At what age should I start using anti-aging products?

I'm in my 20s too and I've looked into this a lot. What I have concluded is that at this stage in your life the very best things you can do is to avoid too much sun exposure, which of course means using a sunscreen with a high SPF every day (even when overcast, as it is where I live, most of the time :)) and to avoid smoking. I don't smoke but yeah, I have to say that I drop the ball on the SPF sometimes. Gotta stop doing that. So anyways, in your 20s you don't need creams that increase cell turnover because your skin takes care of that on its own. What you do need to do is keep your skin hydrated with a good day cream for your skin type, and also drink enough water. A healthy diet also contributes a great deal. 

So in conclusion, yeah well, I sometimes do buy a cream that is also labeled anti-wrinkle or anti-aging, if I otherwise like the look of the cream (or the smell of the cream) and the price is right. But I'm not going to fork out lots of money for anti-wrinkle creams until I have wrinkles that I can actually see. 

Did you know that the production of collagen, the main thing that keeps your skin looking plump, actually starts slowing down around age 25? That means that 25 is the ideal age at which to start using a good anti-age cream that has collagen. Of course, the skin around your eyes starts showing signs of aging before other areas of skin, so it is really important to use a decent eye cream. If you are going to buy a more expensive cream, but just pone, make that your eye cream and not your moisturizer. Of course, proper sun protection also goes a long way. But just because you don't have (that many) wrinkles yet, visible to the naked eye, doesn't mean you can't use anti-age creams. Prevention, people!!!

I think common wisdom is to start using anti-aging products at around age 30. Before that, even if you ask cosmetics sales ladies, they will direct you toward "normal" hydrating day creams and sometimes night creams, and not specific anti-aging products. As soon as you start showing signs of lines around the eyes, they'll advise you to start using an anti-aging product. This seems to be a common sense approach. In the end, I am not sure how much the exact age at which you start using these products matters. If you start "too early", that's fine, and if you start "too late", it is better than never!

I am 33 and I just started using anti-age creams this year, yes, since January! Needless to say, though my skin does actually look healthier (better hydration?) I have not seen ant wrinkle reduction to date. I am not sure what I am expecting from anti-aging products overall, and started using them because I was curious whether they would have any effect. I am hoping not to avoid wrinkles completely, which is impossible, but to at least age beautifully, and I understand that regular hydration is a large part of that. The anti-age creams are richer and more nourishing than what I was using before, so I think they are a good fit for me at this age.

This is very individual. What I do know is that collagen production starts to slow down at age 21, dropping by about a percent each year. Everyone should ideally use sunscreen to prevent sun-related signs of aging, but not everyone displays signs of fine lines at the same age. I've always looked young for my age, so even when I started getting a teeny amount of wrinkles, I held off on the anti-age creams :). I was happy to be finally taken more seriously, and not mistaken for a teenager. I'm 36 now and am now on the anti-age bandwagon. I don't know if it really works, but I will use it just in case.

Can we develop this topic a bit further? So I'm wondering what the best anti wrinkle ingredient out there is to look for. I went for Q10 which is what I am using now (I got a bunch of creams too, including snail gel which is also anti-ageing so it depends on what I feel like really). There's also other stuff out there. So I wanna know, if I want the most wrinkle fighting thing out there that hopefully won't cost me an arm and a leg, what should I go for that is proven to help fight wrinkles? I know people who know this are out here!

From what I have read, the only thing that really helps in terms of anti-age ingredients is peptides. Even doctors say that they stimulate the skin into making more collagen, even though you apply it topically rather than injecting it. Other creams, including vitamin C serum, can also help your skin look better temporarily, or permanently if you keep on applying it every day. But as far as I know no other ingredients are proven to reduce wrinkles systematically.

Look for:

- Hyaluronic Acid. It adds moisture galore to your skin, making you look plump and healthy. (But not swollen!)
- Niacinamide. It is a vitamin B3 derivative that prevents and heals pigmentation issues such as people tend to get with age.
- Retinol. Awesome. Proven. Fights acne too. What else should I say? This is great!
- Vitamin C. It reduces inflammation, helps produce collagen and maintain elasticity, fights age spots, and fights other types of blemishes no matter how old you are.
- Alpha Hydroxy Acids, as exfoliator.

Oooh, thanks! That's very useful! I already do use Vitamin C mainly for healthier looking skin and it really does work. It tingled a bit in the beginning mind you, so I stepped back and used it only every other night a tiny amount. That seems to have done the trick and I can now apply it daily without problems. I had never heard of that niacinamide that you mentioned so I will look into that some more. I don't know much about alpha hydroxy acids either.

What about Q10 then? I've used that. I heard that anyone over 30 has low levels of that in the skin and this is one of those things that causes the loss of elasticity and collagen. So yeah, when I see a cream with that I sometimes buy it. Apparently it is something younger people still have plenty of in their skin and I'm not 30 yet so I'm not actually sure whether it is doing me any good. There are also supplements you can take orally I think I saw somewhere, yeah? Know anything about that anyone? I'd be interested in finding out more.

Q10 is a co-enzyme that is mainly concentrated in the outermost layers of the skin. Without it, or I should say with reduced levels, you lose your ability to produce collagen and that of course leads to wrinkles. Q10 does work as an anti-wrinkle cream ingredient, but research shows that it is actually more effective to take a Q10 supplement orally, That is, it leads to higher levels of Q10 if you take supplements compared to using a cream.