There are many skeptics in the medical community who feel that topical anti-aging skin care products cannot possibly work. Their argument is that nothing you can buy in a jar can produce the results of a Botox injection or plastic surgery.

The Costs

But let's look at both sides of the argument and start with the financial interest of both sides.

While there is no doubt that some of the major skin care firms make billions of dollars a years, effective skin care products can be had for as little as $20.

On the other hand, a Botox injection costs about $400 and must be repeated every four to six months.

Collagen injections cost even more, between $400 and $700 and may need to be repeated as often as every three months.

Non-invasive cosmetic procedures, like Thermage, can run several thousand dollars and may last only a few years. Major cosmetic surgery can easily cost in excess of $15,000 - and even face lifts don't last forever.

The Effects

The medical community also gives little consideration to the side effects, discomfort and possible adverse reactions to injections, chemical peels, laser treatments or plastic surgery.

You might need to take two weeks or so off from work after a surgical face lift and still being suffering post-operative effects.

And Botox or collagen injections, dermabrasion, liposuction and cosmetic surgery can and does occasionally cause bad results, which can leave you permanently scarred for life.

While you can get an allergic reaction to a topical skin care product, it is usually short lived and goes away when you stop using the product.

Of course, topical skin care products require constant use, but even at that, can still cost less than most cosmetic procedures.

The Argument For Topical Skin Care

The scientists who create these skin care products maintain that, although their products will not have as pronounced an effect as a Botox injection or plastic surgery, they do produce real results. In their view, topical skin care products are for those who would prefer to avoid costly injections or cosmetic surgery for whatever reason.

Dr. Loren Pickart, the scientist best known for his research into the use of copper peptides in skin and hair care products, feels that the new frontier in skin care will be in the cosmetic field rather than in the medical one.

His opinion is that it is simply getting too costly and time consuming to get new drugs through the FDA approval process, so companies are concentrating more on the science behind topical skin care.

And this science is developing rapidly. For example, new delivery systems have recently been developed that allow the effective ingredients of anti-aging skin care products to penetrate the outer layer of the skin so that they can work in the underlying collagen and elastin.

Now even some of the skeptical physicians do concede that some of the more effective creams do produce at least limited anti-aging results.

For those who do not want to undergo or cannot afford plastic surgery or Botox injections, the cosmetic companies have developed effective antiaging skin care products containing one or more cosmeceutical peptides, substances that have been clinically proven to retard the signs of aging by thickening the skin and filing in fine lines and wrinkles.

So topical antiaging skin care products do fill a real need for those of us who would like to maintain our looks without the expense and risks associated with plastic surgery.