What age should you start using Anti Aging creams at???

Piste

trio wrote: »

Piste, be careful that no cream that you borrow off your mum has any type of retinol in it. The reason being that it makes your skin highly sensitive to the sun, and unless you use serious sunscreen during the day, you could end up causing hidden damage that'll come back to haunt you in 10 years time!

Oh dear that's slightly worrying! I threw out the box but the jar says " a powerful combination of anti-oxidans and UVB/UVA filters" I'd say if it had retinol it'd say on the jar. It seems strange than an anti-aging cream would include an ingredient that makes your skin more susceptable to aging!

MysticalSoul

Skin is considered to be mature at age 25+, or so I was told at a skincare workshop I attended when i was 23. I am now 31, and still haven't touched any anti-aging creams, I stick to a regular lightweight moisturiser and a serum underneath, and that does all I need it to do

Cherryice

irishamethyst,hi, why do put put a serum underneath? whats the function of it? maybe its an obvious answer, iv never used it and dont really know whats it for

Quality

I use an spf 15 moisturising cream day and night.

Sunglasses as well.. I noticed that I squint a lot when driving from the sun..

aviendha

yikes, I'm way behind.. just turned 28 and after years of just lashing on whatever was the cheapest facial wash in the shower, I got "jacked" at the clinique counter and I'm TRYING to be good and cleanse/tone/moisturise at the very least once daily..... not sure if it's making any difference yet. Therefore anti-ageing is way down my list!!

trio

Piste, the deal with retinols is that they smooth the topmost layer of the skin away. So they're good for making wrinkles shallower and smoothing out mature skin which is a bit leathery. They can really improve the appearance of older skin. But during the day you have to use sunscreen.

In young people of course there's no wrinkles and no leatheryness, so retinols are just making you photosensitive without any noticeable benefits.

Serums are basically an intense shot of anti-oxidants. Moisterisers are basically an emollient barrier to stop your skin drying out.

Piste

Isn't retinol not just LOADS of vitamin A or something? Yeah my moisturiser's not too expensive so I doubt there's retinol in it, good thing to know though, I can avoid the retinol products until I need them!

Maple

I used be such a product whore, anything new on the market and i bought it. would have about 7 different moisturisers, cleansers and various wonder products on the go at the one time.

thankfully i calmed down and now i cleanse, tone and moisturise every day with Clarins products. use dermalogica eye cream and lash on the odd face mask and treat myself to the occasional facial.

they're all regular products tho, nothing anti aging about them. i drink plenty of water, use sun screen and try to be sensible with diet.

Sulu

I disagree with the notion that you should just accept you are going to get old and deal with it - Its never too early to start thinking about your skin and looking after it - I agree alot of anti-aging products are marketing ploys and lies, I think the proof was in the pudding when that tv documentary uncovered the fact that the BOOTS protect and perfect cream for 23 yo yo was signifigantly better than the likes of Praire products which range from over 150 yo yo which I think correct me if wrong was regarded as completely ineffectual. Price is not always a guide as to how good a product will be - but I think hydration and sun protection are the ultimate factors, wear an SPF every day - and a higher protection if you are spending alot of time outdoors doing water sports etc - water, sleep, fruit and exercise are the best things you can do - but a good skin care regime can only supplement that. I do believe however that lack of the latter, water, sleep etc makes all fancy skin care null and void.

mandysmithers

Any dermatologist will tell you that the number one thing you can do for your skin is to wear an SPF daily, and a broad spectrum one at that, ie. one that will protect against UVB (rays that cause sunburn) and UVA (rays that age you). I use La Roche Posay SPF 50+ every day. It's quite light, as it's a lotion.

For years I have been keeping my face out of the sun as much as possible. On sun holidays I always, always wear a very high SPF from my decolletage to my hairline, and a hat. I also use a good moisturiser (Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream) and an eye cream. I have also recently started using the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair...I'm hoping it'll make some difference in the future!

Anyway, at 30 years of age, I definitely think I have less wrinkles than my friends who haven't bothered taking as much care of their skin over the years. I used to smoke, but gave up years ago. You'll always know a smoker by their skin. You mightn't notice it in a smoker in their early 20s, but once they hit 30 or above, you can really see a difference.

Genetics also helps, as does having greasy skin - dry skin ages more quickly. I have both on my side. However, I still think a lot of it is down to me taking care of my skin since my early 20s. If I ever have a daughter I'll be encouraging her to start taking care of her skin early on too!

I don't think it's too early to start at 24. Sun damage shows up years later, so while you think you don't need to take care of your skin, as you look young now, the damage done now will show up later...maybe even 10 years from now. Prevention is better than cure.

