Save your skin... Cream it!

Day Creams, Night Creams
They are the wonder workers That Keep Your Skin Glowing

Don't take for granted that little pot which holds the white stuff you smear on your face almost absent-mindedly every day. That is the pot of gold for you skin, the elixir that feeds, nourishes and protects your face, neck, hands, and feet. There is a snag, though: you need to know which cream works best for you, find it and see that it's made a part of your daily routine.

The popular dream goes like this: You slather on cream at night and then sink into slumber. The cream works diligently all night, plumbing all those little lines and wrinkles, soothing, feeding, nourishing . And lo, when you wake up, it's to a glowing you!

Slow but sure
It isn't at all advertising hype. A good cream, used diligently and in the right proportions, day and night, for a long period (and we are talking years now), is bound to show its beneficial properties, making the user shed years off her age. Now if that isn't good work, what is?

Few people know that the process of ageing begins from Zero; of course, it doesn't show in first 20 years. By the time you hit your 21st year, it's time to invest time and money in a product that will help retard ageing and keep your kin supple. Once you hit 40, your skin's capacity to produce Vitamin D Slows, its structure degrades and elasticity is diminished. Nighttime is the most stable environment for treating the above state, since there are no variations in light, humidity or temperature, and facial movements remain almost constant.

However, some are of the belief that having separate day and night cream is not all that essentials. Just one multi-function moisturiser and booster, specific to your skin condition, one targets premenstrual breakouts, adult acne or pigmentation is enough. During the day, it is more important to protect your skin from harmful UV rays and pollution.

But, taking all this in to consideration, the thought of an overnight transformation that leaves you feeling good, rich and sweet-smelling, especially after a bad night or two, is temptation enough to send you scurrying for the latest formulation.

Stop the clock
Consider the damages of ageing on facial skin. The top layers of the skin thin out, the skin stars\ts to shrink, pigmentation patches and spots starts to show, With age, the hormones drop, the oil glands dry up and along come those expression lines- Sagging skin. The good news here is that Asian Skin Ages slowly, because of melanin protection. However, according to the scientist, ageing is a result of a phenomenon called "Crosslinking" caused by free radicals or certain other chemicals reactions in the presence of Oxygen. Crosslinking apparently is the formation of chemical bonds through the process of oxidation, which, if inappropriate, can retard cellular functions and lead to ageing.
So the use of good cream can both curtail the downside of the skin and replenish it with the nutrients that are slowly being leeched. Recent additions to creams along the alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), tretinoins (retinols), antioxidants like vitamins C and E and beta hydroxy complex is Green tea. According to Estee Lauder, it is potent anti-inflammatory which soothes the skin to keep it protected from damaging irrigation-a leading cause of visible ageing. These active ingredients in creams help increase and buttress the superficial cells, i.e. the thickness of skin. This, in turn, helps the ingeneration of collagen elastin. The result: Lines on the face and neck get relaxed.

AHAs and retinol also dissolve some of the melanin pigments and lighten the skin. Most important, they peel the top layers of the skin, remove damaged skin and make wrinkles vanish to reveal smoother skin.

Dermatologist say that night creams are efficacious because the oil forms a film that prevents water from evaporating overnight, so that you feel and look better in the morning. In Fact, they don't contain more emollients than their daytime counterparts, they are being spiked with active ingredients that optimize the skin's night -time renewal process.

Wonder Workers
However, a cream is a cream. A good cream does its duty as well in the morning as in the night, though traditionally; night creams are richer, with higher oil content. Also, they come without any sunscreen protection, which is must ingredient with the day creams. Experts contend that the skin's defense systems break down after battling environmental onslaughts like pollution, UV rays and smoke during the day. The skin has a natural reservoir of vitamin C and E, which are depleted in the fight against free radicals. The night creams, then, do their duty by penetrating deep into the layers of the epidemics.

Creams with AHA content are useful in healing sun-damaged skin, superficial scarring, reversing the signs of early ageing, and helping with pigmentation problems.
Today's creams are new, improved, slimmer, leaner version, suitable for all skin types, produced on the principle that a little bit goes a long way. Retinol, vitamin E plant extracts, noctoferrine, a natural wheat-protein molecule that protects the skin from free radicals and cellular extracts all form formidable skin damage fighters.

Lots To Choose
These multi-functional creams that are moisturizer and booster rolled in one are enough and should be enough. Fairness creams, another relatively and hugely popular new entrant in the market, controls the darkening pigment, melanin, gently, helping to even out the skin tone. Some of these creams have in-built sunscreen protection, too. The active ingredient in the fairness creams is hydroquinone.

Vitamin-enriched creams, known for their antioxidant properties, offer excellent protection and care for those with sensitive skin.
Anti-wrinkle creams protect against free radical damage and ensure that cells work at their optimum level, fighting bacteria and regenerating skin.

There are some cardinal rules to remember when it comes to applying creams. One, never picks up a cream that's inappropriate to your skin type. A rich cream does wonders on dry skin but overloads an oily complexion. A light, oil free cream is the right one for acne - prone skin but does absolutely nothing for dry skin. Next, never apply cream in the wrong manner, ie dragging your skin as you massage it in. Use you fingers lightly and apply the products sparingly, moving fingers upwards and outwards, never dragging skin down onwards.

Slather It on
· Use a rich night cream but not too much of it
· Don't leave cream on overnight if you have an oily skin. Play safe and invest only in non greasy creams, whatever your skin type.
· Use creams to prime skin before applying the foundation. It plumps it up and helps the foundations last longer
· Always but always remember to creams your neck and be more generous there than on your face.

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