# Do anti-aging creams actually do anything? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 23, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787 "2020-08-23T00:59:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/1 "2020-08-23T00:59:19Z")
I just saw a commercial for one. There’s like a zillion of them, and yet I still see old people. Do any of these things really work? Are they all placebos? ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/2 "2020-08-23T02:36:12Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Do any of these things really work? Are they all placebos? They work well…for the person selling them to you. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/3 "2020-08-23T03:05:13Z")
None of them prevent you from aging. Some of them may help you look slightly younger than you are. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/4 "2020-08-23T15:06:50Z")
If it has Retinol A at least .025% you will see improvements in your skin. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/5 "2020-08-23T15:10:50Z")
They don’t do anything! That’s the “beauty” of it! ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/6 "2020-08-23T15:42:40Z")
You asked this exact same question here previously: > [@Do anti-aging products - creams, etc. - work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-products-creams-etc-work/565090/26): > > Tretinoin and tazarotene have been shown effective in treating photodamaged skin: ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/7 "2020-08-23T19:08:53Z")
I totally forgot I’d already asked this, which suggests that my next thread should be about stuff that improves your memory. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/8 "2020-08-23T20:36:25Z")
There are any number of middle-aged women, possibly French, who might sell their first born for a cream or salve that restores the glow they presumably once possessed. There is evidence vitamin A, retinol, reduces the appearance of wrinkles a little. There are chemicals that absorb many times their weight in water that cause a transient puffiness. There are any number of creams promising “a visible reduction in the appearance of fine lines”. Of course, ethanol does that too. There are botulism toxins that affect the nerves to facial muscles so that the skin is less stressed. But an anti-aging cream should actually stop the process or result in a Marty McFly experience and that hasn’t happened yet. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/9 "2020-08-23T20:47:31Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > my next thread should be about stuff that improves your memory. That stuff works as well as anti-aging cream. ---
**Author:** ![tuesdayweld](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@tuesdayweld](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tuesdayweld)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/10 "2020-08-23T22:06:11Z")
I’ve had success with using a daily hardcore sunscreen on my face for the past 3 decades. I think it is the best “anti-aging cream”. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/11 "2020-08-23T23:13:41Z")
I’ve seen these commercials, and even if they do what they claim to do, either by tightening the skin or puffing up the tissue underneath, the effect is surely temporary. My question is, if you use the stuff for a while and then stop, is there a chance your wrinkles will come back even worse than before? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/12 "2020-08-23T23:56:50Z")
When I was at Bally’s Las Vegas Aug 2019, I decided to let one of the demosharks show me how fantastic their under eye cream was. It did tighten the skin under my eye slightly, if I normally wore makeup it would have blended the highly shiny area in and make me look probably 5 or so years younger. I can get the same tightening effect with egg white and gum tragacanth [I think that is the gum, may have been arabica?] that we used to use to modify the face for stage purposes [you use it to tighten eye wrinkles, or to create facial wrinkles for ageing effects.] Honestly? Wash your face regularly, moisturize, use sun block, don’t plaster makeup all over all the time, drink plenty of water and embrace your life and be happy - it shows in your face. [for years i had people tellign me I didn’t my age, and had great skin - all I did was no makeup, no sun tanning, lots of water.] ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/13 "2020-08-24T01:07:50Z")
Is it logical to think that tightening the skin causes it to stretch out, and that it will ultimately end up sagging more than if it hadn’t been tightened? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/14 "2020-08-24T02:00:16Z")
AIUI, the main things that make the skin appear old and wrinkled are 1. thinning of the skin layers 2. loss of collagen fibres + reduction of elasticity in remaining fibres and 3. shrinking and falling of the fat pads, most noticeable in the face. An external cream is hardly going to change the fundamental structure of the skin itself, and most creams do not even claim to affect any of the three factors above. A couple of the top-end creams have claimed clinical data that they help to rebuild collagen, but when you look into the details the difference is slight, and likely temporary, or the data is simply being represented in a very misleading way. The kind of claims these products make hasn’t changed much since the 1950s, and despite likely hundreds of billions of dollars of investment between then and now, neither has the efficacy. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/15 "2020-08-24T17:10:10Z")
Nothing will “reduce the signs of aging” on a permanent basis. Some products may slightly slow the process (if my wife is anything to go by - she looks about 10 years younger than her real age) but to be honest, you’ll get a much better effect by simply avoiding the things that age your skin in the first place, especially sunlight and smoking, and staying reasonably hydrated and rested. In this, it’s much like “detox” products - just get enough water and sleep, and avoid putting the “toxins” in in the first place. Your body will do the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/16 "2020-08-24T18:42:46Z")
Alcohol reduces the signs of aging in other people, or so I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/17 "2020-08-24T22:29:17Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Alcohol reduces the signs of aging I have never heard that. This is what I have heard and it is a very credible source: It’s a natural process called intrinsic **aging** , and it’s something you can’t control. Extrinsic **aging** is when your skin ages faster than it should because of your environment and how you live. That’s where **alcohol** comes in – it dehydrates you and dries out your skin. You can slow that down by drinking less.Feb 22, 2019 WebMD › … › Slideshows ### [Alcohol and the Aging Process - WebMD](https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/ss/slideshow-alcohol-aging) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/18 "2020-08-24T22:37:27Z")
I believe Dr\_Paprika was making a joke about “the more drunk I am, the better the other person looks”. > [@](#): > > Alcohol reduces the signs of aging **in other people** , or so I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/19 "2020-08-24T22:49:29Z")
Whoosh. Got it now. Thank you. :chagrin: ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787/20 "2020-08-26T22:12:27Z")
It wasn’t particularly clever. I’m not sure if it is effective. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-anti-aging-creams-actually-do-anything/918787.md?page=2)