How to tighten the skin: are there creams with a lifting effect

The concept of cosmetics with a lifting effect has undergone many changes lately. At first, it was perceived as a kind of Makropulos remedy, capable of giving a rejuvenation effect without much effort on the part of a person. Then the attitude became skeptical, since in most cases the composition of such cosmetics made it possible to create only a visual effect of smoothing the skin, without affecting its structure in any way. Today, experts are again carefully looking at creams and serums with a lifting effect, and when asked by patients about how to tighten their skin without complicated and costly procedures, they may well recommend them to use cosmetics. About what kind of cosmetics has a lifting effect and how it provides it, read on estet-portal.com.

How to tighten the skin: different methods of lifting and their effectiveness

The concept of lifting entered cosmetology around the beginning of the 20th century, when a German doctor first performed a skin tightening on a patient using a simple incision along the hairline and stretching. Further, such a skin tightening received some development: in order for the effect to last longer, surgeons began to exfoliate the skin from the underlying fibromuscular tissues, lift it up and only then stretch it. So with the light hand of surgeons, we got the facelift procedure.

The concept of lifting, that is, raising the skin, as a result of which wrinkles are smoothed out, has firmly entered the everyday life of cosmetology and has become synonymous with rejuvenation.

The very significance of the procedure as a plastic surgery to stretch the tissues of the face gradually faded into the background. The main thing was the effect of smoothing wrinkles, and at the same time it was possible to perfectly explain to patients how to tighten the skin: under the influence of one or another agent, the skin is lifted and smoothed, wrinkles are straightened, and the structure regains its former elasticity. Such magical remedies have become known as lifting creams.

It must be admitted that many cosmetic products really gave the effect of lifted and smoothed skin. However, in fact, it turned out that the remedy simply provoked the usual skin edema. Such a cream usually included:

• substances that irritate the skin, due to which the permeability of the stratum corneum increases and moisture from the cream quickly penetrates the skin;
• substances that, on the contrary, created a kind of waterproof film on the skin, causing the stratum corneum to swell.

Such creams were applied to the skin of the face in a thick layer and kept for some time, and then removed with a napkin – and here it is, the lifting effect with smooth and fresh rosy skin without wrinkles. Unfortunately, such creams did not please for a long time: the skin eventually dried up and wrinkled so much that only a surgeon could help her further.

How to tighten the skin and not harm it: new cosmetics ingredients

Today, it would be imprudent to laugh at the concept of a cream with a lifting effect, since scientific data on some ingredients of modern cosmetics unequivocally indicate: yes, such a phenomenon as lifting is quite possible for them. How to tighten the skin with cosmetics without harming it?

It is worth noting that cosmetics with a lifting effect, working on the principle of creating a film on the skin, are still available today. It gives an immediate effect of skin tightening due to the polymers and silicone particles contained in its composition. These components are contained in the cream in a liquid state, and solidify on the skin and create a film that smoothes the skin and creates a tightening effect. Of course, we are not talking about any anti-aging effect, but there is no harm to the skin from such products, since the film does not damage the stratum corneum and does not interfere with skin breathing.

Another interesting option on how to tighten the skin with cosmetics – use a cream containing a small amount of alpha hydroxy acids. If their amount in the product does not exceed 5%, then the same irritating effect will be obtained as in the previously used creams – the stratum corneum will swell and visually be perceived as smoothed skin. The difference is that alpha hydroxy acids improve the work of a number of skin enzymes that are responsible for moisturizing the skin and renewing its stratum corneum, and therefore their long-term use can just give some lifting effect due to increased hydration and accelerated regeneration.

The most promising areas in the creation of lifting creams today are ingredients that can influence the synthesis and structure of collagen, retain water molecules in the skin, and accelerate recovery processes.

Such ingredients include peptides, amino acids, retinoids, vitamins, plant extracts. So, for example, the ability to influence the structure of the skin was found in Centella Asiatica, red grape seeds, and seaweed. As for peptides and amino acids, today many of them have already been studied and used in cosmetics, which have the properties to stimulate, regulate or even block some processes occurring in skin cells, and be used to build new collagen fibers. Thanks to these properties, such components of lifting creams can reduce the depth of wrinkles, increase skin elasticity and even remove some of its defects.

However, when asked by a patient about how to tighten the skin with a lifting cream, it should be answered that this approach requires, in addition to a careful choice of means, also great patience. The components of creams and serums do not work quickly, but when used correctly, they can work wonders for rejuvenating.