It is quite normal to expect people to want to look attractive and this might explain why anti-aging skin care products are so successful; it is only natural that as people get older they want to continue looking young so will use products that help them achieve this. This is done using skin care products that encourage the growth of the protein collagen which happens to be the main source of the protein used in the connective tissue of skin; collagen makes up approximately 25 percent of the total protein in the skin. This area of anti-ageing treatments is connected to another group of products that help people to look young; these are known as antioxidants which remove toxins from the body.

You probably know many anti-oxidants by name, including vitamin C, the use of which is still, even now, hotly debated in the science and nutrition community. The problem with vitamin C derived skin care treatments is they can become oxidized when exposed to the atmosphere, often even before they are used.

To get around this some skin care treatments are based on derivatives of vitamin C, which are more stable and less expensive. These new anti-oxidant products are not quite as good as vitamin C although other naturally occurring compounds, vitamin E and lipoic acid can achieve the same effect.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant and component of human blood whose purpose is to help increase the body's immune system; it has many functions including inhibiting the formation of cancer cells. Lipoic acid, which is found inside every cell of the body, helps generate the energy that keeps us alive and functioning; an additional function is to repair skin damage caused by the normal aging process.

Another group of products used to reduce the visible signs of aging are phytochemicals which are compounds extracted from various plants and used in many anti-aging skin care products. Phytochemicals prevent occurrence of certain types of cancer; such as:

<ul> <li>Cancer that attacks the Prostate</li> <li>Breast Cancer</li> <li>Cancer that attacks the Colon</li> </ul>

These three types of cancer are also becoming a global problem.

Other vitamins from the B group are also used in anti-ageing skin care like vitamins B5, B6 and B12 for example. This just goes to highlight just how complex and far reaching the whole field of anti-ageing skin care products is and why so much more research is required. There is no doubt that what has been learned so far is only a small part of the jigsaw puzzle; more long term effective methods will eventually be found to reverse or slow down the effects of aging.

In time it is hoped that less expensive and more reliable anti-ageing skin care products will become available for a larger number of people to use. A person should never accept that everything science devises in relation to skin care and anti-aging is always going to be the best; in some respects the real way ahead lies in our own hands as there are many things we can do to reduce the signs of aging - naturally. Drinking plenty of water, getting a good night's sleep, exercising regularly, maintaining healthy eating habits and keeping stress at bay are an essential means of delaying the ageing process.