Skin care and beauty mavens have often told us to wash our face gently with mild cleansers and moisturize, moisturize and moisturize. But are these enough? Soon enough age will come creeping and claim ownership of that smooth blemish-free skin. What's a woman to do?

The truth is wrinkles can not be seen by the naked human eye. What we see are the shadows made by the creases and folds on our skin. But for the majority of us this explanation is not comforting. All we want is to rid of those unsightly signs of aging. But how?

Every anti-aging skin care product ever made have made amazing claims to delivering immediate results from reducing fine lines to completely eliminating wrinkles, but these media hyped propaganda can only be proven true when the active ingredients in those products have done what they were expected to do. Active ingredients like Argireline and Matrixyl which are peptides have shown positive results based on research studies.

Argireline, or Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 (AH3), is a botox alternative which is topically applied on facial points instead of being injected subdermally. It is considered a safer option for those leery of using botox to smoothen wrinkled facial areas especially on the forehead and between the eyes. Instead of paralyzing muscles, AH3 relaxes muscle tensions in problem areas by inhibiting the release of neurotransmitters that initiate and control the intensity of muscular contractions on the face.

In a clinical study published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, AH3 has been shown to reduce the depth of wrinkles up to 30% after just 30 days of use, and a 17% reduction of wrinkles around the eyes after only 15 days of treatment. The tests also show a 39% improvement in smoothness, 42% improvement of dryness and 45% improvement in overall skin tone. With the right regular use of AH3-based products like Bellaplex and LifeCell wrinkles specifically around high muscular tension areas on the orbital area and on the forehead can be reduced.

A similar peptide ingredient, Matrixyl (also known as Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-3), has shown to be as effective as Retinol in repairing sun-damaged skin and reducing fine lines but without the harmful side effects. It can also be considered as a safer option to use for people who develop skin irritation from retinoids or alpha-hydroxy acids.

These two peptides are synthetically made but are considered safe for human use. When combined with copper, a natural trace element in all living cells, they can stimulate the production of collagen in skin and may enhance the action of antioxidants.

When choosing the best anti-wrinkle cream, always remember to check the product's ingredients on the packaging label before you buy. Better yet, read wrinkle cream reviews with wrinkle cream ratings in them to find the best anti-aging creams and serums for your type of skin.