Obviously, the cost is the major reason why most people would rather use wrinkle creams instead of getting a face lift treatment as they cannot afford the expensive procedure. Another reason is that the process is too painful to bear. It is performed by making incisions which can be very risky and you’ll need more time to recover after the treatment. It doesn’t end there because maintenance is also necessary. But with wrinkle creams you don’t need to do all of these. Wrinkle creams can also give you better results. The best kinds usually have fast-acting ingredients that remove wrinkles and creases effectively. Here are some of the differences between a face lift treatment and wrinkle creams.

Here are a few reasons why wrinkle creams are a much wiser way to keeping your face looking its best.

Face Lifts are Expensive

A person who is financially stable can manage to pay for this kind of treatment. There will be no hesitation in her or his part to engage in the procedure. However, there are people who cannot afford to get this kind of treatment and this is why in order to make them look younger they will opt for wrinkle creams instead.

Face Lifts are Not Long Lasting

It is true that one gets good results by having a face lift treatment. But eventually gravity again takes its toll and the skin begins to sag and more treatments are required. For some, this is not convenient especially when it comes to their pockets. Not all people can engage in this kind of treatment on a continuing basis. It’s alright to consider getting the first one, but getting another one, that is another story.

Face Lifts can Have Critical Side-Effects

Serious side-effects like hematoma (an allergic reaction to any medicine), scarring, facial nerve damage, and swelling are just some of the possible concerns you have to deal with when it comes to face lift treatments. You may also be at risk because of the anaesthetic medicines. In this case, you need to endure some amount of pain to achieve the results you desire.

After reading the above, it is a no-brainer that if you want to treat your wrinkles effectively, but don’t want to spend all of your hard-earned pay, the best way to go about it is to skip the expensive treatments and go with a wrinkle cream.

-Geneva

ps.  For a product that is designed to mirror a face lift, try this Instant Face Lift.

Amazon.com is a great place to shop for beauty and skin care products.  For starters, it’s credibility as a review site is unparalleled.  Site visitors can read through verified reviews to see what people who have bought the product through Amazon.com (that’s why it’s called verified) say about it.  Pretty good way to filter out any lurkers who are looking to pump up the reviews of a certain brand and a great way to keep the negative feedback at bay.  So, we consider Amazon.com a great place to shop for skin care and beauty products for those reasons.  Oh, keep in mind you can check seller feedback as well.  This usually gives you a good idea of how the company distributing the product operates their business.  If they get generally warm, positive feedback, you can rest assured you are in good hands.  If feedback is negative, try to decipher why this may be.  Also, there are some companies who use distributors of Amazon.com to fill their orders, so be sure you know who you are dealing with before you pass judgment on a company or brand.

Here is a summary of the top selling beauty products from select categories for the Summer Months….

Olay Regenerist Eye Serum.

Realizing that not everyone can afford a cosmeceutical eye serum, Olay has gone very basic with this under eye product.  Sold at the bargain price of $14.95, this was a top selling product on Amazon.com because at $14.95, why not?  While it wont’ hold a candle to other eye serums on the market that are packed with peptides, it does bear the name Olay and for that reason alone, people who recognize the brand will buy.  We haven’t used this product, but don’t see any reason why it should be relied on.  At the price, it simply does not have the percentage of actives we look for in eye serums that work.

Olay also has in the top sellers category the Multi Sculpting Cream, and The Night Recovery Moisturizing Treatment.  Recognizing there is a demand for lower-priced cosmetics, the skin care giant is making products for the bargain hunter and it’s translating into sales – at least on Amazon.com.

Not to be outdone, Proactiv leads the way in acne – big shocker there!  (That was sarcasm.)  A two month supply of the best-selling 3 step system goes for about $45.00, and with it’s huge marketing campaign, there is no reason Proactiv will be anything but the top selling acne treatment for a while.

Rounding out the products that caught my attention was a 70% Glycolic Acid chemical peel.  I know that these invasive skin procedures are not typically legal to sell like that, but perhaps the percentages of glycolic acid come into play.  At any rate, I’m a big fan of chemical peels and what they can do for the skin, mainly removing dead, dull skin cells from the surface, so it’s a good thing that people are becoming fond of them.

