Use of Alpha Hydroxy Acids in anti wrinkle creams started to become extremely popular in the early 90's with concern about over exposure to the sun reaching a high. Alpha Hydroxy Acids are natural and found in certain milk products as well as various fruits. Due to their being a natural substance, it was always assumes that their use was perfectly safe. However, recently it has been thought that skin previously exposed to acid peels, whether they are natural or not, could possibly be more sensitive to UV rays and the risk of cancer associated with this exposure to the sun.
As wrinkles are a result of dead, dry surface skin cells that deteriorate and are not hydrated and plump, alpha hydroxy acid control solutions remove this dead skin and give younger, new skin life. This is a topical solution that removes the signs of dead skin, but, natural aging reduces the life of the skin cell's ability to keep its vitamins, elastin and collagen.
Repetitive facial gestures like squinting or pursed lips from smoking can cause smile lines or frown lines, forming a ripple effect over time that effects skin cells. Topical anti aging or anti wrinkle creams together with Alpha Hydroxy acids, may only be a short-term fix.
Alpha hydroxy acids are an exfoliate, they remove the outer, older, dead skin and the underneath skin cells appear, which are free of lines. It is possible that some people may be sensitive to the acid treatment, due to the pH of their skin, it could cause redness, blistering or itchiness, which can exacerbate the skin condition.
It is important to know whether this is a good method to chose for anti-aging creams or anti-wrinkle creams, based on the individual skin types. For somebody that already has dry skin, this could produce drier skin and cause more flakiness, when they may need a hydrating or moisturizing treatment instead. If you do not have a dermatologists suggestion to try alpha hydroxy acids, you may want to be sure that this is the proper method to try, instead of deep moisturizing treatments first.
Many of the over-the-counter alpha hydroxy acid treatments may come in the form of a microdermabrasion kit, which essentially removes the thinner, outer layer of skin with the application of the chemical peel, and then is followed by a neutralizer to stop the acid action, followed by a deep moisturizer, or anti aging cream or anti wrinkle cream, depending on what kit you are using.
This treatment has been proven to give the appearance of younger skin in the subjects it is suited for, and is considered a temporary fix, as many topical treatments are. Price is not the best guide to judge effectiveness of an anti aging cream or anti wrinkle cream, usually testimonials from unbiased users are a good method. Normally, it is best to do research on the results of different approaches and cease if any type of redness, flakiness or itchiness remains for more than a day or two.