Drawing the line

Some of the latest skin-saving skincare products. Picture / Carolyn Robertson

Ban wrinkles now. If only it was as easy as a few protest marches and placard-waving women acting up about ageing. Sadly, all the protest songs in the world aren't going to suddenly make you look 21 again.

So 50 is the new 40, 40 the new 30 and so on, but a quick tour of the makeup and skincare counters with models not looking a day over their firm, young-skinned 18 years doesn't exactly make anyone feel like celebrating crows' feet. Instead, it's a bit like that old telly programme Logan's Run where life is great hanging with the beautiful young things - until you hit 30 that is, when you're toast.

Go beyond Lancome's baby-faced Elizabeth Jagger and Catherine Zeta Jones' face plastered over the Elizabeth Arden counter and you'll see help is at hand in the form of the latest wonder creams and serums. Now anyone with a line on their face can indulge in a bit of age intervention - for as long as you use them that is.

Praise be to science. The thing about these bottles of hope is that most of the time you practically need a degree in chemistry to understand what they're on about - liposome this and vector that.

Know this. There are three main causes of ageing, says Remuera dermatologist Dr Fergus Oliver. The anti-ageing crusade involves controlling the process in which collagen production slows down, controlling sun exposure - "which is a real issue in this part of the world" - and controlling smoking, which damages your collagen production.

The single most important thing you can do is wear a sunblock with UVA, UVB filters and a physical block, such as micro-fine zinc or titanium oxide, which may improve the look of your skin over time. That's year-round, too.

"I'm very pleased all cosmetic companies are coming out with sunblocks," says Dr Oliver. "That's going to make a huge difference. Winter UV here in New Zealand is a bit like summer UV in the Northern Hemisphere. You can still get burnt."

And, without meaning to sound like mother, giving up smoking is also going to help.

The rest is up to genetics, physical rejuvenation with chemicals, lasers, liquid nitrogen and Botox - given by qualified professionals - and skincare. Oliver says only two products are backed by any scientific data that suggest they can modify existing ageing - the retinova group of products and glycolic, fruit and AHA acids, which have been on the anti-aging crusade for some time.

"There was a vogue for rubbing collagen on the surface, which I thought rather strange, because collagen is one of the biggest molecules in the body and rubbing it on the surface wasn't going to get down, and even if it was, it's not your own collagen, so how was it going to assimilate into your skin?"

But the new serums and creams hitting the counters don't go in for all that. They're smarter and are more interested in going to the source of collagen production, helping the skin to make its own.

Oliver says many skincare products do help the look of the surface of the skin.

"They hydrate the skin and therefore reduce some of the indentation that comes with ageing so fine lines are improved, or they're putty in the cracks, or they have some mild effect on causing some minor swelling in the surface of the skin, which makes it look better."

They're also obsessed with retexturising the surface of the skin, improving clarity and radiance, which is taken for granted with young skin. A facelift may be able to tighten but it can't improve the skin's texture and quality.

And it's not the epidermis of the skin that's on display but the surface because, as we all know, beauty is skin deep. These are some of the latest face-saving skincare products.

La Mer The Lifting Face Serum and The Lifting Intensifier

This blueblood skincare product's secret ingredient is an Arizona mineral called azurite and rare blue algae. It's exceptional lifting energies come from a network of proteins that stimulate the skin's own internal building blocks, while other proteins help to prevent the premature breakdown of collagen and elastin.

"It works like the support tops of your pantyhose pulling everything in and firming it up," says La Mer brand manager Rose Caughey. 

It also improves the colour, clarity and tone of the skin. 

$705 for the serum duo from Smith & Caughey's Queen St. 

La Prairie Skin Caviar Intensive Ampoule Treatment

This six-week ampoule course promises to dramatically improve skin with nano-emulsion technology that gets the cellular complex, edelweiss extract, skin caviar extract and freeze-dried ingredients to where they're needed for smoother, tighter skin with better tone and reduced skin discoloration.

It's an occasional skin booster course to strengthen skin cells.  

$1200 for a six-week course from Smith & Caughey's and selected pharmacies.

Estee Lauder Future Perfect Anti-Wrinkle Radiance Lotion SPF15

For those whose genetic predisposition to ageing means they need a head-start in fighting it, this is the answer.

It boosts the natural production of collagen and helps with radiance and hydration.

$138 for 50ml from selected department stores and pharmacies.

Shiseido Future Perfect Total Revitalizing Cream

This helps skin help itself, enabling it to behave as it did when it was young, including the obligatory increase in collagen production. Skin is energised and wrinkles and fine lines are visibly minimised.

$450 for 50ml from selected department stores and pharmacies.

Lancome Resolution Advanced Anti-Wrinkle Concentrate Serum

Resolution, hailed by many as Botox in a jar for its ability to relax the dermo creases that happen when you laugh, frown, wink and move, has been around a while. But this new serum has twice the concentration of the creams that have gone before.

It's a dermo-contraction resister, which means it strengthens the skin and makes it more resistant to future wrinkles.

$165 for 30ml from selected department stores and pharmacies.

Clarins Super Restorative Serum

For those whose skin is hard-pushed to replenish, lift and renew itself due to hormonal changes that happen during ageing. Clarins uses plants and other botanical extracts to help tired skin look radiant and vital. What's more, skin will appear firmer and smoother as the look of fine lines and wrinkles is reduced.

$190 for 30ml from selected department stores, pharmacies and beauty therapists.

L'Oreal Dermo-Expertise Re-Finish

This is take-out micro-dermabrasion without the recovery time or the dermatologist. It deals to dead skin, refines pores and gives skin an incredibly smooth texture and tone. After the scrub - a bit like a belt sander over the face - treat with the Post-Treatment Optimising Moisturiser SPF15. Best used three times a week.

$39.95 for the kit from selected department stores and pharmacies from March.

Avon Anew Clinical 2-Step Facial Peel

Here is another chance to play doctor in your own bathroom. Dubbed the at-home chemical peel, this is a two-step treatment. The first pot has a pad soaked in 10 per cent glycolic acid and fruit acids. Wipe it over the face and wait five minutes before using the neutraliser. It's a fast track to diminished fine lines, even skin tone and a decrease in the appearance of age spots and freckling.

$89.99 for 30 applications. For an Avon representative ph 0508 802 866 or 0508 777 007

Yves Saint Laurent Temps Majeur Serum

This serum is a fusion of science and ancient Chinese medicine. Helps stimulate the skin's regeneration, as well as helping tired skin look dynamic, brighter and more even. Then, there is the radiance-generation pigment which gives the complexion a radiant look.

$510 for 50ml from selected department stores and pharmacies.

Nivea Visage Anti-Wrinkle Q10 Day Care

This cream has Q10 complex with added creatine, which increases your skin's energy and stimulates collagen production. It means your skin's natural resources to fight ageing are replenished.

$14.95 for 50ml from selected supermarkets and pharmacies.

Chanel Precision Ultra Correction Serum

This is all about cosmetic resculpting for skin that is 45 and over by firming and rebalancing face volume in the area known as the "triangle of youth", which runs from the cheekbones to the tip of the chin. Also contains a new generation of trompe l'oeil light pigments, which create areas of shadow and light to help with the outline of the face.

$180 for 30ml from Smith & Caughey's Queen St and selected pharmacies.

La Mer The Concentrate

Designed for use pre and post-surgery, this helps damaged skin renew, strengthen and repair Overseas, there are plenty of people who aren't having surgery who are using it because of the youthful, supple look they're getting. 

$900 for 50ml from March from Smith & Caughey's.