Reducing smiles and other lines/wrinkles that have appeared on our faces over the years can be a bit of a daunting task. With skincare products in and out of the cupboards, it can be hard to decide what the best options are or if they're affordable options! Our experts are here to tell you that there definitely are affordable options out there; you just have to know what ingredients are key to maintaining a healthy complexion. Not only are the ingredients key to healthy and vibrant skin, but also the consistency of one's skincare routine should come at the top of your list, directly behind the ingredients.
In this comprehensive article, our experts give the low down on everything that’s important to using these highly-rated products. The best way to see results for use with any skincare product is consistency. The best way to reduce smile lines and all other forms of wrinkles is to know and understand the ingredients to look for when choosing a product. Along with that, knowing one's skin type can significantly benefit your skincare journey.
Importance of Consistency
As with almost all skincare products, it’s a known, scientific fact that consistency is key. From a young age, we’re given a million different products, and we often don’t see results. Many of the issues with not seeing results actually stems from not sticking to a consistent skincare routine. There are many things in our daily lives that we have been so accustomed to and would hardly be able to live without. That is really the definition of consistency, doing something every day. Take a minute and think of 5 things you do every day; here's some help!
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Brush your teeth
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Comb your hair
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Change your clothes
There are three consistent things that most humans follow daily. There are definitely more that may fit better to your specific lifestyle. Those are things that humans do consistently. So when it comes to preventing smile lines and other wrinkles, a consistent skincare routine is vital; “Keeping a consistent skincare routine will help to treat your wrinkles, even out uneven skin tone, prevent acne, and improve the clarity of your skin.” With that being said, here are a few tips to help you integrate a consistent skincare routine into your daily life:
Keep It Organized
As we age, our skincare product cabinet may grow to a confusing and non-bearable aesthetic. If this is the care, get rid of what you don’t use. If your space isn’t something that is fun and pleasing, then chances are you’re not going to stick to a routine.
It’s also important to know which skincare products are to be used on which days. An easy way to help you organize this is to create a calendar. Girl Chick Betty offers an amazing, free template for tracking your skincare routine!
Make Time
Doing things at the same time every day can be extremely beneficial in keeping any schedule. Dr. Greg Wells says, “Doing something at the same time every day is one of the keys to habit formation”. This has proven to be true time and time again. Therefore, if you’re looking to get into a consistent skincare routine, pick a time each night and each morning to do the entire process and mark it on your calendar!
Look Out For Results
Tracking results can be a fun and rewarding way to keep up with a consistent routine. Whether you do this by taking pictures or just by observing in the mirror, you’ll be sure to see results if you use good products and stick to a routine.
To make the most out of your skincare products, and well, your time — consistency is key. It really can’t be stressed enough how important a consistent skincare routine actually is to see results. Use these tips to create yours and enjoy the ride and the results!
Why Everyone Needs to Know Their Skin Type
Knowing your skin type is crucial to choosing a skincare product. This article lists the top 6 skincare products to reduce those aggravating smile lines. How can you make sure that you choose the right one? Take this 5-minute quiz to find out what your skin type is!
So, why is it important to know your skin type when buying skincare products? Well, the answer is really quite simple: “Treating the wrong skin type can lead to irritated skin, breakouts, and premature aging.” Each product on the market is essentially designed for a certain skin type. If one doesn’t have that skin type, it could be more harmful than helpful.
With dry skin, you’ll want to look for skincare products that are hydrating to the skin. On the contrary, with oily skin, you’ll want to look for oil-free products that aren’t over-hydrating for the skin. It’s also important to research your specific skin type to know exactly what to look for in a product.
Types of Wrinkles and Lines
Knowing your skin type and keeping a consistent schedule should be at the top of your list when figuring out a new skincare routine. With that in mind, let’s take a look at maybe not the most important aspect, but quite an interesting one — the different types of lines and wrinkles. This could potentially be important as some products are designed for different lines and wrinkles. Knowing which you’re looking to aim for could make your break your skincare routine. Let's take a look, shall we?
