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I can't stand it anymore so I have to speak up - Who the heck is clicking on these demeaning anti-wrinkle ads? 

Lots of women, unfortunately, because the ads are still everywhere.  Online advertising is easily trackable - that's one of its charms.  If no one clicks, if no one buys, the non-productive ad goes away in favor of one that does collect the clicks and the sales.  So women are clicking on ads these ridiculous ads and buying the hyped products, setting the stage for more and more deceptive advertising.

If we want advertisers to treat us with more respect, we need to show some for ourselves. It's tough facing the reality that no off-the-shelf product will ever bring us back to the skin we had when we were in our 20s...or 30s...or 40s...  If we want to go there, it will have to come from shooting up with Botox and Restylane, or with facial nips and tucks.  Yes it sucks, but it's true.   Sadly, besides these online ads, once-famous actresses and models undermine their personal brands by hawking such products on infomercials while failing to mention the real scoop on why they look so great - somehow those appointments with their plastic surgeons just slips their minds.  Let's face it, few women will tell others the real deal.  We need to be careful to train advertisers not to treat us like gullible, desperate laughing stocks - because the ad you see here is real.  It showed up on Yahoo, which apparently is wants ad dollars so badly that they allowed this insulting ad to appear next to my inbox.

But wait - false advertising is illegal, right?  Those "studies" on ads or on a product's box claiming that "90% of women saw an improvement in a week" must be true.  Think again - they're totally BOGUS.  That's right.  The studies could be 10 people in a room who are paid to slather up and take a brief survey.  Our government as failed us, because as long as the individual ingredients are considered safe by our FDA (which doesn't take much frankly, given that several ingredients outlawed in Europe, the UK and Canada are still permitted in US health and beauty products), the studies don't need to meet rigorous research requirements such as those required by prescription products like Retin-A or Renova. 

Here's how crazy our regulatory policies are:  Renova and Retin-A are prescriptions which, in order to get approval, have gone through rigorous double-blind research which shows that they do in fact reduce the appearance of wrinkles.  Yet as prescription drugs, they are regulated so differently from over the counter products that the pamphlets in their boxes have quite limited claims - even though they're the only ones with true research showing that they make a difference.  Yet over-the-counter beauty products can make all sorts of claims without real research.  Go figure. 

 After speaking with 10 dermatologists, the advice I've been given on what does work with preventing wrinkles is the following:

• Drink more water - most women get far from the recommended 8 glasses a day.  Dehydrated skin looks more wrinkled - think of the difference between a prune and a plum.
• Eat more protein - apparently protein aids in our body's production of collegen.  Many women are carb-addicted, especially when we're under stress (who isn't these days?) I've seen recommendations for women of between 45 grams and 65 grams of lean protein per day.  When I took a look at my own diet I was somewhere around 20 grams.  The best source is salmon and other fish. 
• Quit smoking, and watch the alchohol -  Both age our bodies and our skin shows this wear-and-tear first.
• Use Sunscreen under your makeup, regardless of whether your makeup says it has a sunscreen.  Makeup wears differently and less evenly.
• Sleep -  Easier said then done for many of us, but sleeping is when our bodies repair themselves.  I have been an insomniac for about 20 years but have found help in not having alcohol past 7PM (especially wine or sweetened drinks as both turn into sugar and which can wake you up at 3 or 4 am - what a killjoy) and taking calcium at bedtime as it's a natural sleep aid.  (Also recommend not taking a multivitiman at night as many have ingredients that boost energy.) 
• If you work out, watch what you put on your skin immediately afterwards as your pores are wide open and the salt from your sweat can already cause irritation.  I've found that washing my face with old-fashioned cheap Noxema works great on settling my skin down quickly after a workout.
• If you want a cream that works, see this article for suggestions so you don't waste your money.  But remember, no cream can offer dramatic improvements no matter what the claim, so let's not click on "too good to be true" ads.  Give them the silent treatment.
• Use a natural moisturizer.  While they won't have much impact on wrinkles, most women need the extra moisture for their skin, especially in the winter.  Origins has made the dramatic step of removing many chemicals and preservatives from their entire product line, quite a gutsy move. 
• If you want more dramatic change without surgery, try Botox and/or Restylane.  The problem with them is that they work - which means you're stuck with a pretty high maintenance expense if you like what you see, but at least it isn't money down the drain.  If you go this route please, please, please see a board certified plastic surgeon.  How the shots are administered does make a difference, and there is no certification to signify that someone is qualified.

I wonder - do women age faster than men because we put so much crap on our faces in our attempt ward off father time? 

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