When you get to a certain age, your skin starts to show signs of wear and tear. Especially so, if your lifestyle and diet expose you to everyday skin contaminants and irritants. Fine lines, a.k.a. wrinkles, start to show on your eyes, forehead, and mouth corners. Wrinkles are inevitable in aging skin. As we age, our skin cells divide more slowly and the inner layer or the dermis begins to thin. Our skin's support system composed of elastin and collagen fibers collapse causing our skin to loosen and become less elastic. Thus, the formation of wrinkles.

The use of a wrinkle cream preparation can help prevent these wrinkles from showing right away. An effective wrinkle cream delays the onset of facial wrinkles. When used starting at an early age, wrinkle cream preparations can effectively delay the appearance of fine lines on your face for a long time. There is a wrinkle cream out there in the market that fits your skin type and lifestyle.

Advancements in science and technology has set off a deluge of beauty products available as over-the-counter preparations. There are even programmed regimens that promise to bring results when a whole set of products - make-up remover, facial wash, toner, moisturizer, pore tightener, wrinkle cream - is used on a regular basis. In response to the perennial quest for young, supple skin, a host of wrinkle cream preparations have been introduced in the market.

Avoiding the inevitable appearance of fine lines need not be complicated. The key is understanding your skin type and finding the right formulation for it. There are online sites that can help you in your quest for line-free skin. You can research and read up on your particular skin type and the best ingredients to help protect it. Most studies claim that wrinkle cream preparations with retinol-based derivatives as well as alpha hydroxyl acids are the most effective. Retinol is essentially a compound of vitamin A with antioxidant properties that neutralize the free radicals that eventually cause wrinkle formation. Alpha hydroxyl acids, on the other hand, act as exfoliants that clean out the dead skin cells from the upper layer of your skin stimulating skin growth.

Wrinkle cream preparations sold over-the-counter are considered to be less potent that prescription medications. Since over-the-counter preparations are not FDA regulated, they contain less amounts of the active ingredients. While not entirely as potent as their prescription counterparts, over-the-counter wrinkle cream preparations could also bring results when used correctly. You can use wrinkle cream to make your skin soft and supple. But, these are just temporary and will just delay the appearance of wrinkles.

Some unavoidable environmental and biological factors will work against you in trying to avoid the development of fine lines. Using the right wrinkle cream for your skin type religiously will help you achieve the kind of skin you want to grow old in. Add to this a healthy lifestyle, a daily dose of fresh fruit and vegetables, and a regular exercise routine, and you are sure to age into a fabulously looking senior citizen.