr Paul Banwell. “If you look after your skin and invest in your skin intelligently then that will pay dividends for many years to come.”
However with so much misinformation out there, many women find it hard to separate the fact from the fiction when it comes to skincare and spend billions every year on moisturisers, serums and eye creams which can do little or nothing for them.
If you want to go beyond pampering and really see a difference in the appearance of your skin then you need to invest in a good cosmeceutical. The word “cosmeceutical” is a hybrid of the terms “cosmetic” and “pharmaceutical”. In basic terms cosmeceuticals bridge the gap between prescription drugs and cosmetics.
Most cosmetic practitioners use cosmeceuticals as part of their treatment regimes, not only to enhance and prolong results, but to improve healing, reduce downtime following aesthetic treatments and to protect the skin from further damage.
Mr Banwell adds: “Skincare is vital as an adjunct to other treatments, both surgical and non-surgical. You are going to get a much better result if you use advanced medical grade skincare.”
Sun protection is one of the most essential parts of any aesthetic skincare programme. Sun damage is by far the biggest cause of premature ageing and many experts agree that if you only do one thing for your skin, wearing sunscreen every day (even in winter), is it.
“SPF’s are probably the single biggest anti-ageing treatment you can give your skin,” says Mr Banwell.
Dr Tracy Mountford adds: “High SPF’s are an essential part of any anti-ageing programme as UV damage is the main accelerating cause of skin ageing and can have an impact on the good work of the non-surgical treatments.”
Although there are now many high street brands claiming to be “cosmeceuticals” and using buzzwords like “growth factors”, “peptides”, “antioxidants” and “retinoids”, most of what you can buy on the high street does not contain high enough dosages of these active ingredients to make any real noticeable difference.
“People don’t really understand the difference between over the counter products and cosmeceuticals,” says Mr Banwell. “It is about having the correct ingredients, at an active concentration. I would thoroughly recommend seeing a plastic surgeon, dermatologist or cosmetic doctor who specialises in skincare and who can tailor a skincare regime for you because everybody’s skin is different.”
Here is a rundown of some of the key cosmeceutcial ingredients and how they work:
Alpha hydroxy acids
When it comes to the world of cosmeceuticals AHAs could be considered the grandfather. Used as far back as Egyptian times, they have since become one of the staple cosmeceutical ingredients. AHAs are fruit acids that gently soften and remove dead skin cells to exfoliate the skin. They also stimulate blood supply and increase collagen and elastin. Stronger concentrations can also be used to treat sun-damage, pigmentation and acne.
Vitamin C
Although it is an antioxidant, vitamin C deserves its own category when it comes to wonder skincare ingredients. Vitamin C is known to be an essential antioxidant for maintaining healthy skin. It can regenerate vitamin E, stimulate collagen growth, neutralise reactive oxygen species, and protect against UVA and UVB damage. Many skincare formulators claim to use vitamin C in their products, however the ingredient is notoriously unstable, so choosing a cosmeceutical that has clinical trials to back up its claims is the safest bet.
Vitamin A
Retinoic acid, also known as tretinoin, is the acid form of vitamin A and has gained great popularity and also notoriety. This is the most irritant form of vitamin A and is usually only available on prescription from a doctor. Retinyl palmitate is the easiest to use and kindest to the skin. It is less irritating and will eventually give the same result as using the more aggressive versions of vitamin A. Also while retinol and retinoic acid may make the skin photosensitive, retinyl palmitate does not.
Peptides
These act as a signal to tell your skin it was damaged and to make new collagen. Pentapeptides, such as Matrixyl®, can stimulate production of collagen and elastin. Other peptides, such as Argireline®, have a muscle relaxant effect, making them useful in tackling lines and wrinkles. Tetrapeptides, such as Rigin®, reduce the skin’s inflammatory response. Peptides are also well-tolerated, even by the most sensitive skins, so they are a useful alternative to more irritating ingredients.
Growth factors
Growth factors are important for regulating a variety of cellular processes and typically act as signaling molecules between cells. Growth factors are also vital for wound healing and research has shown there to be a correlation between this and skin ageing.
Antioxidants
When oxygen is metabolised or burned by the body, cells create by-products called “free radicals” which are a major cause of premature ageing. Antioxidants scavenge free radicals, which is why they have become such a key ingredient in skincare. Botanic antioxidants have proven to be the most popular ingredients because they come from plants, the most successful organisms at dealing with the sun.
Hyaluronic acid
The benefits of hyaluronic acid (HA) in reversing the ageing process are well documented. HA is a naturally occurring substance in the human body, which is found in abundance in the skin when we are young but which depletes as we age. The major benefits of HA are its hydrating and plumping effects because it is a molecule that attracts water.
