No one wants wrinkles, but treating them can be costly. A jar of wrinkle-fighting cream can cost more than $50. Besides being even more expensive, collagen and Botox injections are invasive procedures you might be unwilling to risk. Making some simple lifestyle changes and treating wrinkles at home is less costly, and the ingredients are as close as your kitchen.
Topical Treatments
Many home remedies for wrinkle treatment have been used for thousands of years, with reported success. Rub coconut oil right onto your face. Pineapple cores, massaged into the skin, are often mentioned as wrinkle treatments. Egg whites applied under the eyes firm up wrinkles there. Tomato juice, potato juice and pureed cucumber all contain properties that apparently address wrinkles. Mash a banana and apply it as a facial mask. Make your own mask with honey, alone or in combination with lemon, or crush tumeric and sugar cane into a paste. Rose oil, diluted in a carrier oil, applied directly to the skin can be effective (and is an ingredient in many expensive brands of face cream).
Lifestyle Treatments
Stop smoking--cigarettes leave your skin dull and dehydrate you. Puckering to take a puff creates wrinkles. Drink lots of water to prevent dehydration, which emphasizes the appearance of wrinkles. Use sunscreen every day, making sure it is at least SPF 15 and offers protection against UVA and UVB light. Avoid extended time in the sun during the hottest parts of the day and wear a hat when possible. Eat a balanced diet full of vitamins A, C and E. Consuming olive and grape seed oil, either in your diet or through supplements, is said to assist in staving off wrinkles
Expert Insight
Little research supports home-based wrinkle remedies, but anecdotal evidence points to success of many of them. Egg whites in particular have a short-term firming effect. Rose oil is known to be high in antioxidants and antibacterial properties, making it an effective astringent working to tighten the skin. Experts primarily stand behind wearing sunscreen and eating a balanced diet to support smooth skin and deter aging. Researchers at Monash University in Australia concluded, as reported in a 2001 issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, that women who consume more vegetables, legumes and olive oil experience less wrinkling than women who eat more processed food and saturated fat.
Considerations
If you find a homemade remedy that works for you, by all means, use it. Most of the recommended facials cost very little and are worth trying. So many different types of wrinkle creams exist, if one product's formula worked for everyone, it would dominate the marketplace. Many ingredients in "natural" wrinkle creams are extracted from fruits, seeds, nuts and vegetables.
Precautions
Most home-based topical treatments are mild, so adverse reactions are rare. If you have particularly sensitive skin, some home-based treatments could irritate you. Do a patch test on your forearm before applying anything to your face if you tend to have sensitive skin.
Member Comments