You've most likely seen what most anti wrinkle products claim on the TV, in the newspapers, magazines and even on the Internet: ominous before and after shots of a women's' face next to an innocuous, even innocent-looking pot of serum.
Their campaign: anti wrinkle products promise the same sagging-relaxing, age-defying benefits as some expensive wrinkle-filling shot like Restalyne.
But can anti wrinkle products actually deliver positive results? If you're wary about what you see and read, so are medical experts who also question their authenticity.
If these anti wrinkle products could actually accomplish the same affects as a medical facial procedure, they would not be cosmetics-and that's what you have to consider when wondering whether to buy or test.
However, there is a science behind the anti wrinkle treatment technology which zones in on compounds known as pentapeptides.
These are extensive long-chained amino acids that operate as chemical communicators throughout your system.
Among some of the most advanced serums containing these minerals include the Regenerist line by Olay and a new anti-aging serum cosmetic known as DERMacai.
And though skin dermatologists argue there is no documented medical data demonstrating how beneficial they are, skin care experts involved in the product testing say there is more than sufficient science behind the pentapeptide serum technology.
To begin with, the research on pentapeptides was instructed in relation to healing wounds.
As part of the body's natural response to help your skin heal, a number of published studies have showed peptides are extremely instrumental in increasing cells in the skin to produce more collagen.
Collagen Is Fundamental However collagen isn't only for healing small wounds.
It also plays an essential role in how skin ages.
Your collagen is the support structure that gives your skin a firm, young fresh appearance.
When levels remain in good stock, our skin looks young, replenished and fresh.
When levels decline, we lose that support and wrinkles and sagging begin to form.
While wrinkle-filling injections can offer short term relief at filling in the gaps, some researchers believe that topically applying these peptides to the skin will help it make more collagen on its own.
This would offer a "filling" effect similar to the wrinkle injections-but without the sting of a needle! The real breakthrough in anti wrinkle product technology however, came after Olay developed the compound palmitoyl pentapeptide-3.
This combines synthetic peptides with a fatty acid-essential at getting into deeper layers of your skin.
Amino Genesis from Clinique also use a similar compound known as palmitoyl Oligopeptide.
Both companies nowclaim increased collagen production resulting in much firmer, more youthful looking skin within two to 8 weeks.
If you are perhaps considering on whether to go for Botox, a wrinkle filling injection or one of these new anti aging wrinkle products, here is a break down on what they will cost you.
Botox injections are generally in the region of $450 each, they take up to three weeks for you to see the finished results, and the procedure must be repeated every four to six months.
Wrinkle-filling shots start from about $500 per line and up.
They will last on average from six months to two years or more depending on your specific type of filler.