Do anti-aging skin care products really work?

The answer is: Anti-aging skin care products that are qualified and compliant and have clear ingredient targets are indeed effective, but the effects have clear boundaries. They are neither IQ taxes nor miracle drugs that can reverse aging.

Two years ago, when I helped my best friend who was a medical assistant in the dermatology department to sort out medical cases, I actually met two people who had very different opinions about it. Ms. Lin, a 32-year-old foreign company executive, followed the trend and bought tens of thousands of Internet celebrity anti-aging essences in the past three years. Not to mention that the skin feels sticky. After applying it for almost three years, the dry lines at the end of the eyes have turned into static lines. The shadow of the nasolabial folds has not faded at all. She has also suffered from recurring seborrheic dermatitis. Now everyone says that all anti-aging skin care products charge IQ tax. The other is Sister Zhang, a 41-year-old nurse in their department. In the past eight years, in addition to applying sunscreen every day, she has only used an affordable anti-aging cream containing 0.3% retinol. Now the static fine lines on her face are lighter than those of many 35-year-old patients. Every time someone asks her about her skin care secrets, she always recommends reliable anti-aging skin care products.

There is nothing wrong with what both sides say. The reason why the gap is so big is essentially that everyone has different expectations of "effectiveness" and they do not understand the boundaries of the capabilities of anti-aging skin care products. Our skin aging is actually divided into two parts. One part is natural aging determined by genes, just like the beams of a house gradually loosen after living in it for a long time. No matter how much skin care products you apply, you can't stop this part. It has really reached the point where the soft tissue is loose and the lines are so deep that powder can get stuck. That is medical beauty work such as Thermage and facelift, and no matter how expensive skin care products are, it can't match it. The other part is photoaging, which accounts for 80% of the causes of aging. Just like the exterior wall of a house is exposed to wind and sun every day, causing slag, sun spots, and small cracks. At this time, choosing anti-aging skin care products with the right ingredients is like painting the wall with protective paint and patching up small holes. It can indeed slow down the rate of aging. For example, Bose can help synthesize mucopolysaccharides in the dermis, retinol can promote collagen production, and prototype VC can resist oxidation. These are all supported by decades of clinical research and cannot be faked.

Of course, there are many different opinions in the academic circles. Many studies have pointed out that the transdermal absorption rate of skin care products is actually very low. Most of the active ingredients are blocked outside the stratum corneum, and less than 1% can actually reach the dermis layer to take effect. Therefore, the upper limit of the effect of anti-aging skin care products is very low. Even a 10,000-yuan luxury product cannot really make you "reverse growth". At most, it will be better than no care at all. Last time I met a 20-year-old girl at a counter. She saved up her living expenses for three months and bought a 10,000-yuan anti-aging kit. She didn’t even have the dry lines on her face. At most, she looked a little dull after staying up all night. After using it for half a month, her face became stuffy and her mouth shut. She also said that anti-aging skin care products are useless. You see, this product is useless. It is obviously mismatched in demand. The skin of a twenty-year-old does not need so many anti-aging ingredients. Applying it will also burden the skin.

To put it bluntly, if you hold on to the expectation that you will be ten years younger than your peers after applying it, then anti-aging skin care products will most likely disappoint you.； But if you just want to keep your face from fading so quickly after staying up all night, and prevent dry lines from turning into static lines early. Over time, you will age slower than if you were exposed to the sun every day without applying anything. Choose the right product that suits your skin type and age. It will definitely be useful if you insist on using it. There is no need to deify it, and there is no need to beat it to death with a stick.