In Search of the Best Anti Aging Cream

You can easily find the best anti-aging cream, if you know which compounds to search for.  Not surprisingly, you will have to read the label of ingredients, which isn’t always easy, but the info here should help.

Cosmetic companies who manufacture anti aging skin care products, creams and other “cosmetics” have to use the International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) on their labels.  That means they are required to use scientific names that can be understood around the world. 

It is helpful for dermatologists if their patients experience an adverse reaction.   But, at the same time, scientific names do make things more difficult for everyone else.

Some manufacturers list both the common name and the INCI names on their labels.  Most do not.   They think that consumers are not interested in reading about the ingredients.  Maybe some people don’t, but many people do.  The list of ingredients is the only way to really know what’s in our skin care products.

As with food products, the ingredients are listed in descending order based on the quantity present in the product.  Water is almost always the first ingredient.   It is used for consistency and also because H2O moisturizes the skin. 

The best anti aging creams should contain the following ingredients:

• Functional keratin—an active protein that has been shown to kick start the production of new skin cells
• CoQ10 —that is the antioxidant coenzyme Q10.  It has been shown to reverse wrinkles and damage caused by overexposure to sunlight
• Japanese Sea Kelp Extract—a variety of seaweed or kelp usually referred to as wakame.  It prevents the breakdown of hyaluronic acid, which is responsible for the skin’s smoothness and partially responsible for its firmness.

Some of the anti wrinkle creams available contain one or 2 of those ingredients.  The best anti aging cream will contain all 3.

In most cases, you will see the word “fragrance” on the ingredient list.   Skin care companies think that everybody wants a fragrance.  They think that if it smells good people will like it.

Fragrance ingredients are one of the most common causes of allergic reactions.  Some of them are known to cause cancer.

The best anti-aging cream is free of added fragrances and other toxic ingredients.   There’s no reason to risk our health.   We don’t need hazardous chemicals to look better.