Morag

Diet, drinking enough water and not slathering your face in chemical will do you more good then paying silly money for small pots which will never do what they promise.

miss no stars

Anti-ageing... wow what a stupid term pumped out by the media the whole time. (edit - just realised this could be seen as an attack on the OP, it's not sorry! It's just my view on all this psuedo-science crap that's spewed out of the TV the whole time)

A proper "anti-ageing" routine should include:

morning and night:

wash face and neck with something mild that was INTENDED to be used on the face (I cringe when I hear people saying "ah I don't bother, I just use shower gel)
pat face dry with a clean towel/flanelette.
moisturise

morning: apply SPF in some form

During the rest of the day:

Drink plenty of water
Eat well
Exercise
Don't smoke
Don't do drugs
Keep alcohol consumption low
Get fresh air
Make sure exposed skin has SPF applied
Avoid overexposure to the sun - but don't eliminate it altogether. We all need our vitamin whatever-comes-from-sunshine...



so yeah sure, a cream can give you all that in one little bottle! :rolleyes:


oh yeah and surely this should be a lifelong thing... not something you decide to start at some point...

July

I have used eye-cream since I was 23/24, am nearly 29 now. No crow's feet yet. I do have lines on my forehead and one pronounced frown line.

After facewash I use eyecream, Protect and Perfect serum (after watching the aforementioned documentary), Olay 7signs spf15 (night cream at night)and L'oreal collagen filler in my forehead lines. I have toner but rarely use it, don't know why really.

My downfall is face wipes, I use them a few nights a week but always splash water on my face afterwards to rinse the chemicals away.

I started moisturising aged 8 because I liked the sheen on my face (how vain!) and remember using suncream on my face going to school in 5th/6th class to keep freckles at bay! I may have undone my good work in my late teens with some sun-bedding -damn you St. Tropez, where were you back then? I used to steam my face over a bowl of hot water with a towel over my head in my early teens - that may be where my broken capillaries came from!

I think sun protection is the main anti-aging thing, followed by genetics and skincare routine. As the previous poster said, PAT your face dry, don't drag your skin around. Same goes for anytime you're putting anything onto or taking anything off your face. The thing about any anti-aging products is that you'll NEVER know if they worked for you because you won't know what you'd be like if you hadn't used them.

Larianne

Yep, sunscreen is the best protection against wrinkles as well as sunglasses. I lived in Australia for a while and worked on a farm with a girl who was 20, me being 25. She lots of crow's feet from squinting with the sun. So even on cloudy days, bring sunglasses with you as you can still get glare that will make you squint! Don't forget to put sunscreen on your neck and chest too!

July, I think a better option is maybe buying a few face cloths and use them to cleanse your face with a face wash. Facial wipes are very harsh on your skin and only good as a last resort.

I have been thinking lately about the ingredients in beauty products. As in how safe are they etc. Even things like mouthwash which contains certain alcohols. Then Gwyneth Paltrow was going on about the dangers of using shampoo. She was rubbished but have you looked at a tube of toothpaste or eye make-up remover? What are all those ingredients? I'll keep pondering about this...

ascanbe

You should start the minute you're born, if possible. If you're not careful, the aging process can begin pretty much straight away. Has to nipped in the bud.

Semele

I (24 years old) used to be a total product wh*re too and for some reason was obsessed witht he notion of ageing skin since I was 16. After years of using different and relatively pricey moisturisers I grew wise to the whole thing and now my skincare routine consists of:

*Washing my face morning and night with any gentle cleanser. I use a facecloth with this at night to help get makeup off and exfoliate (no more expensive exfoliators!).

*Boots Expert anti-blemish serum (cheap as chips) to cut down on any grease caused by the next step, which is...

*my moisturiser substitute: Soltan Once a Day, spf 40 suncream! It comes in huge bottles so lasts forever as I only use a tiny bit for my face, it provides 6 hours of continuous spf 40 with a 5 star UVA, is really thick and moisturising and so creates a great base for foundation. After all sunscreen is really the only product that can at all be said to be anti-ageing (apart from the aforementioned retinol which costs it's weight in gold and hey, prevention is obviously better than cure!).

*moisturising at night with Palmer's cocoa butter, or anything equally cheap and functional that happens to be at hand.

My mother and aunt are mildly obsessed with my devotion to sunscreen and are hugely interested in seeing how I age (or not!) considering I have worn it in some form since the age of 16.

chocgirl

I'm 25 have never actually used anti-ageing products as such but have been using good moisturisers (roc, la roche posay, dermalogica) since I was 12. My mum's obsessed, got me started really young. I do think it makes a difference though, I look much younger than all my friends and dealing with the public at work a lot of people assume I'm still a student which has its own drawbacks:D

banshee_bones

Im 22 (23 in a mere few weeks! agh!) and it never dawned on me either about thinking about anti-ageing stuff until a friend mentioned it to me last week.
I use Clinique Superdefense moisturiser which has spf 25 in it and i dont wear make up every day, at most some tinted moisturiser the odd day, full make up is for night time for mise! and i dont smoke so i guess im doing okay!?

allabouteve

The only anti-aging cream proven to stubstantially work is a sunscreen.

So in answer to the OP, you should use one from the day you're born.

If your parents protect your skin in childhood from UV rays, and you continue to do so in your adult life, you will have done most of what you possibly can to prevent premature again.