Spend a fortune on anti-wrinkle creams?
Don’t bother, said a U.S. study released on Tuesday.
Luxury-price products don’t work any better than drugstore brands, according to the study by Consumer Reports magazine, which ranked Olay Regenerist, priced at about $19, as the most effective in reducing wrinkles.
But none of these products made a significant difference in the skin’s appearance.
Researchers found that after 12 weeks the top-rated products smoothed out some fine lines and wrinkles, but even the best performers reduced the average depth of wrinkles by less than 10 percent, a change barely visible to the naked eye.
“The tests revealed that, on average, these products made little difference in the skin’s appearance and there’s no correlation between price and effectiveness,” a spokeswoman for the magazine said.
Americans spend over $1 billion a year on anti-wrinkle creams.
Consumer Reports, published by nonprofit consumer research group Consumer Union, chose a sample of top-selling mass-market lines for its study.
The products were purchased in retail stores for between $19 and $355.
The women were recruited and evaluated by a European laboratory specializing in cosmetic testing.
The women used a test product on one side of their face and the lab’s standard moisturizer on the other side for comparison.
A high-tech optical device was used to detect changes in wrinkle depth and skin roughness.
Dr. Tina Alster, a dermatologic laser surgeon from Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and a member of the American Academy of Dermatologists, said it was overly simplistic to conclude from such a limited study that these products did not work.
“People would love to believe that cheap products are the same as the more expensive ones, and I may pooh-pooh someone paying $500 for a cream, but I do see the value of some of the luxury brands which are science-based,” she said.
“But it is a cautionary tale that people should be looking at the ingredients rather than just at the packaging.”
Despite the study’s findings, some women said they would continue to use anti-wrinkle cream.
“I’ve never really believed these creams would stop wrinkles, but they make me feel and smell good,” said Amira Thoron, a 36-year-old New York teacher.
Spend big on wrinkle creams? Don’t bother: study (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Spend a fortune on anti-wrinkle creams? Don’t bother, said a U.S. study released on Tuesday.
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