There are numerous anti-aging products that are available over the counter and online. It gets you into confusion about what product would best suit you. What ingredients deliver the most effective and what products are the best “bang for the buck”. No one can really escape aging but these ingredients can slow down its effects. Here are four ingredients that you should be looking after in every anti-aging product.

RETINOL

Retinol belongs to the family of Retinoid and is also popular as Vitamin A. Retinol is also the over-the-counter version of Retin-A. Because Retin-A needs a doctor’s prescription before it can be used. In 1970, Retin-A was an active ingredient in acne treatment. Later research went on to show that it is also effective in reducing fine lines and wrinkles.

This is the reason why Retin-A is a top ingredient in anti-aging. It not only helps stimulate in producing collagen to speed up the exfoliation process but also stimulates blood vessels to even skin pigmentation, giving your skin natural color. Although the visible result is slowly it will surely happen.

One of the downsides of using retinol is that this can be irritating for sensitive skin. So if you are experiencing psoriasis or eczema, you might need to apply retinol with careful observation. You can minimize its negative effect by applying it with moisturizers or try retinol alternatives such as retinal or bakuchiol. Apply this ingredient at night because retinol and its alternatives are sensitive to sun exposure. You may also apply sunscreen as necessary.

VITAMIN C

This is a common active ingredient in anti-aging products today because of its popular content—antioxidant. Antioxidant gives us incredibly wide health benefits and skin benefits. It prevents skin damages against the free radicals caused by sun exposure and air pollution. Vitamin C is commonly found on the skin as this helps the skin tissues and plasma concentrations to accumulate an active circulation to maintain healthy and firm skin. As we age, Vitamin C production on skin suffers from irregularities and results in a deficit.

This deficit slows down the regeneration of collagen, creating visible fine lines on the surface of our skin. While aging is inevitable, you can ditch its effects by supplementing your skin with an enriched amount of Vitamin C and prevent premature skin aging and biological skin aging. Vitamin C also interferes with skin discoloration to give you a naturally healthy glow. It also boosts you with a soft, firm, and younger-looking skin. To enhance its anti-aging skin benefits, best to work with Vitamin E and Selenium.

PEPTIDE

Since collagen has been a major concern when it comes to anti-aging solutions, it’s also best to introduce the facts about peptides. Peptides are strings of amino acids and act as a building block by way of forming specific proteins. And one of these specific proteins is collagen. Protein helps our skin to be firm and elastic. Think of it like without peptide, there will be no collagen.

80% of our dermis is made up of peptides. But as we age, it is starting to lose 1% of its total amount yearly. Unlike Vitamin C, peptides aren’t naturally produced on our skin nor exist on various foods. You need to apply it to increase the peptide amount in your skin. These peptides then act as a signal to our body which tells to produce more collagen to skin areas where it needs the most. The consistent application of products with peptide ingredients can improve your skin’s elasticity, radiance, and firmness.

CERAMIDES

Ceramides are crucial components of the outermost layer of our skin and play an important role as a skin barrier. The skin barrier’s main purpose is to keep our skin hydrated. It flushes away toxins and other skin irritants. Dry skin or lack of skin hydration often causes anti-aging. It amplifies the existence of fine lines and wrinkles.

And ceramides protects us too. Although ceramides are mostly available to high-end skincare products, it secures to be sustainable and has lesser to no drawbacks. It thus makes it more friendly to sensitive skin and very effective to a wide range of skin types. It leaves you no worry about skin irritations and allergies.

However, the definition of the best anti-aging product will vary from person to person. So, make sure to check with your dermatologist to make sure you do not end up with skin irritation or product allergies. Besides all the products, make sure to use the right sunscreen as extra protection against aging.