If you are looking for ways to achieve smooth, silky and healthy skin, then you have reached the right place.

By the time you are done reading this page, I assure you that you will be a much more educated consumer when it comes to choosing a quality skin care product that will give you the results you so fervently desire.

We may not know each other, but maybe you and I are similar enough when it comes to being fed up with skin care products that promise to give younger and more beautiful skin, but fail to live up to those promises. Even the most expensive and most high-profile beauty products are guilty of this "breach of promise" too.

However, you should know that effective and high-quality anti-aging skin products do exist. They have helped and continue to help people look and feel more youthful by treating or eliminating skin blemishes such as wrinkles, dry skin, and skin discolorations. A number of them can even banish problems like dark eye circles and bags under the eyes.

The question is, how do you choose the right product for your skin care needs from among the thousands of products available both online and offline? If you aren't aware of what makes a product effective, chances are you will buy one that probably won't give you the results you want: healthy skin that makes your face and body look younger.

And who doesn't want to look younger? Or to put it another way, who wants to look older than they really are? The beauty and anti-aging industries understand this, that's why they make billions from cosmetic surgery and topical skin care products.

It's simply a law of economics that as the demand for such products skyrockets, the more products that manufacturers will unleash onto the marketplace to take advantage of and earn from this demand.

Unfortunately, too many of these products are released to market to accommodate this demand without any real consideration to research and development. The manufacturers' funding priorities are for marketing and selling the product.

At first glance, everything looks terrific. The bottles and jars that the lotions and creams are packaged in are appealing. The television commercials and magazine advertisements are alluring, especially since many of them feature a gorgeous model or a famous Hollywood personality -- they feature even members of royalty sometimes!

The thing is, you don't really know if these celebrities actually use the products they are endorsing. For example, Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco was featured in a line of ads for a famous soap back in the 1950's when she was still a Hollywood actress. Many were shocked when she admitted later on that she never even used that soap at all.

Many beauty product manufacturers spend millions upon millions for marketing and advertising, so they end up charging a lot for their products. Or their products contain mostly cheap, low-quality ingredients that do your skin no good. Well, they do what they have to do to not lose money and to make a profit.

But that doesn't mean you and I have to get taken in by their glitzy marketing campaigns or put up with their inferior skin care products. It's a sad fact that so many people spend money on such products without understanding whether the ingredients they contain are good or bad for their skin.

So what ingredients should you be watching out for when shopping for an anti-aging beauty or skin care product? Let's take a look at some of the most important ones.

Substances to Avoid

It's incredible but true: many skin care products are full of ingredients that actually harm or damage your skin over time. In this section, we will talk about a few of these.

First, there's mineral oil. It also goes by names such as petrolatum, paraffin wax, and liquid paraffin. Because it's so cheap, it's a common ingredient in literally hundreds of skin care products. It's supposed to keep your skin moisturized. Or so they say.

What you may not be aware of is that mineral oil can do more harm than good. This is because if you apply it, it can prevent your skin from "breathing" properly. It blocks up your pores, affecting how the skin naturally eliminates toxins. And since it clogs the skin's pores, it can result in acne outbreaks and other forms of skin irritation. It can also cause your skin to become dry and chappy over time, causing premature aging. It boggles the mind to think that it's even used as an ingredient in skin care products at all!

Dioxane. This is another substance that can be found in many skincare products. A synthetic derivative of coconut, it contains significant concentrations of something called 1,4-dioxane, which, in the state of California is "known to cause cancer." To make matters worse, the skin absorbs this substance easily. It's scary to think that people unknowingly expose themselves to this through their beauty product!

Fragrances. If you want to smell nice, good for you. But are you aware that many synthetic fragrances in skin care products have toxic or even carcinogenic properties? You certainly don't want to rub that into your skin. If you want a pleasant aroma wafting from you, spray on some cologne or perfume instead.

Why is using cologne or perfume better for smelling nice, when they can also contain synthetic fragrances? Well, you don't apply cologne or perfume all over your face and your body the same way you do skin care products, do you? No, you just dab a little fragrance here and there. As such, the amount of chemicals your skin absorbs is significantly less.

This is certainly a better way of smelling nicer, instead of slathering a fragrant cream or lotion -- with harmful synthetic fragrances -- all over your face and body.

Parabens. This includes methylparabens, propylparabens, butylparabens, and ethylparabens. A lot of creams and moisturizers include parabens. It acts as a preservative, so it's used to extend a product's shelf life. But some studies indicate that parabens may play a role in cancer and in endocrine system disorders. Lesser side effects can include skin rashes and allergic reactions.

Alcohols: Count ethanol, ethyl alcohol, methanol, benzyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol and SD alcohol among the types of alcohol that can be harmful. They peel away the natural acid covering your skin. This not only causes your skin to become dry, it also makes you more vulnerable to unwanted organisms like bacteria, viruses, and moulds.

Now that you know more about some of the bad ingredients, let's take a look at some of the good ingredients and see how they can help you achieve the youthful skin you want.

Good Ingredients to Look for

Before we discuss specific beneficial ingredients, it's important to educate ourselves just a little bit more on the skin itself and the factors that make a skin care product good or bad.