Smile Lines
Smiles lines are “Vertical lines that extend from the sides of the nose and around the mouth; sometimes they can extend as far down as the chin.” If you have smile lines, line good for you! It shows years of happiness and smiling. Although that may be true, they can be a bit aggravating, and thankfully, there are a variety of products on the market that will help you make them less apparent.
Marionette Lines
Marionette lines are very similar to smile lines, although they come with a bit of a cooler name. The name itself actually helps to draw a better picture of what these lines look like; “Marionette lines get their name from marionette string puppets, which are known for having split jaws so puppeteers can help them talk.” Sadly that doesn’t feel like a very good comparison, but no worries, most humans with natural human skin tend to develop these lines by their 40s.
Frown Lines
Frown lines are also known as worry lines. It’s been said that our worry and our stress go straight to our foreheads, and that has proven to be true time and time again. These lines are “sometimes called worry lines (and) are the vertical lines that appear between your eyebrows.” Stress tends to make us put tension on our foreheads, causing the muscles to contract and eventually creating frown lines.
Dynamic Wrinkles
Dynamic wrinkles are caused by different muscle contractions throughout the face; “Dynamic wrinkles are wrinkles that are visible when you are making certain kinds of facial expressions.” They can be found in various locations around the face — frown lines, crow’s feet, smile lines.
Static Wrinkles
Static wrinkles, unfortunately, don’t usually subside with the relaxation of the facial muscles; “Static wrinkles, however, remain on the face even after our facial muscles relax and tend to deepen with age.” Unfortunately, these wrinkles are also very common, and you’ll probably start seeing them in your late 30s or early 40s.
Deep Wrinkles
As we age and our skin is affected by natural environmental factors like the sun or air pollution, we tend to see deeper wrinkles. That’s essentially the best way to describe what deep wrinkles are. Think Shar Pei, but not as extensive.
Ingredients to Look For When Trying to Reduce Smile Lines
Retinol
Retinol is found in Vitamin A and is essential when trying to combat fine lines, like smile lines. Retinol actually helps skin cells turnover quicker, resulting in an overall smoother complexion; “They (also) stimulate the production of new blood vessels in the skin, which improves skin color. Additional benefits include fading age spots and softening rough patches of the skin.” Clearly, there’s a scientific reason why this ingredient should be at the top of your list.
Vitamin C
Honestly, it’s never too early to start using Vitamin C on your skin. Vitamin C has so many benefits it’s almost hard to make a short blurb that really portrays everything it does. It’s “Essential to the production of collagen in skin cells, helping to support skin structure and delay signs of again.” There’s no surprise when the word collagen is thrown around that this is an ingredient that should be incorporated into anti-aging creams. A known fact is that as the skin ages, it loses the ability to create collagen; therefore, using ingredients that promote that process is very important.
Niacinamide
Ceramides are special lipids or fatty acids that help to produce the skin barrier. This is super important when deciding on a skin cream for anti-aging because maintaining the skin’s barrier protects from all sorts of outside forces. Niacinamide mainly helps with collagen production; “Niacinamide can help reduce lines and wrinkles by boosting collagen production.” As we know, collagen production is #1 in reducing fine lines and wrinkles.
Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid actually helps the skin retain moisture. Overall, hyaluronic acid helps the skin retain moisture keeping it more hydrated throughout the day. This, in turn, helps the skin battle fine lines instead of focusing on hydrating the skin.
SPF
SPF was important to include in this list, but it’s not essential for your anti-aging creams to already have it in, but IT IS essential for you to incorporate it into your skincare routine. If a skincare product does already have it in it, great, but if not, the responsibility falls on you. Protecting your skin from the sun is super helpful to keep it hydrated and wrinkle-free.
The 6 Expert-Rated Products to Reduce Smile Lines
1. LilyAna Naturals Retinal Cream for the Face
The LilyAna Naturals Retinal Cream is a moisturizing anti-age cream for the face and neck skin. This cream is packed with hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, and Green tea. This product has been known to be extremely hydrating (most likely due to the Hyaluronic acid retaining the moisture from the other ingredients). It also includes retinol to help with skin cell turnover.
