Jessica’s asking about aging: It seems to me that the best way to keep my skin looking great and wrinkle-free would be to prevent as much aging as possible, as opposed to trying to reverse the process when I’m older. Other than sunscreen, what kinds of products should I be using at this point (I’m 25) to keep my skin looking young?

The Left Brain’s rejuvenating¹ reply:

This is a great beauty question and one that we see asked more and more. The proliferation of anti-aging products has gotten so extensive, you’d think cosmetic² marketers want us all to revert³ to 3-year olds. And with some of the claims made, they certainly treat us like that is the age of our intelligence.

The Anti-Aging Secrets for your Skin

You want to know what’s been proven to work? Here it is…

Sun Protection

First, protect your skin from the sun. This is the number one environmental cause of skin aging. Do this by minimizing your sun exposure and using sunscreen.

Eat Well

Next, eat a balanced diet. While everyone is different, this meta-review study on skin health and diet concluded that people who had higher intake⁴ of Vitamin C and linoleic acid and lower intakes⁵ of fats and carbohydrates⁶ had younger looking skin. You get linoleic acid by eating vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and seeds.

Exercise

Finally, exercise. Nothing keeps you looking and feeling young like regular exercise. Thousands of studies have shown that physical exercise is a highly effective way to treat all all signs of aging.

Anti-aging Treatments

Most scientists are skeptical⁷ of anti-aging treatments. This is because there is little published evidence from controlled clinical trials to show most anti-aging products have any benefit. You could say this is because private companies don’t want to make their research public, but if they did have meaningful, positive results you can be sure the PR arm of the company would crow about this where ever they could.

We’ve seen previously⁸ that price is not indicative of the effectiveness of an anti-aging skin treatment. The conclusion was that none of the products were as effective as claimed.

Does any treatment work?

The only thing that scientists and reputable dermatologists⁹ agree on is that application of topical retinoids can repair sun damaged skin and prevent future collagen damage. Oh yeah, and they all say using sunscreen is a good thing.

Beyond that, forget about it. Yes, that includes the $95 Perricone Restorative Cream. Vitamin C works when you eat it, not when you slather it on your skin.

Lasers for your skin?

Recently, lasers and LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) have been shown to effectively rejuvenate¹⁰ photoaged skin. Cosmetic surgeons have been making lots of money from these treatments and the big cosmetic manufacturers like P&G and L’Oreal are trying to bring you this same treatment at home. But the technology isn’t quite ready. Products you can buy right now like the Beurer Softlaser will likely disappoint.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Scientists in the anti-aging field (who are not trying to sell you products) agree, anti-aging products are over-priced and under-deliver. For a 20-something, the best thing you can do is eat right, exercise and avoid long sun exposure. If you’re a bit older, start using skin products that contain vitamin A derivatives¹¹. They’re the only thing that has yet been proven to be effective.

杰西卡询问抗老化问题： 对我来说，保持我的肌肤细腻且没有皱纹的最好办法似乎是尽力抵抗老化，而不是去尝试着返老还童。除了防晒霜之外，在我这个年龄（我现在25岁）应该用什么产品来保持年轻肌肤呢？

左脑对驻容的理性回答：

这是个被越来越多的人所询问的重点美容问题。抗老化产品数量的剧增在各地已经十分广泛，你简直要认为化妆品商家们企图把我们都变回3岁。看看他们做的那些承诺，绝对是想把我们的智商变3岁。

你肌肤抗老化的秘密

你想要知道那些被证实有用的方法吗？这里就是......

防晒

首先，你要避免太阳对皮肤的损害。这是自然环境作用于肌肤老化的第一天敌。尽量减少在太阳下暴露肌肤并且要使用防晒霜。

良好的饮食

其次，均衡饮食。尽管每个个体的情况不同，但是荟萃皮肤健康和饮食关系的案例研究表明：摄入较多的维他命C和亚油酸而且摄入较少的脂肪和碳水化合物的仍人更能够维持肌肤年轻。吃蔬菜，水果，坚果，谷物和种子能够补充亚油酸。

运动

最后，运动。没有什么比得上有规律的运动更能让你保持年轻和感受青春活力了。成千上万的研究表明运动身体是对付所有老化征兆的最有效的方式。

抗老化治疗

大多数的科学家都对抗老化治疗持质疑态度。这是因为临床试验被管制，大多数的抗老化产品是否有益就很少得到公开证实。你可以认为这是因为私企不愿将研究结果公布于众，如果这些产品真的有重要或积极的作用，你想也想得到那些公司的公关部门早就得意洋洋得到处大肆宣扬。

我们早前就已经洞察那些昂贵的价格并不暗示这些抗老化治疗是有效的。结论就是：没有任何此类产品是像其承诺般有效。

那些治疗有用吗？

科学家们和著名皮肤学者们唯一认同的是涂抹相关维甲酸可以修复受损肌肤，防止将要发生的胶原质受损．的确，他们都认为使用防晒霜是种好方法。

除此之外的东西，正如９５美元的抗衰老医生尼古拉的PERRICONE的修复乳液，就都别去理会了。维他命C只在你食用时才起效，而不是你将它厚厚地涂抹在皮肤的时候。

皮肤激光治疗

最近，雷射和LED（发光两级管灯）已显示能使干黄，粗糙起皱的皮肤恢复年轻。整形外科医生已从中获得暴利，化妆用品制造商巨头，例如保洁和欧莱雅正努力使您将这项服务带回家享受。但是这项技术尚不成熟。你目前可以花钱享受的此产品就像beurer温柔疗法那样，很可能使你失望。

最保险的美容密招

研究抗老化的科学家们（他们不会说服你去买产品）一致认为：抗老化产品标价过高而且效用不济。对于一个20几岁的年轻人来说，最好的抗老化就是正确地饮食，适当运动，避免阳光日晒。如果，你年龄稍长，可以开始食用含有维他命A衍生物的产品。他们是唯一一种已被证实有效的药物。