Beauty Queen

Look 5 Years Younger

These anti-aging skin-care ingredients can help stave off wrinkles

-Paige Herman-Axel

The fight against aging is an uphill battle, but taking a few steps now can help you maintain smooth skin make you look five years younger. Even if you're in your 30s or 40s, it's not too late-but stepping up your anti-aging skin-care routine while you're in your 20s can help significantly slow age-related changes before they start happening.

Antioxidants
Perhaps the biggest beauty buzzword right now, antioxidants are essential for preventing wrinkles. But what are they exactly? Simply put, antioxidants protect the skin from damage that results from free radicals, which form when environmental aggressors like the sun, pollution, and even air come in contact with the skin. Examples of antioxidants include vitamins C and E, as well as botanically based ingredients like coffeeberry, and synthetic active ingredients like idebenone. Antioxidants can be found in cleansers, serums, moisturizers and even sunscreens, and dermatologists agree that they are essential for the health and beauty of the skin.

One product to try: Give your skin its daily dose of pomegranate and green tea antioxidants with Hissyfit's Saving Face SPF 50+ Moisturizing Tinted Sunscreen. Wear it instead of foundation for a protective shield that lends a touch of color. $49, hissyfit.com

Peptides
Now that you're using antioxidants to protect your skin from damage, peptides can help repair any signs of aging that you may already have. There are a few types of peptides-including face-firming, wrinkle-relaxing and skin-repairing peptides-which act differently, but they can all rejuvenate and renew your skin, which is why many products contain different peptides in one tube or jar. In a nutshell, peptides act as messengers in the skin, allowing the dermis to communicate with the epidermis. As we age, this communication begins to decrease, causing the skin to produce less collagen. As a result, peptides can improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles as well as the skin's texture and tone.

One product to try: Olay Regenerist 14 Day Skin Intervention; it's packed with Olay's own peptide-B3 complex, and this two-phase treatment system is used in place of your nighttime moisturizer. After two weeks, expect to see a lifted look with less noticeable lines and wrinkles. $24.99, drugstores nationwide

Growth factors
A bit of a new kid on the anti-aging block, growth factors are a relatively pricier active ingredient, which is why you're not likely to find them at the drugstore anytime soon. With that said, there are quite a few prestige and professional-grade lines that feature growth factors, including ReVive and Skinmedica. There are different types of growth factors, which work by replacing growth factors in our skin that begin to dwindle with age. By replacing the lost growth factors that tell the collagen-producing cells within the skin to ramp up their output, the skin literally beings to act more youthful.

One product to try: DDF's Bio-Molecular Firming Eye Serum promotes firmness and tone in the delicate eye area without irritation. $88, sephora.com

SPF
Perhaps the biggest beauty buzzword to know is SPF, since shielding the skin from the sun's rays is the number-one way to stave off wrinkles. But it's important to know that SPF only applies to UVB rays, and dermatologists are starting to believe that UVA rays are even more damaging to the skin, especially in terms of aging. (The FDA is working on a new rating system that accounts for UVA rays, so keep an eye out!) An SPF of 30 is a great place to start, even just for every day, and look for a formula that contains antioxidants since free radicals form on the skin when sunscreen ingredients are exposed to daylight.

One product to try: BeingTRUE Essential SPF Gel 30 gives you all the protection you need without clogging pores and without the white residue. $36, beingtrue.com

Read more about protecting your skin: Sunscreen Sense and Skin-Cancer Prevention