Skin Care Beauty Zone

Prescription Wrinkle Creams – Are They More Effective?

Posted: 18 Aug 2011 09:46 AM PDT

Many of us tend to think that drugs or products that are available only by prescription are somehow better for us; more effective and more potent. To an extent this is true – after all it is prescription drugs such as antibiotics that are going to cure specific infections rather than over the counter symptom control medication.

So is the same true for prescription wrinkle creams – are they more effective, more potent and do they work better?

Wrinkle Creams Well there is the fact that prescription formulations almost always have a greater concentration of active ingredients.

This greater concentration may mean better results but it may also mean greater side effects or more adverse reactions.

It is this greater concentration of certain chemicals or active ingredients in the formulation due to which such a formulation is not sold freely over the counter.

So with prescription anti-wrinkle creams keep the following in mind –

Some so called prescription creams may have the same ingredients as the over the counter ones

Although they may be labeled prescription, some of them may have the same strength or concentration of active ingredients as over the counter products. In this case you results will be much the same and the only difference will have been that you got a prescription filled at considerable cost – both for the consultation as well as the prescription product which may typically cost more than some generics.

There could be significant improvements in the look of the skin but in cases may not

Many prescription anti-wrinkle creams do however have certain ingredients or ingredient concentrations that are not available in over the counter treatments. When these are applied to skin, very often the results can be noticeably smoother or better looking skin.

Also if the necessary receptors are not present, the cream may not work – they may not be effective for one in five women.

They may have very significant side effects

Only a trained dermatologist should prescribe these creams after considering the type of skin that a woman has, to gauge suitability and possible efficacy of the formulation. Many prescription anti-wrinkle creams may not be suitable for sensitive skins because they may cause, reddening, flaking and irritation on the skin.

Looking at the possible side effects and cost involved in prescription creams most of us may prefer to stick to over the counter products. Just look for formulations that have Retinol among the first few ingredients listed, and you probably have a fairly effective product.

Skin Lightening Treatment That Actually Works

Posted: 18 Aug 2011 06:46 AM PDT

Anyone who has been affected by hyperpigmentation is faced with quite a dilemma when searching for the right solution. They know that there is a problem that they wish to correct, but it can be extremely hard to figure out which skin lightening treatment will work the best.

If you really want to improve the quality and color of your skin, you are going to need more than just skin products to get the job done.

Skin Lightening Treatment While many people turn to skin products for skin lightening, the real cure for problems such as freckles, age sports and dark spots is actually something quite different.

Most of the problems associated with skin color or pigmentation are actually related to the amount of melanin content found in the skin.

Melanin is basically the biggest factor when it comes to skin color on one's body.

There are plenty of different methods you can use to try and change the color of your skin to be more lightly colored.

Most of these methods involve some kind of lotion or moisturizer, but there are also other, less conventional things you can do to help your cause.

Proper methods and skin lightening treatment

Skin lightening products can actually do some good things for your cause, but you will need to make sure that your skin lightening remedies only use safe and potent products. Any product you see that contains steroids, mercury or hydroquinone should be avoided because these are rather harmful substances.

These three ingredients will actually end up doing much more harm than good to your body over the long term.

Hydroquinone is actually an ingredient that has been proven to cause cancer in a few different studies, and it should be avoided at all costs, even if the content in the product is less than 2%. Mercury is notorious for causing plenty of problems in the human body, and it will actually end up poisoning your blood stream if you are not careful.

If you are looking for safer alternatives to these nasty ingredients, you should definitely look into kojic acid and papain.

Block UVA and UVB rays from the sun

Another part of your skin lightening treatment can revolve around what kind of sunscreen you use when you go outside during the days of summer. Not all sunscreens are made to block both UVA and UVB rays, so you need to take a look at the bottle before you make your purchase.

UVA rays are known to cause skin cancer and aging, although many people enjoy them for their ability to tan the skin.

Some ingredients you should look for in your sunscreen include: zinc oxide, mexoryl-sx, parsol1789 and titanium dioxide. Any product containing these ingredients should be viewed as safe to buy because it generally means that this will be a rather natural product.

The sun should be avoided as often as possible as part of your skin lightening treatment, so make sure to wear many layers of clothes and try to stay in the shade as often as you possibly can.