It is quite normal to expect people to want to look attractive and this might explain why anti-ageing skin care products are so successful; when most of us can expect to live longer and have fuller, more active lives, this is hardly surprising. This group of beauty products generally works by enabling the synthesis of collagen, the main protein of connective tissue in animals and the most abundant in our body; collagen makes up approximately 25 percent of the total protein in the skin. Most anti-ageing products (collagen included) fall into a category of natural everyday products we all use; this group is called antioxidants which are natural chemicals found in many foods and our body.

You probably know many anti-oxidants by name, including vitamin C, the use of which is still, even now, hotly debated in the science and nutrition community. The main problem when using any skin care treatments which use vitamin C is that oxidization can occur as soon as they have contact with the air.

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. Unfortunately the anti-oxidant products used to replace vitamin C are not as effective but as vitamin E and lipoic acid can both have the same effect; this is not too much of a problem.

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 found in every single human cell; it's function is to provide energy and reverse much of the damage caused to the skin by ageing.

Other compounds called phytochemicals have proved to be beneficial in the formulation of anti-ageing skin care products; they are removed from various plants. A secondary but more important use of phytochemicals is the effect they have on the prevention of breast, prostate and colon cancers.

It has also been discovered that there are anti-ageing benefits to vitamins B5, B6 and B12. Although the area of anti-ageing skin care products is huge, more is being learnt about the whole ageing process and about natural products that can reduce the effects it has on our bodies as well as our skin.

In time new discoveries will be made advancing our understanding of the ageing process and products that can reduce or reverse the effects more successfully. Hopefully, these challenges will get resolved in due course and better and cheaper anti-ageing skin care products will be produced.

However, man-made skin care regimes should be used only as a supplement; they cannot replace natural skin care remedies. Drinking plenty of water, getting a good night's sleep, exercising regularly, maintaining healthy eating habits and keeping stress at bay are an essential means of delaying the ageing process.