Many females, and most males, are religious about putting on a night wrinkle cream in their every day anti-wrinkle regimen. The notion is that while sleeping, the body, including the skin on the face, rebuilds and heals itself, so this would seem like a perfect time to administer a good night wrinkle cream. But when you think about it, skin breakdown and renewal is much more complex than this.

Your skin is the clue to the health of your inner being, and when you feel vibrant and are truly healthy, your skin glows. Look at the face of a child and you’ll see what I mean. A child’s face is full, with good color and with no wrinkles or sagging. Conversely, glance at a smoker’s face and you’ll notice that it’s, shall we say, less than healthy looking, maybe even a little grayish. The damaging effects of free radicals from the inhaled smoke have taken its toll on the health of the smoker, and their skin displays this damage. Certainly not the vibrant healthy glow we’re looking for, now is it? When you’re healthy and take care of yourself, it shows and people will take note when you have that healthy appearance to your skin.

But when folks think about making their skin healthier looking, they undoubtedly picture select anti-wrinkle lotions and potions, as well as a suitable night wrinkle cream that promises younger looking skin. Yet most of these lotions are unproven and not worth spending your money on. There are, however, a number of creams, consisting of both OTC and prescription products, that have been shown in studies to be effective against wrinkles. But the key strategy in the fight against wrinkles is the 80/20 rule, i.e., 80 percent of your effort should be aimed at internal strategies for eliminating wrinkled skin, with the remaining 20 percent of your time focused on application of effective topical creams.

I have said for years that the largest error the majority of people make in this regard is they try to fight wrinkles from the outside-in, e.g., rubbing creams on their face, etc. But by consuming certain supplements and, yes, even drugs, that help protect the collagen and elastin content of the skin (via stimulating their production while at the same time stopping their breakdown), you will be successful in the war on wrinkles. When you add this healing-from-within approach to scientifically proven topicals, you’ve got the real fountain of youth for your skin.

A simple example of this would include making use of a side effect-free drug or a supplement that interrupts the destruction of collagen in the skin, combined with a night wrinkle cream topical such as one with tretinoin in it (Renova or Atralin). This approach would have a substantial effect on eliminating wrinkles while concurrently halting skin aging by eliminating the breakdown of collagen.

Follow the 80/20 rule for skin aging and wrinkles and you’ll be a happy camper 10-15 years from now when your friends will be scratching their head trying to figure out if you’ve had a face lift because you appear much younger than you should at your age. There is only one way to look at a scientific anti-wrinkle skin aging program, i.e., by using the 80/20 rule. It will be effective for you if you put in some effort to learn more about it and make use of it on a regular basis.