renova

SOme progress, or maybe I'm just telling myself there is!. ANyway, also got some cream with renova. This supposedly works at the cellular level to reduce certain clinical signs of aging. About Renova tells me topical tretinoin increases collagen production and decreases collagen breakdown. I could use more collagen, that's for sure. Sadly, even the ever optomistic packaging says it does not completely eliminate the signs of aging, nor will it repair sun-damaged skin or reverse the aging process. But we'll see

So here's the deal - exfoliants are messy. They are also a bit irritting, but I must say my skin did look a tad brighter when I was done. I got the kind you rub on, then wash off, with scrubbing grains. Felt wierd, but seemed pretty good. I also tried the AHAs, which were somewhat iorritating. I was really careful not to get them around my eyes. I've got those nasty little crow's feet, that I'd love to get rid of. I seem to remember that AHAs were not good for acne, but at this point in my life, that isnt a problem.
So I guess I need to give it a few days to see how this goes.

So I'm going to start gradually. Went out to the drug store and looked in the moisturizer section. So many blasted ingrdients - AHA, BHA,s retinols. These things exfoliate, which will make the skin - I hope! look brighter and better. SUpposedly, they are added to moisturizers or oils and attract water to plump up the skin. They stimulate skin repair in immune-deficient rats and rabbits - ha ha, maybe they can do the same for me. Claims are they may help skin repair in humans over age 45 and decrease excessive breakdown of collagen and elastin in the skin. I can only hope.

Also going to try the exfoliants. Products containing hydroxy acids include cleansers, moisturizers, toners, masks, age-spot removers, and other preparations. (so many) Hydroxy acids are naturally occurring, non-toxic substances found in the human body, fruits, wine, milk and sugarcane. They are more commonly known as alpha hydroxy acids, or AHAs and betahydroxy acids, or BHAs. The AHAs and BHAs help retain moisture in very dry skin, as well as helping reduce fine lines and uneven color of sun-damaged skin. They can lighten "age" spots. They also reduce the glue (yuk) that holds the top skin cells together, whatever that means. But the overall promise is smoother softer skin.

Mature

I've decided that mature skin sounds MUCH nicer than agins skin!

Too much information

So I decide to go online and find out what all these different terms mean. And I am overwhelmed. There is so much garbage out there. But I did find some good places. Cosmetics Cop is totally cool. Her battle plan section is great. The first and foremost best defense against wrinkles is the daily use of an effective, well-formulated sunscreen rated SPF 15 or higher. Then I need a well-formulated alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) or beta hydroxy acid (BHA) product. ALso got some good info at Aging Skin - HealthyU which told me about the difference between Retin_a and Renova, plus ahd great info about chemical peels and some other stuff I am not quite ready for!

OK, so this is the beginning of my journey to looking better. I am tired of seeing the same old face in the mirror. I'm going to enter the brave new world of all those creams and cosmetics I read about in the magazines. I have no idea how much this will cost, but hey - I'm going to find out.

Why do all this? Well, I work in advertising, where there are young, gorgeous people aroound all the time. I've never really thought much about the way I look, beyond getting a little down when the mirror returns a reflection that seems SO much older than I feel! So this will be a whole new thing for me.