I have spent a large majority of my 22 years in the New Mexican sun, and while I have been very good about sunscreen the last couple of years the sun damage of my youth has caught up to me and I found myself with 3 forehead wrinkles and a scattering of freckles and sunspots. While it might seem insignificant to some I hate to think what I'd look like at 40 if I already have signs of aging. So I did a lot of research into proven wrinkle treatment and in my search I discovered something. There are millions, MILLIONS of products, home remedies, and concoctions that claim to prevent wrinkles, treat wrinkles, make them disappear, and do a number of other things. However the ONLY FDA APPROVED ANTI AGING INGREDIENT is the various strands of RETINOIDS. That doesnt mean that nothing else out there works, but it means that the only one that has enough strong scientific evidence to be considered a treatment for anti aging is products containing some type of retinoid. When you go to a dermatologist for wrinkle cream, you will very likely receive a prescription strength retinoid because it is proven to work. What are retinoids exactly and what is the difference between the various types? Retinoids are essentially vitamin A, their structures vary in each of the three generations but generally all the retinoids found in anti wrinkle creams are first generation. They are in fact natural ingredients found in plants and animals and we consume them in our daily diets. Researching the various types of retinoids for anti aging there are 3 things that pop up.: retinol, tretinoin, and retinoic acid. It took a while to decipher what each of them is and after reading a number of papers about them the short summary is this. Tretinoin is retinoic acid (its also known by its drug name Retin-A) and is the retinoid you will find in perscription cream. The difference between retinol and tretinoin (in relation to their usefulness) is simply their strength. Tretinoin is retinoic acid that is directly applied and effective where retinol is applied and your skin coverts it to retinoic acid to be used. One of the dermatologist articles I read said she recommends anyone who considers a tretinoin to start with a retinol so you can build up to the full strength. Retinol and Tretinoin have been found to treat a number of different skin conditions, including acne, wrinkles, stretch marks, and even some studies have been done on its effect on treating skin cancer. How it treats wrinkles. When its applied your skin has cells that synthesize the retinoic acid and it increases cell turnover, thickens the skin, increases collagen production, Stimulates blood vessels in the skin, and reduces sun spots. One thing to know though is if applied everyday results will not show for 3-6 months with best results in 6-12 months. So for everyone who says they've used it for a month and haven't seen results, they haven't been using it long enough, remember sun damage and wrinkles took years and years to appear and are not going to be undone in a month. The way to apply the product is to spread evenly 30 minutes after washing your face, to ensure your face is completely dry. While I have found different reasons as to why it shouldn't be applied wet most articles say that it: decreases effectiveness, increases risk for side effects like dryness and pealing/scaliness, and one article says it doesn't matter if you apply it wet, but putting it on while your face is completely dry can't hurt. Retinoids also make your skin more sun sensitive, so sunscreen should be applied daily (which if your trying to undo sun damage and wrinkles anyway than you should be putting on sunscreen anyway to prevent even more damage) Now finally for my personal results. I started using this product every night around 4 months ago and I have noticed a difference. My forehead wrinkles have almost completely disappeared, my sun spots have faded, and even my acne scars are less noticeable. For the price and effectiveness I would recommend this product. The only reason I do not give this product 5 stars is simply because it advertises itself as a deep wrinkle cream, and as I only have fine lines I cannot gauge its effectiveness on deep wrinkles. I hope some of the information about gives you a little insight into retinoids, but please know this is only basic information gathered by an individual from various scientific articles. I am not a dermatologist and if I was to go into more detail about retinoids this review would be 10 times longer. If you want to know more you should do your own research and talk to your doctor.
