People’s preoccupation with anti-aging skin car products that claim to make you look younger, is not surprising when most of us can expect to live longer and have fuller more active lives. This group of products generally work by enabling the synthesis of collagen, which is the main protein of connective tissue in animals and the most abundant protein in mammals. Collagen is related to other anti-ageing substances in the body called anti-oxidants.

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. These new anti-oxidant products are not quite as good as vitamin C although other naturally occurring compounds, vitamin E and lipoic acid can achieve the same effect.

The body uses vitamin E as an anti-oxidant 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. Another, lipoic acid is in every cell of our body and is used to generate energy for us to live but also helps reduce and reverse the skin’s aging process.

Another group of products used to reduce the visible signs of aging are phytochemicals which are compounds extracted from various plants and used in many anti-aging skin care products. Phytochemicals prevent occurrence of certain types of cancer.

Some B-vitamins like B5, B6 and B12 are also in use for anti-aging skin care products. The use of anti-aging skin care products is a huge scientific field to research and has far greater potential than just producing goods that reduce the visible signs of age.

While a great deal has been learned about this subject, it is only the tip of the iceberg and more long term effective methods need to be discovered to reverse or slow down the effects of time. With the research that is now taking place, many people are confident that in time, more effective, cheaper anti-aging skin care products will be discovered.

However, man-made skin care regimes should be used only as a supplement. So, drinking plenty of water, getting a good night’s sleep, exercising regularly, maintaining healthy eating habits and keeping stress at bay are essential means of delaying the ageing process.