Thanks for reading, it will be an interesting fall season in skin care, and we’ll be here to report about it.

-Geneva

Reporting on the top selling Amazon.com beauty products

For starters, I always suggest getting treatments that will complement your daily skin care routine.  That is to say, if you are treating wrinkles every day at your home in Chicago with some of the best anti aging creams money can buy, then why do an anti-wrinkle treatment for $400 at a Spa in Aruba?  It’s simply repeating an area of skin treatments that you seem to have a good grip on, and it’s best to opt for another treatment that will work to complement what you are already doing back home.

I admittedly don’t exfoliate enough while I’m at home.  On a weekly basis, it’s suggested that you exfoliate a minimum of one time.  Whether you buy a cheap exfoliate product at say, Walgreens or CVS pharmacy, or a high-priced, fruit-extract infused exfoliate from say Bath & Body works, it’s good to get rid of dead skin cells.  Dead skin cells make the skin a pale color, and when they remain on the skin’s surface, the new, regenerated skin cells don’t have room to blossom to the surface and show of the true beauty of your skin.  This is why exfoliating is so important.

Many Spa’s offer some serious mud therapy treatments that will allow the skin to exfoliate properly and take on an outer glow that you may not know you have.  I like to take advantage of the treatments they offer that get rid of dead skin cells as it’s  weak point in my skin care routine.

Another great treatment that has been getting a lot of press in recent years is a cellulite treatment.  Today people are treating cellulite more than ever, and there are many successful ways to get rid of cellulite, such as laser therapy, massages, and even topical cellulite creams.  Cellulite is a major concern for over 80% of women and even some unlucky men, and it’s not an easy fish to fry.

Cellulite treatments can come in the form of hot mud-infused wraps that are tightly pressed around the affected areas or they can be an all-out, firming massage by a certified professional.  Either way, this is most likely not something you are treating at home on a daily basis, and a cellulite massage is a great way to get rid of cellulite even if you do use a daily cellulite smoothing cream in your daily skin care ritual.

Sure, the Spa offers a plethora of skin treatments.  They usually do come with a price tag.  While I’m not one to ever be shy to spend money while on vacation, I’m just trying to convey a message that when it comes to paying a high price for a Spa treatment, you really should do your best to get something out of it that you can’t necessarily get out of your skin products at home.

by Geneva

-Geneva enjoys Spa treatments and is our resident “Spa Review” specialist.  You can look for her Spa Reviews each month right here on SimplySkin.com

by Geneva

There are many gimmicks out there that have made companies millions of dollars.  Smart-minded marketing heads of major companies are paid big bucks to help make sales.  With the extreme growth of skin care products, as well as the amount of competition in the industry, companies have turned over new leafs in their attempts to drive customers to their brands.  They are even giving away products for FREE.  But, these free products rarely are free when you magnify what is exactly going on behind the scenes.

You see, the use of the word “free” is almost fraudulent.

This isn’t to go out and say that all free trial offers are bad or fraudulent, I don’t want to come off sounding like that.  But Ive read way too many wrinkle cream scams for my liking, and it’s unfortunate that a few bad apples have to ruin what was a great business concept for the rest of the world.

Basically, a free trial offer works like this….

Customer signs up on a form to obtain a “free” product. The customer is usually responsible for shipping and handling, which can be anywhere from $5.95 to $11.  Once this is paid, the product is shipped out to the customer.  Of course, many of the companies use sometimes confusing web forms with pre-checked boxes that basically lock the customer into an agreement that they may or may not understand fully.  You see, customers don’t always read the legal mumbo-jumbo, and it can be quite hard reading through all of it, even if one wanted to.

At the end of the day, the customer, whether knowing it or not, signs up for a program that AUTOMATICALLY ships a product or two to the customer on the same credit card that was used to pay for the shipping.  Now, if the customer is happy with the product, God bless, this could be a great arrangement.  It provides a hassle-free way of re-ordering a product you care going to use anyways right? Well, while I can’t put a percentage on the number of people who are truly happy with an arrangement like this, I can say that there is a group of people who do NOT like this arrangement.  The fact is, the majority of customers do not understand exactly what they are getting into when they sign up for the free trial offer.

