Since time immemorial, the search for a substance which could be applied to the skin and had anti-aging properties has taken many forms. But one thing is certain, it would rank right up there with some of the great scientific discoveries of all time if a true "fountain of youth" for the skin was to be found.

As we age, we get more and more desperate to maintain our youthful appearance and consumers literally spend billions of dollars on a wide variety of products in the attempt to hold back the hands of time. Some amazing discoveries have recently been made which hold great promise but first let's spend some time looking at the history of skin care up until the time of the Big Bang in skin care which occurred in the early 1990's; the introduction of alpha and beta-hydroxy acids.

The Egyptians were one of the first societies to make skin care a high priority and a large part of the Egyptian culture was dedicated to beauty and cleanliness techniques. Cleopatra was well-known for her anti-aging methods and skin care regimen, including bathing in sour milk, high in lactic acid, which turns out to be quite favourable for skin exfoliation. Egyptians were very conscious of body odours and believed, in order to be healthy, attractive and protected from evil, you must be clean.

In ancient Rome, bathing was a large part of the daily routine and special soaps and scented oils were introduced that were thought to have unique anti-aging properties. In Greece, olive oil was used in the bathing process and honey was used to moisturize and protect the appearance of the skin.

In Europe, during the Middle Ages, bathing was not at all common to maintain cleanliness. However, it is known that women would bathe in wine in order to give the skin a silky feel and youthful appearance.

Throughout history many natural ingredients were known to have anti-aging properties and it is very interesting to see that many of these ingredients have made a comeback and are components of today's skin care regimens. Cucumbers, egg whites, herbs and natural oils were all known to accentuate a youthful appearance and were being used, in some cases, nearly 3000 years ago.

Suffice it to say that the search for the miracle anti-aging skin and wrinkle cream that would hold back Father Time is more important than ever and billions are being spent on research every year.

Finally, it appears that recent advancements and discoveries are yielding extraordinary results and new, revolutionary products are now becoming available to the consumer that can literally take ten, and even twenty, years off your appearance. The links to these amazing products can be found in the Author's box which appears after this article.