Expert tips for finding the perfect skin cream

Finding a skin cream that will work with your skin can be difficult and expensive! Here are some expert tips for finding the perfect skin cream.

Maybe. The answer depends on the concentration of antioxidants and whether they're "packaged" in a stable form. And that's almost impossible for a consumer to tell.Y

• our skin, especially the outer layer, is naturally endowed with antioxidants that neutralize cell-damaging free radicals caused by the sun's rays and by pollution in the air, among other things. Manufacturers of skin-care products have jumped on nature's bandwagon, adding topical antioxidants like vitamins C and E and green tea extracts to skin creams and sunscreens.
• It sounds good in theory, and in fact, topical antioxidants can indeed increase skin's immunity to air pollution and sun damage and help it look rejuvenated.
• But here's the rub: not all creams contain antioxidants in high enough concentrations or in forms that are stable enough to be effective once they penetrate the skin, if they can penetrate it at all. (Unlike sunscreens, they're designed to work inside the skin as well as on the surface.)

Studies show that applying vitamin C over 12 weeks can make skin look smoother and less wrinkled.

• The only drawback: expense. Creams containing vitamin C at a level that would be effective can be expensive. Chances are, if it's a drugstore cream, it doesn't have enough C or doesn't have it in a form that can penetrate the epidermis.
• Other forms labelled "vitamin C" do nothing except make for good marketing. Since it's hard for consumers to know what they're getting, many doctors recommend buying from a dermatologist or choosing a brand-name product from a reputable company.

Perhaps the most commonly added compound in skin-care products, alpha-tocopherol (the biologically active form of vitamin E) has been shown to effectively maintain skin's defenses against sun damage.

• Other studies show vitamin E reduced the inflammation that occurs after sun exposure.

Green tea fights both oxidation and inflammation, at least in test tubes.

• But in one study in which women were treated with either 10 percent green tea cream plus an oral green tea supplement or a placebo cream and supplement, the skin of those who received the real treatment looked more elastic under the microscope but not noticeably better to the eye after eight weeks.

Plenty of people smear vitamin E oil on cuts and surgical wounds as they heal in the hope that they'll end up with less noticeable scars.

• So far, though, there's little scientific evidence that it works.
• In fact, in studies, some wounds treated with vitamin E actually looked worse afterward. And in some people, vitamin E oil can irritate the skin and cause a rash.

Keep these expert tips in mind and find a skin cream that will quickly nourish and revive your skin.