For these people, this can be the beginning of a nightmarish experience with the company who sold them the free trial product.  Of course, there are many methods of contact that can be used to get in touch with the company, but if they don’t respond, guess what – you are STILL locked into the billing agreement you signed up for earlier.  Emails go unanswered, and phone calls can be ignored.  This is all done in hopes of having hundreds, if not thousands of customers to get to the “next month” of the billing arrangement, which brings gobs of cash to the manufacturer.

Moral of the story – be careful when you sign up for something that appears “free.”  Nothing in life is free, as we all know, and the same can be said for skin products.

You work hard to set aside a budget for skin products.  You look back at receipts from previous product purchases and you cringe.  You may even get ridiculed by someone close to you for spending so much.  Perhaps your spouse, a co-worker, or even your accountant.  It’s hard enough to make money in this economy, you don’t need to waste money where you don’t need to.

Savvy skin product buyers have many things in common.  They think things through and get to know the intricate parts of what makes a proper skin care regimen.  They find areas of their regimen that can be tweaked, allowing them to spend more money on products they love or have the urge to try, as well as not go overboard and be financially reckless.

There are many ways to cut corners and have beautiful, glowing skin.  First, you need to know some basic education.

1.  Not every “new and innovative product” is necessary. Each week it seems there is a new treatment that is advertised in a slick way to make your mind think you just have to have it.  For example, many new deep skin peels are being introduced to the market and they talk about their ability to remove dead skin cells from the skin.  However, if you exfoliate regularly, you can rest assured you are already doing that!  Sure, there will always be a rebuttal from people who disagree, and that’s expected – my point being many people use products that overlap, which can cost money.  Really dig down and understand what your products are formulated to do, then think about what products you already use.  Often times there can be some overlap and the positives of what the product could do may outweigh the financial commitment.

2.  Do you really need a cleanser? I do!  Personally, I use the Extreme Cleansing Gel made by Wrinkle System on my entire upper body.  This ensures that I clean my neck and face, as well as other areas of my body that may be prone to acne.  I work out a bit, and feel something that is more advanced than soap is best for acne prevention.   However, since that’s just my personal take, and every0ne has their favorite product, that’s certainly something unique to me.  If you are the type of person that only uses a cleanser on your face prior to applying an eye cream or other facial serum, and you are looking to save a couple bucks, save your cash and use a body soap.  The most advanced cleansers can be pricey, and this expense can be avoided at a very small loss to maximizing your skin’s healing process in the long run.

3. Savvy consumers know the ingredients inside out.  If they don’t know them, they research them. How hard is it to learn about skin care ingredients?  If you are reading this article, you are on the web and I can assume you have the ability to surf the web at ease.  When you see an ingredient you don’t recognize, simply visit your favorite search engine and make a query.  This is the best way to find up-to-the-minute information and learn about the various ingredients that make skin products different.  If you understand what Argireline is, per say (INCI name Acetyl Hexapeptide 3) – you can look at an anti wrinkle cream and see if it has this ingredient.  Known as one of the latest wrinkle treating ingredients, with extraordinary abilities, this ingredient is a must have if you are looking to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

4.  Look for claims that can be backed up. If a product makes bold claims, does it come with clinical testing to back it up?  Clinical testing is the gold standard in legitimacy of product lines, and when referenced, it should be taken seriously.  Products that make bold claims like “get rid of wrinkles in 30 days” without citing clinical studies are simply making claims that they think will get your attention and help them make sales.  Look for products that are clinically tested, and know that at least in a small focus group being supervised by a third party, the results reported are 100% true.

5.  Know when you are being sold. Of course, it’s easy to go into the beauty section of any major department store and be blown away by an amazing display, dressed up sales persons, and powerful product packaging.  Keep in mind, when a product is being recommended or is “on sale” this is usually part of an incentive-driven sales program.  You see, major skin care brands take up a presence that is highly valuable in various stores across the world.  It’s a game of real estate.  They offer incentives, bonuses, prizes for the top sales channels in order to build their brand and have their products on the premium shelf space.  If you visit the same outlet over time, and all of a sudden a product you’ve seen time and time again is being pushed down your throat, that has not been recommended to you by the sales person previously, odds are you are being sold this product for a reason.

Armed with a cheat sheet written by the best beauty shoppers, you are now ready to become a savvy skin product consumer!