In order for an anti aging skin care product to be effective and safe, manufacturers must use care when choosing ingredients.  Most anti aging skin care products do not perform as they should.  And, cosmetic companies seem to forget that our skin is more delicate as we age.  So, they include harsh ingredients and chemicals that can increase, rather than decrease the damage that has been done by the years.

It really scares me to think that anyone would buy an anti aging skin care product from HSN or QVC.  There is absolutely no way to know what those anti aging skin care products contain.  People learn the hard way.

If you read some of the reviews, you will see that there are numerous adverse reactions.  In many cases, the lips, eyes and face are drier and look no better than before.  And, anti aging skin care products are not cheap, so it's not like you can afford to just try something else.

But, you are going to be an informed consumer.  We are going to tell you what ingredients to look for, as well as those to be avoided.  Let's start with collagen.

An anti aging skin care product that contains collagen fiber is worthless.  The stuff was derived from cow hide and designed to be used by surgeons who inject it into the lowest of the skin's layers.  There it acts like air or water in a balloon and stretches out the wrinkles and fine lines.  It only lasts for a while.  It is not replacing your body's own collagen fibers.  It's actually replacing some of the fat cells that are lost in that lowest layer as you age.

Now let's look at alcohol.  Most anti aging skin care products contain ethanol, ethyl, methanol, benzyl or isopropyl alcohol.  What's wrong with it?  It dries up natural oils, which are in short supply in older faces.  That's one of the problems that cause wrinkles and fine lines in the first place, a loss of natural oil.

Then there are all of the ingredients that are either known to cause cancer or suspected to.  If an anti aging skin care product contains any of the following, you would be better off to leave it on the shelf.  They are parabens, diethanolamine, monoethanolamine, triethananolamine or the abbreviations DEA, MEA and TEA and dioxane.  In many countries around the world, these are either banned or restricted.  But, so far, the United States has decided to allow their presence in cosmetics.

It is illogical, when you think about it, because everything that your rub on your face is absorbed through your pores and enters your blood stream.  But, let's move on to what you do want in your anti aging skin care products.

Cynergy TK, an anti aging skin care product containing a patented form of keratin, has been shown in clinical trials to help your body produce more of its own collagen fibers, as well as elastin and new skin-cells.  Wakame, a specific type of Japanese sea algae, has proven results that are similar to these.

By increasing levels of hyaluronic acid, it improves elasticity while reducing bags, dryness and irritation.  In other words, anti aging skin care products that contain wakame 'heal' the damage done by sun and the elements.

Nano-lipobelle H EQ10 is an emulsion containing vitamin E and the nutrient COQ10.  As an anti aging skin care product, it has been shown to penetrate multiple skin-layers and soak up free radicals, which are produced when the body is exposed to sun, pollutants and even oxygen.  The ingredient has been shown to improve appearance and generate a healthy glow.

Stearyl or cetearyl wax allows your skin to retain more moisture throughout the day.  It also creates an ultrafine coating that protects your face from further damage.

It is hard to find anti aging skin care products that contain all of these ingredients.  But, it is worth your time to look for them, if you want something safe and effective.