Do anti ageing creams really work?

[gregssausageroll]

I gave in and bought an expensive pot from Lizzie Arden but not sure i'd do the same as I am not convinced. Do they really work or am I better staying with cheaper products?

I wouldn't buy from a department store/chemist etc. creams that are potent enough in vit A and C are only available through specialist clinics. These creams do work. The likes of Creme de la mere have been likened to the scrapings from the bottom of a fish bowl and have no scientific reason to be effective. Personally I would reccomend Obagi as being the only system to give visible results.

Not as a formulator.
I used to own a company that distributed 'over the counter' creams and other cosmetics within the UK. I have also written articles on skin care.
By all means continue to use your beauty creams if you feel they help you. They just never did for me : )

Topsi - I think the top end creams have a better chance of working too, downside is they are very expensive.
Obagi is great too but you can mimick the 'regime' much more cheaply by buying retin a online and making vit c serum IMO.

You're not Susan from The Apprentice, are you?

I dont watch the apprentice so i wouldnt know who Susan is.
You seem a little offended that i have stated an opinion on here.
From a personal standpoint, my skin has changed a lot since making my own creams and serums. It has also saved me plenty of money. I thought this may be helpful to others who are getting down about aging and are skint!
Sorry if it offended you ; )

I find it amusing when people knock companies who spend billions in research using real chemists, biochemists etc., and prefer to knock up formulas in their kitchens that they found on the internet.

I will re-iterate that only companies that have vast research teams are the ones that are producing effective products. Those are companies with substantial presence in the middle-priced mass market sector. Neither the prestige nor the budget brands have enough money for proper, long-term, research, adding to the knowledge base of skin-science.

Do a search on the makeupalley.com review site for 'homemade vitamin c serum'. Then do the same for your choice of 'middle priced' over the counter cream. See which has the highest rating.
You will also find that many of the ingredients that are beneficial to skin have been discovered/tested by independent scientists with no affiliation to any skin care company. Therefore, there is no need for smaller companies to pour billions into 'research' as it has already been done.
To state that a 'middle priced' cream will be more effective than a budget or expensive cream is IMO wrong. It all depends on the ingredients. And many of the effective ingredients are cheap - hence DIY skin care being a good option.

mindthegap and credge I don't know what you are reallly disagreeing over.

L'Oreal owns all of these

L'Oreal: 2005 revenues of $19.78 billion U.S. dollars. Only owns cosmetics, haircare and fragrance brands (29 in total).

Brands: Kérastase, L'Oréal Professionnel, L'Oréal Technique, Matrix, Mizani, Redken, L'Oréal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline New York, SoftSheen-Carson, Biotherm, The Body Shop, Cacharel, Diesel Perfumes, Giorgio Armani Parfums and Cosmetics, Guy Laroche, Helena Rubinstein, Kiehl's, Lancôme, Paloma Picasso, Ralph Lauren, Shu Uemura, Victor et Rolf parfum, Dermablend, La Roche-Posay, SkinCeuticals, Vichy Laboratoires, Innéov, Ombrelle.

The other main company is Estee Lauder, then Proctor and Gamble.

so when you say L'Oreal does research yes they do- but for example, Lancome has a new anti- ageing range out and they have invested £££ into developing it.

If you are saying that they only put money into a pot of cream that sells in Tesco etc for £15 and not one in a dept store for £50, then that's rubbish- sorry.

What I have read is the opposite- what you find in the higher price bracket will in time filter down to supermarket stock.

Does anyone get a prescription for Retin A from their UK GP? I holiday in india and stock up there.
Oh, and scientifically it's the only thing that works (prescription strength)