Article » 10 Tips when Choosing Wrinkle Cream
With hundreds of different wrinkle creams currently available on the market, it is sometimes hard to know which one you should try. Our editors have created a simple list of ten rules to follow that will help make your decision a lot easier! As always, if you have additional tips that have worked for you, please feel free to contact us and suggest a tip - we just might include it in future editions of this article!
- Understand the ingredients - Most wrinkle creams use a combination of scientific ingredients and natural ingredients. Generally speaking, you want to look for products that are based on glucosamine complex, which improves cellular turnover and stimulates natural collagen production (example: Dermitage), Hyaluronic Acid, the active ingredient in the Restylane cosmetic injection ( Dermitage and IQ Derma), Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 – a biopeptide touted as being ‘better than botox ( LifeCell, La Prairie, and Avotone) or natural ingredients that are known to reduce wrinkles like green tea extract or willow bark (Athena 7 Minute Lift, and Dermitage. Any decent wrinkle cream should clearly list all of their ingredients on the packaging and on their Web site. Whenever a company is hesitant to reveal their ingredients, you can be pretty certain that there isn’t much science behind their claims.
- Know your skin - Do you have dry skin? Oily skin? Do you only get wrinkles during the summer months? Different products work for different skin types. You don't need a complete anti-aging solution if your wrinkles are mostly caused by staying outside without sunscreen (there are great skin protection products which combine moisturizer and sun block that will work just fine for you). If you are comparing anti-wrinkle products, consider emailing the manufacturer and asking for more information about which skin types are most improved by their products.
- Compare prices - There are huge differences in wrinkle cream prices. The cheapest anti-wrinkle creams can start at around $20. Top-of-the-line anti-wrinkle programs can cost $300 or more. To some degree, the old adage “you get what you pay for” applies when considering wrinkle reduction products. As a general rule, the cheapest products out there are priced low for a reason – no clinical testing, questionable money-back guarantees, and ineffective ingredients. That doesn’t mean, however, that you must buy the most expensive product to get the results you want. As discussed above, we recommend you research the ingredients of each product, then compare all the products that contain that ingredient. If you try a few different products, you may find that the $50 cream actually performs better for you than the $150 one. Of course, most people can’t afford to invest $500 testing every product out there, which is why we recommend following the advice in point #4 below!
- Try before you buy - We all know what it's like to walk into a department store and get bombarded by cosmetics sales people who want you to try their products. Why do they do this? Because they know that if they can just get you to try their product (and have a professional help you apply it), there's a good chance that youll end up using it. The same is true for free samples in the grocery store, test drives at car dealers, and one month memberships at fitness clubs. So we believe that you should demand the same "free trial" from anti-wrinkle creams! Money back guarantees are definitely valuable, but we all know what a pain it is to return a product, even with a guarantee. But if you can get a free trial (examples: Dermitage and IQ Derma offers free trials where you only have to pay $5 or $6 for shipping), you don't have to worry about the hassle of returning the product if you don't like it. Plus, since most wrinkle creams can be ordered online, you can also avoid the sometimes-pushy counter people at the cosmetics counter at the department store!
- Avoid "too good to be true" claims - One of the things we all need to accept is that wrinkles are a part of aging. Have you ever seen those middle-aged Hollywood celebrities who have had one too many facelifts? At some point, you just have to embrace your lifestage and be OK with a few wrinkles here and there! All the wrinkle creams that we recommend can do a great job of reducing the appearance of wrinkles, and there's nothing wrong with that! But beware of claims that a product will completely eliminate wrinkles forever - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
- Look for clinical trials - Unfortunately, there are often "fly by night" companies that throw a bunch of ingredients in a bottle and do a great job of marketing this 'snake oil' to us. The product sells well for a few years until people realize that it is really doing nothing at all to prevent wrinkles. The first thing we look for when reviewing wrinkle creams is whether the manufacturer has conducted clinical studies to test the effectiveness of their product. This is important for two reasons - first, because you can't fool science, and second, because it shows that the company is committed to creating a real product that will stand the test of time.
- Compare products against each other. - We started this review site because we were confused about the different wrinkle solutions out there. How were the ingredients different? Which ones offered free trials? Which companies were legitimate and which ones weren't? We'tve created our reviews based on the factors that we think are most important, but you may have other factors that go into your decision process. Take out a piece of paper and write down the most important criteria for you, then check out the major wrinkle cream products and figure out which ones get your highest score.
- Talk to your dermatologist - When in doubt, the best advice you will always get is from a trained professional. Dermatologists must commit to up to 10 years of post-college training before they are board-certified by the American Academy of Dermatology. They understand the science behind wrinkle-creams and they likely have a lot of anecdotal reports from their other clients. One small word of caution: most private-practice dermatologists sell various skin care products in their office so they obviously have an incentive to get you to buy a product from them instead of, for example, a product that you might want to order online. So if you do find that your dermatologist is heavily promoting one of his products, ask him about the active ingredients, then compare the price of his product to some of the products we've reviewed on this site - you might discover that you can buy the same ingredients online for a lot less.
- Understand what causes wrinkles - As we've said, wrinkles are a natural part of the human aging process. The best wrinkle creams can reduce the appearance of wrinkles, but you will never be able to have the appearance of a 20 year old when you are 70! We've written a separate article on wrinkles - we recommend you read it to become a more educated consumer. Click here to read it.
- Check the company behind the product - Why do most Americans buy iPods, search on Google, or shop at Target? Because they trust these companies! When you go into Target, you feel confident that the store is going to have competitive prices, large selection, and a familiar store layout. So if we make every day decisions based on whether we trust a brand, shouldn't we do the same when we are buying wrinkle cream? Of course we should! The best wrinkle cream producers out there stand behind their product with comprehensive money-back guarantees, live customer service, easily accessible ingredients lists, and clearly written and professional Web sites. Before you buy, make sure you like the company that sells the product!
We hope that you found these tips helpful. Now that you know how to choose a wrinkle cream, check out our rankings of currently available wrinkle creams and try a few out today.