The regular use of anti-aging skin care products is becoming normal these days; reducing the visible signs of aging is the goal for many people as they grow older, and why shouldn't it be? This is achieved in beauty products by promoting the growth of connective tissue using the protein collagen which is the most abundant in the skin of all animals; approximately one quarter of the protein contained in skin is collagen. Collagen is a member of another family of substances that aid in reducing the signs of ageing. we call them antioxidants, they aid the repair of cell damage associated with cell damage.

One of the best known anti-oxidants is vitamin C and despite continual research, no-one body involved can decide just exactly how much our body should consume on a daily basis. Vitamin C formulated skin care treatments suffer with a particular problem of oxidizing on contact with the air which causes a problem for users and manufacturers.

More stable skin care treatments are now available that are almost as efficient and actually cost less to manufacture. These alternative products are not as effective as vitamin C but vitamin E and lipoic acid are anti-oxidants and are now being used.

Found in human blood, vitamin E is not only an antioxidant but is designed to boost the immune system's resistance to illness; it helps build resistance against infection like cancer for example. Lipoic acid, which is found inside every cell of the body, helps generate the energy that keeps us alive and functioning; it is also known to combat the signs of aging very effectively by repairing skin damage caused by the aging process.

Phytochemicals aren't produced by the body but are extracted from a number of plants and used in many anti-aging skin care products to combat the signs of ageing. Like lipoic acid, phytochemicals help reduce the occurrence of cancers; examples of these are:

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

These are all on the increase around the world.

Some B-vitamins like B5, B6 and B12 are also in use for anti-ageing skin care products. The use of anti-ageing skin care products is a huge scientific field to research and has far greater potential than just producing goods that reduce the visible signs of age. Whilst a great deal has been learned about this subject, it is only the tip of the iceberg; there is still a long way to go however, before methods that successfully reduce the effects of age are commonplace.

With the research that is now taking place, many people are confident that in time, more effective, cheaper anti-ageing skin care products will be discovered. Scientific research into anti-aging products is still in the early stages but they should never be relied upon; fortunately there is a number of natural anti-aging regimes that can be carried out that do not rely on science. You know all these things but how many do you practice? Regular exercise, restful sleep, drinking plenty of water, eating a healthy diet and keeping your stress levels low are all necessary.