Which anti-ageing treatment is best?

There are a million and one anti-ageing products and treatments on the market, but how do we know which one is best for us. With fancy names and eye-catching packages, do you really know what to expect from your treatment?



In a nut shell anti-ageing treatments help you look and feel younger and target, more often than not, fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin and can come in many forms from creams to more complex procedures such as injections.



More recently, anti-ageing treatments have begun to target problem areas such as hands, which are often a give-away of how old a person is despite the fact that their face may look quite young.



There are also must-have products with massive celebrity endorsement, even though the treatment could in fact be quite poor.



So what anti-ageing treatments are available?



Before looking at the clinical treatments, there are some things that you can do to help maximise the treatments. Firstly stop smoking and reduce your alcohol intake, change your diet to include water and lots of fruit and veg and start using a daily cream as part of your natural skincare regime.



Although these might seem like age-old techniques, they are proven to help reduce the signs of ageing as part of a skincare routine.



Laser skin resurfacing basically does exactly what it sounds like and removes the top layer of skin allowing new, younger-looking fresh skin to grow back. It can be a painful process but has proven results. So, if you don't mind being out of action for a while and can take a moderate amount of pain, then this treatment could be for you.



There is a current craze among celebrities at the moment for an anti-wrinkle treatment, with the likes of Paris Hilton and Paula Abdul championing it in the media. The non-surgical cream called LifeCell claims to dramatically reduce wrinkles in a short period of time and results can be seen almost immediately. The product is quite expensive when compared to other creams but could be considerably less than anti-wrinkle treatments.



A more in-depth treatment such as a chemical face peel uses acid to burn off the skin's surface, again allowing new skin to re-grow. This treatment can be painful, so consider whether you could tolerate the discomfort before taking the plunge.



The more popular, and perhaps the most fashionable, of treatments is Botox injections, which involves injecting the skin with dermal fillers making lines and wrinkles less obvious.



Along with creams and laser treatments, there is also the option of deep exfoliation, which is fast becoming more popular than it used to be. Dermabrasion and microdermabrasion involve deep exfoliation, which in simple terms sands down the skin to allow new skin to grow. It can be a little uncomfortable but takes very little time to recover.



Whatever treatment you decide is best for you, you need to set yourself a check-list before you start. Decide which area you want to improve and set yourself a budget, anti-wrinkle treatment can be costly.



Decide how much pain you can tolerate, because this could seriously affect which treatment you choose and do your research. Make sure you know exactly what to expect, when to expect it and how much the total treatment is likely to cost and if there are any side effects.



Overall, do what is right for you and enjoy the end results, even if it has been painful or costly, after all the old saying goes, no pain, no gain!