The efficacy of anti-aging skin care products

It can slow down the natural aging of the skin and improve existing signs of mild to moderate aging. It can never reverse physiological aging, let alone replace medical beauty and healthy living habits.

A while ago, I helped three best friends of different ages organize their dressing tables, and half the table was filled with anti-aging products alone: ​​a 28-year-old girl from an operations position had just developed her first forehead lines, and she stocked up on three bottles of a certain Internet celebrity’s peptide essence.； The 35-year-old HR sister’s tear troughs and nasolabial folds are all visible. The Bosein facial cream on the dressing table was bought with half a month’s salary saved. ； The 42-year-old university teacher has obvious downward movement of the apples of his cheeks, and the anti-aging set in his hand is worth half of my rent. All three people asked the same question: Is it any use if I apply these?

I used to think that the more expensive anti-aging products would be more effective, but it wasn’t until I had a drink with Fa Xiao, who makes skin care product formulas, that I figured out the secret behind it. There have been two factions in the industry that have been arguing for several years: one is the ingredients faction, believing that as long as there are high concentrations of core anti-aging ingredients, it will be effective, such as vitamin A to promote collagen production, Bose to supplement glycosaminoglycans in the dermis, and Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 to lighten dynamic lines. As long as the concentration is sufficient and the formula is not messed with, the effect will definitely be there. The other group is the theater group. They laugh at the naïvetés and say that the transdermal absorption rate of skin care products is pitifully low. Most of the active ingredients cannot even penetrate the stratum corneum. No matter how high the concentration is, it is just a psychological comfort when applied to the face. It is better to use micro-needle introduction.

Don't tell me, what both groups say is reasonable. I am a living example. In the first half of last year, I worked for three weeks to catch up on a project, and now I had several dry lines, which were particularly noticeable when I smiled. Later, I continued to apply the peptide essence for about 20 days, applying it every morning and evening, and the dry lines were almost completely gone. But my colleague in the same department bought the exact same essence as I did. After applying it for more than three months, there was no change. Later, I went to a medical beauty institution to have the same ingredients introduced three times, and I saw the lines fade within a week. To put it bluntly, everyone’s skin type and absorption capacity are different, so generalizations cannot be made.

There is also a more Buddhist-style maintenance party, which says that anti-aging does not require any strong drugs, and it is enough to do three things: sun protection, moisturizing, and antioxidants. The operations director of my previous company is a typical example. He is 38 years old this year. He never uses high-concentration A alcohol or Bose. He wears SPF50+ sunscreen all year round regardless of cloudy or sunny days. In winter, he uses squalane essence when his skin is dry. In summer, he uses ordinary VC essence. His skin is very tight and even fine lines are rare. He is in much better condition than many 25-year-old girls who stay up late every day and pile expensive anti-aging products on their faces.

Harmful, to be honest, if applying a facial cream could pull back the apple muscles that have collapsed to the jawline, and fill in the nasolabial folds that are deep enough to trap mosquitoes, then medical beauty institutions would have closed down long ago, right? Two years ago, my mother did not believe in evil and spent more than 20,000 yuan to buy a top-quality anti-aging suit from a major international brand. The salesperson told her that it would make her ten years younger in half a year. However, after using it for more than half a year, she was still wondering whether the static lines on her face should be deeper or deeper. Later, she received two injections of hyaluronic acid, and the nasolabial folds were smoothed instantly. The terms "reversing aging" and "face-changing" are not allowed to be mentioned in the formal registration of skin care products. All brands that dare to boast like this are basically cutting leeks.

When chatting with a formulator friend, he told the truth: The upper limit of the effect of regular anti-aging skin care products is actually to make your skin condition 3 to 5 years better than that of people of the same age. It is impossible to make you look 20 years old again at 40 years old. For example, dry lines that have just appeared, photo-aging spots caused by sun exposure, and small contours that are loose due to staying up late can really be improved by insisting on using the right anti-aging products. But for true static lines and severe soft tissue sagging that have already formed, applying skin care products is really useless.

My current anti-aging routine is also simple. I add VC and sunscreen in the morning, and use low-concentration alcohol A every other day at night. When the season changes, I switch to Bosein facial cream for sensitive faces. I won’t follow the trend and buy some sky-high-priced anti-aging products. After all, anti-aging is a matter of time and effort. Applying skin care products is the foundation. Staying up less late and being less angry will be more effective than piling more expensive products on your face.