Eye wrinkle creams are topical emulsions that promise to reduce or remove wrinkles in skin, primarily the face. In fact, many wrinkle creams do make skin look younger for a short while. Studies have shown, however, that even the most effective eye wrinkle creams only reduce the depth of wrinkles by 10 percent, which is barely noticeable by the human eye. Tests also have shown that the most expensive wrinkle creams are no more effective than the least expensive lotions.
In an attempt to look younger, consumers spend more than $1 billion US Dollars (USD) a year on wrinkle products that promise to make the skin look smoother and softer; some products even call themselves face-lifts in a jar. Anything from Crisco to petroleum jelly can call itself a wrinkle cream. Most manufactures of wrinkle creams are careful to market their products as cosmetics, which are permitted to claim they only reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Once a product claims to reduce wrinkles by changing the structure of skin, however, then it is considered a drug and, at least in the United States, the manufacturer must able to prove scientifically whatever health claims are made.
Wrinkles and creases appear when age, health, and environmental factors collide to make skin drier, thinner, and less elastic. Time is the prime culprit in creating wrinkles. Sun damage, constant muscle contractions, genetics, smoking, and dehydration also are contributors.
Prescription eye wrinkle creams, called topical retinoids, are derived from vitamin A and help stimulate skin cell renewal. Tretinoin and tazarotene are two types of topical retinoids that can reduce fine wrinkles, roughness, and age spots. Common side effects of retinoids include redness, dryness, itching, or burning. Topical retinoids must be used with sunscreens and protective clothing to decrease side effects. Other prescription eye wrinkle creams contain alpha hydroxy acids, which enhance exfoliation, peptides, anti-oxidants, and sunscreens.
Most non-prescription eye wrinkle creams contain lower amounts of the active ingredients in prescription creams. These creams can be effective in reducing the appearance of wrinkles. The creams usually are not as effective, however, as their prescription counterparts.
Consumer Reports rocked the wrinkle cream world in 2007 when it compared the results of a $335 USD per ounce wrinkle cream with a $19 USD per ounce lotion and found that luxury products did not work better than drugstore products. The visual difference between the two price point creams was so minimal that most women could not judge the effects of the products they tested.