Anti-Aging Skin Care

Effective anti-aging skin care is simple if you follow the following advice.

You do not need many products, just those that have been properly proven to be effective.

Regular use of effective products whose anti-aging effect on the skin is proven by proper independent, peer-reviewed, published science will have a dramatic effect on slowing down degenerating and aging changes in your skin and will reverse damage that has already occurred.

We don’t advise that you spend money on expensive skin care products found in the shops. Most of these are vastly overpriced, have few if any active ingredients and most of their claims are unfounded with no proper, independent, peer-reviewed research to support their claimed effects. You will find that you can use these kinds of expensive products for years and yet you will watch in dismay as your skin ages just as it would without them.

Night Time Use

First Choice

The gold standard of all anti-aging skin care isTretinoin cream (a former brand name of this is Retin A).

There is a huge amount of independently conducted, peer-reviewed, published, science in the leading medical journals which shows beyond any doubt that Tretinoin has a profound anti-aging effect on the skin.

In summary, it:

• Stimulates new collagen production by the collagen producing cells (fibroblasts).
• Especially stimulates the production of the types of collagen predominantly found in young skin (Collagen Types 1 & 7).
• Prevents the production of destructive substances (matrix metalloproteinases) within the skin which break down collagen. These enzymes are normally produced when the skin is exposed to UV light (sunlight). Tretinoin stops this happening.
• Prevents the direct reduction in collagen production which normally occurs whenever the skin is exposed to UV light (sunlight).
• Increases the production of hyaluronic acid within the skin. This is the skin’s own powerful, natural moisturising substance therefore the skin becomes smoother, plumper and more moist.
• Inhibits one of the main enzymes involved in the production of melanin (tyrosinase), and promotes exfoliation, thereby lightening abnormal brown pigmentations and brightening and renewing the surface layer of your skin.
• Reduces cell abnormalities and is therefore likely to reduce the risk of skin cancer formation.
• Reduces fine lines and wrinkles and improves skin texture, skin elasticity and skin thickness.

There are minor harmless but unwanted effects of using Tretinoin cream if your skin is not accustomed to it or if you over-apply it. These unwanted effects are irritation, redness and flaking.

For this reason, if you have not used it before you should only apply it twice a week at first and gradually build up to nightly use. You should always apply it very sparingly and rub it in until it has completely disappeared.

You should not apply anything else to your skin at night. Application of a moisturising cream or any other type of cream before or after the Tretinoin will have a diluting effect and will reduce its effectiveness.

Tretinoin cream is classified as a prescription only medicine in the UK and cannot be added to cosmetics. It can only be supplied under the instructions of a doctor and used under medical guidance.

We can supply you with two strengths of Tretinoin cream: 0.025% and 0.05%. We recommend that you start with the 0.025% strength for your first one or two tubes and then change to the 0.05% strength, provided you can tolerate this.

Tretinoin cream should not be used during pregnancy or breast feeding.

Second Choice

If you cannot use or tolerate Tretinoin Cream, after persisting for several weeks, even at the 0.025% strength, we recommend the nightly use of Skinceuticals Retinol cream 0.5%.

Retinol can be thought of as a much less potent version of Tretinoin. It is likely to have some of the effects of Tretinoin on the skin, as listed above, especially if used in high enough concentrations. However evidence for its effectiveness is less well proven.

 It is not classified as a prescription only medicine and can be added to over the counter cosmetics. 
Most companies add only very small amounts of Retinol to their Retinol containing cosmetic products but Skinceuticals adds a much higher concentration and produces a 0.5% cream which we supply.

It should be applied sparingly onto clean dry skin at night and rubbed in completely. Again, for the same reason of avoiding dilution of its effect, do not apply any other creams or products to your skin at night.
It is advised not to use Skinceuticals Retinol 0.5% cream during pregnancy or if breast feeding.

Third Choice

If you are unable to use or tolerate Tretinoin cream and Retinol cream,  or if you are pregnant or breast feeding, we recommend the nightly use of a Glycolic Acid containing cream, namely NeoStrata Ultra Smoothing Cream which contains 8% Glyclolic Acid and 2% Citric Acid.

Glycolic Acid has been shown in independently conducted, peer-reviewed, published research to have some (but not all) of the anti-aging benefits of Tretinoin. It is a good third choice if you are unable to tolerate Tretinoin, or its less potent relative, Retinol.
Apply it sparingly at night to clean dry skin and rub it in. Again do not apply any other creams or products to your skin at night to avoid diluting its strength and reducing its effectiveness.

If you have been using NeoStrata Ultra Smoothing Cream for at least three months and have been tolerating it well, you may want to increase the strength of the Gylcolic Acid treatment to NeoStrata Face Cream Plus which contains 15% Glycolic Acid. If you can tolerate this higher strength product, it will be even more beneficial.

Fourth Choice

If you are unable to tolerate any of the above first, second or third choice treatments, then you should use Skinceuticals Retexturing Activator as your nightly skin treatment. This contains ingredients which are thought to have many of the benefits of Glycolic Acid but without the possibility of any skin irritation. It is a serum, not a cream and a few drops should be applied directly to your skin sparingly each night and rubbed in. Again, do not use any other product or cream on top of this to avoid diluting its active ingredients and reducing its effectiveness.

In summary for Night Time Use:

• Preferably Tretinoin cream.

Use very sparingly and slowly build up to nightly use. Persist for several weeks and allow your skin to become accustomed to it even if you experience some redness or flaking at first.

• If not tolerated, use Skinceuticals Retinol 0.5% cream.
• If Tretinoin and Retinol are both not tolerated (or if pregnant or breast feeding), use NeoStrata Ultra Smoothing Cream. Increase the strength after three months, if tolerated, by changing to Neostrata Face Cream Plus.
• If none of the above are tolerated, use SkinCeuticals Retexturing Activator as your nightly skin treatment.

N.B. Only use ONE of the above products on your skin at night and do not apply anything else on top of this product to avoid dilution of the active ingredients and reduction of its effectiveness.

Day Time Use

After removing your night time product by thoroughly washing or cleansing your skin, for your daytime skin care you should use a Potent Anti-Oxidant Serum.

First Choice

The most potent such product available is Skinceuticals Phloretin CF serum.

This will:

• Strongly protect against oxidative chemical reactions which cause damage, mutations and aging changes to the cells in the skin.
• Especially protect against the damaging chemical reactions which are triggered by exposure to UV light (sunlight).
• As a result, make your skin much less sensitive to the sun.
• Correct existing damage by accelerating cell renewal and stimulating the production of essential proteins and fibres, which improves the skin’s support structure.
• Inhibit UV (sunlight) induced discolourations.
• Soften and moisturise your skin by providing hyaluronic acid, the skin’s own natural, powerful moisturising agent.
• Improve fine lines, wrinkles and skin texture.

Skinceuticals Phloretin CF serum should be applied sparingly once each morning to clean dry skin and rubbed in. A slight tingling sensation is normal after application and will quickly subside. It is due to the product’s low pH which is necessary for effective absorption of the active ingredients into your skin.
No other product should be applied before, and if applying any other product afterwards, including make-up and sun-screens, it is best to wait for at least 20-30 minutes until it has been fully absorbed, otherwise its absorption may be impaired and it may be much less effective.

It is not usually necessary to use an additional moisturiser due to the powerful moisturising effect of this serum itself.