Either way, this thick and creamy moisturizer will feel amazing on any skin type. With that being said, oily skin type folks should really look into this product and try for a free sample, as the hydration qualities are quite high.
LilyAna Naturals was known to be extremely hydrating to the skin for almost all of its users. Unfortunately, though, it didn’t really show that much progress in reducing fine lines and wrinkles. Making it a great option as an overall moisturizer, but it can take a back burner to some of the other products on this list when it comes to reducing skin aging concerns.
Price: $20.69
Photo source: amazon.com
by Neutrogena
2. Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hyaluronic Acid
Calling all oily skin type aging ladies and gentlemen! This product is an oil-free anti-aging product that is packed with hyaluronic acid to really retain any moisture already found in the skin. This hydro-boost cream has a texture that will literally melt into the skin right away. It makes the perfect base for a full face of makeup.
Unfortunately, the only active ingredient from our aforementioned list was Hyaluronic Acid. This makes its rating not quite as high as others on this list.
Price: $17.99
3. Tree of Life Anti-Aging Complete Regimen
This anti-aging regimen has three different serums involved. Each of these serums actually has one of the above-mentioned ingredients that is essential for anti-aging creams and serums. Including Vitamin C, Retinol, and Hyaluronic Acid, this complete regimen has ecstatic customers with various 5 stars reviews. One saying; “That Hyaluronic Acid is the truth!! All three of the products feel great on my skin. Super hydrating, but that Hyaluronic Acid is stellar.” Although this reviewer may not know exactly what Hyaluronic acid does, we all know that it’s helping her to retain the moisture from other products.
Out of this list, this seems to be the best option thus far. With ingredients that won’t be overbearing to any of the skin types, this is a really great option for anyone at any age!
Price: $19.95
Photo source: amazon.com
4. Face Wrinkle Patches
The face wrinkle patches are slightly different from the other creams that we’ve looked at thus far. This is a treatment that is aimed at reducing expression lines, smile lines, laugh lines and even marionette lines overnight, all while you sleep.
These are super easy to use, and users say they see results quickly. The key factor to these patches is that you wear them overnight. Often while we’re sleeping, our faces tend to push against the pillow or get stressed due to dreams. The patches prevent outside forces from affecting the skin during the night. Also, keeping them hydrated overnight, as we know hydration is key to getting rid of these troublesome lines.
Price: $18.97
Photo source: amazon.com
by RoC
5. RoC Retinol Correxion Anti-Aging Wrinkle Serum
This is another overnight treatment. Overnight creams, serums, and masks can be super beneficial for various reasons. These serums normally help to create collagen, and they may be a bit thicker and work best on clean, makeup-free skin. Retinol is great for cell turnover and collagen production, making this product a great choice for someone who is looking to get rid of those nasty deep wrinkles. Retinol is great for penetrating deep under the skin.
Price: $21.95
by RoC
6. RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Facial Filler
Last but definitely not least, this skincare product contains some of the top ingredients on the market. Including both retinol and hyaluronic acid, this product will be perfect for keeping skin hydrated and producing collagen to help reduce the look of frown lines, forehead wrinkles, and even static wrinkles.
Price: $16.69
Conclusion
Well, this comprehensive outline of how to make the best skincare routine and the six best products to reduce smile lines and wrinkles should have left you not only with an idea of your next skincare product purchase but also with a better understanding of exactly what to look out for. Focusing on a few different ideas when purchasing skincare products can seriously make or break your skin. The first, of course, is staying consistent. It’s never easy to keep a consistent schedule at first, but once you get used to it, it almost becomes second nature (think. . . brushing your teeth). Knowing your skin type is also super important in choosing the right skincare product for you. Last but certainly not least, it’s important to know the most important ingredients to look out for in anti-aging products.
The products reviewed in this article are packed with various ingredients specified for anti-aging. They are also affordable, and there are many different products listed; at least one will be a good fit for your skin type.
