Anti-ageing skin care products are very popular today; reducing the visible signs of ageing is the goal for many people as they grow older, and why shouldn't it be? Skin is important so a great deal of effort goes into the preparation of beauty products especially those that increase the production of collagen, which is the primary protein in skin; almost 25 percent of the protein in skin is actually collagen. Collagen is a member of another family of substances that aid in reducing the signs of ageing. this group is called antioxidants which are natural chemicals found in many foods and our body.



One of the best known anti-oxidants is vitamin C and despite continual research, no-one body involved can decide just exactly how much our body should consume on a daily basis. The problem with vitamin C derived skin care treatments is they can become oxidized when exposed to the atmosphere, often even before they are used.

Other skin care treatments which mimic the effects of vitamin C are being tried all the time which are hoped to be more stable in the atmosphere and also cheaper to produce. While vitamin E and lipoic acid are are not as effective as vitamin C the are anti-oxidants as well.

The body uses vitamin E as an antioxidant and is also used to increase the natural defense we have against disease, including many types of cancer, it is a fat soluble vitamin in people's blood. Lipoic acid is also an energy making component of the body, found in every cell, it can also help reduce the ageing process which affects the skin.

The use of plants has not been overlooked either with many types able to provide essences called phytochemicals which have proved successful in anti-ageing skin care products. A further benefit of these phytochemicals is their ability to prevent the onset of breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer all of which are on the increase globally.

Some B-vitamins like B5, B6 and B12 are also in use for anti-ageing skin care products. This just goes to highlight just how complex and far reaching the whole field of anti-ageing skin care products is and why so much more research is required.

Although current regimes are effective, there are still many challenges to finding better and more efficient ways to combat the effects of time. In time it is hoped that less expensive and more reliable anti-ageing skin care products will become available for a larger number of people to use.

At the moment though, science is still behind the field of natural anti-ageing methods and it might take some time to replace them. Regular sleep patterns, exercise, a good healthy diet and less stress will all contribute to reducing the signs of ageing, for instance!