6 Anti-Aging Ingredients You Should Be Using

Keys To Reversing Effects of Aging

Anti-aging is much more than “treating” the effects, it involves being proactive about prevention.

There is an endless stream of products promising to help you turn back the hands of time and reverse the signs of aging; however, the one thing you should be basing your purchases on are the ingredients within a product.  The brand of the product is not enough to go by if it lacks essential anti-aging ingredients.

Rather than wandering endlessly though the skincare aisle looking through product after product, this little cheat sheet will provide you with a list of powerfully potent ingredients proven to deliver anti-aging results and will equip you to read labels more effectively.

Ingredient Breakdown

Caffeine

This is something you probably are well acquainted with to jump start your day; but, did you know that this simple ingredient has the ability to give a more youthful appearance? As we age, inflammation under the eye area starts to become more apparent. This due to the declining production of collagen to help hold the skin shape.

When you’re younger, collagen helps “snap” skin back into its shape and helps hold it taunt. As this rate declines, skin becomes droopy. Caffeine naturally dehydrates. When applied topically through gels or creams, the caffeine helps to stimulate collagen production and removes excess fluid and gives a “tight” like appearance from the loss of moisture.

Vitamin C

Of all the anti-aging ingredients out there, this particular vitamin could be considered a staple because it is found in almost all anti-aging products.  There are a number of reasons why this. For starters it has bleaching properties and has an ability to lighten age spots and dark circles around the eyes—all signs of aging.

As part of your skincare regime, you should incorporate Vitamin C based serums because they are potent, especially areas around the eyes because due to the thinness of the skin surrounding the eye. Aging tends to creep up here first before anywhere else on your face.

These serums also have the ability to help shrink the appearance of pores which can also lead a more mature look. Products that boast vitamin c as an active ingredient will usually have citrus accents.

Green Tea

Not only does the ingredient aid in weight loss but the flavonoids found in green tea and antioxidants to help reduce and protect skin from the effects of aging caused by free radicals seen from pollution, stress and smoke these antioxidants help form a barrier like shield to protect your skin from further damage from these free radicals. If you are in a fix and need to de-puff eyes quickly, boil some tea bags and allow them to cool and place under eyes to decrease the swelling quickly, much like the caffeine found in coffee.

Green tea has been used for centuries to reverse aging

Hyaluronic Acid

Difficult to pronounce, but this buzz ingredient is one of the newer ingredients to hit the market.  It is known as nature’s lubricant because it is found in moisture sacs within joints, eye ducts and cell membranes.  Much like the sponge like matrices within bone marrow, hyaluronic acid has an incredible ability to absorb “1,000 times its weight”  and keep your joints and membrane hydrated. As we age, the levels of this super sponge decrease and lead to wrinkle formation.

Now hyaluronic acid can be found naturally in foods like bone broth, meat and starchy vegetables. Although incorporating these foods into one’s diet can benefit skin greatly, incorporating a topical treatment is more potent and works best to set in overnight.  In turn    this fatty based acid helps secrete water to help create a fuller appearance in the face—giving the illusion that skin is more vibrant and glowing.

Collagen levels as you age

Retinol aka Retinol A

This early game changer initially was prescription only but has quickly transformed the main ingredient of many over the counter products. This particular ingredient is an Vitamin A directive and has been proven to transform the appearance of aging at the molecular level. It has been shown to help boost collagen production and help increase cell turnover rates of elastin as well. As we age, collagen and elastin take a massive nose dive hence the appearance of wrinkles. Retinol works to change the texture of skin and

Vitamin E

Much like green tea, Vitamin E helps to fight free radicals and reduce the look of wrinkles through keeping skin moisturized.  This particular vitamin works best in oil form for it to quickly be absorbed into skin. It also has been shown to help boost collagen production and increase cell turnover rate. In addition, Vitamin E has sunscreen like properties which protect skin from the damaging aging effects of UV rays. As it has been well documented, sun damage is not only harmful on the surface and dermal layers but the skin damage is often near irreversible.