Main ingredients of anti-aging skin care products

One is for barrier repair against damage such as photoaging, the second is for scavenging free radicals and delaying oxidation, the third is for directly stimulating the production of collagen in the dermal layer, and the rest are highly publicized, most of which are concept additions or auxiliary supporting roles, so there is no need to pay a premium.

Let’s first talk about the most popular “strong drug representative” in the anti-aging circle, retinol, which is also commonly known as alcohol A. The first time I came into contact with A-retinol was in 2017. At that time, there were not many brands in China that made low-concentration formulas. I bought a bottle of Neutrogena with a concentration of 0.25% overseas. Three days before I put it on my face, it dried out my skin, and the corners of my mouth were still red. I thought I had bought a fake, but later I checked the literature and found out that retinol requires Only by slowly building up tolerance can it be effective - it can directly act on the dermis, promote fibroblasts to produce collagen, and at the same time accelerate keratin metabolism. It can clearly improve the static lines and rough and dark yellow that have been formed. It is currently one of the players with the most clinical data and the most cost-effective anti-aging ingredients.

However, the debate about alcohol A has never stopped. Two factions in the ingredient circle have been arguing for several years: one faction says that as long as a good tolerance is established, it can be used for a long time. Even low-concentration external use during pregnancy has no clear risk of teratogenesis.； The other group insists that long-term use of A-alcohol will damage the stratum corneum barrier and should not be touched by sensitive skin. Here is an authoritative conclusion for everyone: The FDA’s current reminder is to avoid oral isotretinoin during pregnancy. There is no clear teratogenic data for topical low-concentration alcohol A, but to be on the safe side, it is safer to stop it during pregnancy preparations and pregnancy. ； As for sensitive skin, it is not completely untouchable. Nowadays, many brands make packaged A-alcohol and A-aldehyde. If the sustained-release technology is in place, the irritation is 80% lower than ordinary A-alcohol. Many friends around me who have mildly sensitive skin have used 0.1% packaged A-alcohol for more than half a year. There has been no bad skin. On the contrary, the fine lines have faded a lot.

When it comes to mild anti-aging, we have to mention L'Oreal's "son" Bosein, whose scientific name is hydroxypropyltetrahydropyrantriol. This product and A-alcohol are simply happy enemies in the anti-aging circle, and they have never stopped talking about each other. Some people say that Bosein is a marketing concept created by L'Oreal. It is essentially modified xylose. It costs a few yuan, but the effect is not as good as alcohol A which costs dozens of yuan. ； Some people also say that Bose is an anti-aging remedy for dry and sensitive skin. It is gentle and non-irritating, and it can also repair the dermis-epidermis junction layer, making the face less prone to collapse. I actually prefer the latter. I have a 38-year-old best friend with dry and sensitive skin. She used to use A Alcohol every time to get her face damaged. Then she bit her teeth and put in a 30% concentration black bandage. After applying it for three months, the dry lines next to the tear troughs were reduced by almost half, and the apples of her skin were not as broken as before. She said that everything she applied worked better than before, and even the redness caused by seasonal changes was much better. Of course, if you tolerate oily skin and have a limited budget, there is really no need to rush into high-concentration Bose. A-alcohol is much more cost-effective.

Many people tend to ignore the role of antioxidant ingredients. In fact, 80% of our skin aging is caused by photoaging. The free radicals generated by ultraviolet rays will continue to destroy collagen and elastic fibers. If we do not do antioxidants, no matter how much A-alcohol and Bose are applied, it will achieve half the result with half the effort. The most classic antioxidant ingredient is L-vitamin C. In addition to scavenging free radicals, it can also brighten skin tone and inhibit melanin production. However, this product is also a "thorn". The prototype VC is highly active but also very irritating. I have stepped on the trap before. I bought a 23% prototype VC essence because of its high concentration and directly pricked my face. It hurt, but after using it for a week, it became two shades darker. Later I learned that the higher the concentration of prototype VC, the better. For oily skin, choose a concentration of 10%-20% for the best effect. For dry skin and sensitive skin, choose esterified VC or VC derivatives within 10%. It is gentle, non-irritating, and the effect is not bad. By the way, don’t look down on the vitamin E derivatives that cost just a few dollars. When used in conjunction with VC, the antioxidant effect can be doubled. Many expensive essences are secretly added to them, but they are just not publicized.

In the past two years, the anti-aging trend of plants has also become very popular. Extracts of sea fennel, pterostilbene, and Haematococcus pluvialis have been promoted more powerfully than alcohol A. There is also controversy about this part. One group says that plant extracts are milder and suitable for long-term use on sensitive skin. The other group says that the effective concentration of plant extracts is unclear, the sensitization rate is high, and there is little clinical data. They are all IQ taxes. I have used the big-name sea fennel essence myself. When I apply it when I am sensitive during the change of seasons, it can indeed quickly eliminate redness and make dry lines less obvious. It is a good at maintaining stability and mildly anti-aging. But if you say that it can actually promote collagen production like Alcohol A, that is indeed an exaggeration. If you have enough budget, you can use it as an auxiliary ingredient. If you don’t have enough budget, there is really no need to rush it.

Finally, I would like to share with you my experience as a skin care blogger for 7 years. Don’t believe in the universal formula of “C in the morning and A in the evening, plus Bose.” I have seen fans put all three of these on their faces before, and they ended up going to the hospital to prescribe hormone ointment for a sore face. Anti-aging is inherently a slow process. For sensitive skin, choose repairing ingredients first and slowly build up the barrier. If you have sensitive skin, you can occasionally use strong medicine. Even if you only use A alcohol twice a week, it will be better than stacking ingredients every day for half a year.

To put it bluntly, anti-aging ingredients are never high or low, and there are no "god-level ingredients" that must be included. It is comfortable to apply on your own, and after two months you can feel that the lines are lighter and your face is less prone to dullness. It is a good ingredient for you. After all, your own face is more reliable than third-party reviews and Internet celebrity recommendations, right?