One of the main reasons why the skin on the face or other parts of the body develops wrinkles and lines or begins to sag is that the proteins collagen and elastin in our skin start to break down. Here's where we need to look at some technical facts. But don't worry, we'll keep it short and easy to understand.

Collagen is a fibrous protein that is different from other proteins in the body. One of the things it does is to keep the skin firm, and it is able to do this because of its great tensile strength.

It doesn't take a genius to understand that when the body's supply of collagen decreases because of aging, the skin loses the amount of support it needs and becomes less firm. The result: sagging skin and wrinkles.

The protein elastin also helps the skin to stay firm. At the same time, it helps the skin retain its flexibility. What this means is that when you stretch your skin, elastin will assist it in returning it to its original position. Without ample supplies of elastin in the body, your skin will find it more difficult to recover from the normal wear and tear of everyday life.

Now you would probably think that a product with collagen would be great for skin care. You'd be wrong, though. This is because synthetic collagen is made up of molecules that are too big to be absorbed effectively by your skin's pores. It just stays uselessly on the skin's surface. Product manufacturers and marketers know this, but most consumers do not. So when they see the word "collagen" in a beauty product, they think it's a good thing, when in reality it's actually just a waste of money.

What they -- and you -- should look for instead is a skin care product containing ingredients that have been clinically proven to naturally boost the body's production and regrowth of collagen and elastin.

Here are three cutting-edge,highly powerful natural substances that do that and more.

Phytessence Wakame

Phytessence Wakame is a kind of seaweed or kelp that grows in the seas of Japan. How does it work to help your skin look and feel younger? By blocking an enzyme called hyaluronidase in the body. But why does this enzyme need to be blocked? Let's get a bit technical here again.

Hyaluronidase breaks down something called hyaluronic acid, which the skin needs to remain supple, firm, and smooth. If your body's supply of hyaluronic acid is depleted, then you can expect your skin to become dehydrated and more prone to wrinkles and dark undereye circles. Not only does hyaluronic acid play a major role in creating the soft yet firm skin associated with youth, it also promotes faster wound healing and tissue repair.

Cynergy TK

Remember reading earlier about how important it is to use a product that stimulates the body to produce more of the skin proteins collagen and elastin on its own? Well, Cynergy TK has been clinically proven to do just that. The results of clinical trials: an improvement in skin elasticity of 42% in a period of 18 days, as well as an improvement of skin hydration by 14% within the same period of time. As you probably realize by now, skin that's more elastic and better-hydrated results in skin that is resistant to sagging, dryness, and wrinkles.

CoQ10

CoQ10 can be found in many of today's skin care products. Its proper name is Coenzyme Q10, and you might see that on the product label. CoQ10 is a vitamin-like sustance that is present in all of the body's cells. Why is it especially important for healthy and youthful skin?

Well, for one thing, it's another one of those substances that help promote the production of the all-important skin proteins collagen and elastin.

For another thing, it is a powerful antioxidant that helps the skin from aging too fast. It does this by combating harmful free radicals, which damage the body's cells and make the skin age faster than it should.

Now, while many anti-aging skin care and beauty products contain CoQ10, you should realize that not all of them provide it in a form that is readily usable by the body when applied topically to the skin.

An exception to this is a version called Nano-Lipobelle H-EQ10. Quite a mouthful to say, but it's a name you should remember because it is far superior to other forms of CoQ10 in skin care products.

It is a unique 'nano-emulsion' kind of CoQ10 and it penetrates deep into the skin -- as much as seven layers deep. Because it reaches so far below, your skin gets to benefit much more quickly from its healthful effects. It gobbles up more free radicals in the skin, thus greatly helping you get youthful and healthy skin more quickly.

Each of these three substances is powerful in its own right. Imagine then the anti-aging power of a skin care product that contains all three together as active ingredients!

Now, pay attention because I'm going to tell you a very important industry secret. Some skin care companies will try to impress you with products that contain some really good ingredients. But what they don't tell you is that there isn't enough of those good substances in their products to have any significant or beneficial impact on your skin. Why do they do this? Because some of these ingredients are expensive and they would rather invest their money in marketing and advertising rather than in effective product development.

So, when you go shopping for a skin care product, you shouldn't choose one just because it contains good ingredients. You should also make sure it has a high concentration of them. You don't want to waste your time and money on something that is useless or provides only a temporary solution to the problem.

Aim for a product that actually boosts production of collagen and elastin in your skin. If you do this, you will really turn back the hands of time when it comes to your skin's appearance and health.

So where can you find all of these beneficial ingredients -- and more -- in just one product collection?

In New Zealand, from an excellent nutraceutical company called Xtend-Life Natural Products. Don't worry, you don't have to be living in New Zealand to be able to take advantage of their high-quality products, since they ship worldwide.

The company is not a household brand. They don't have Hollywood celebrities of award-winning musicians or famous royalty endorsing their products. They don't spend millions and millions of dollars to create cool advertisements for television, magazines, or radio.

They are one of a small number of companies that actually prefer to invest the the biggest part of their money in the creation and development of the best health and skin care products for consumers. High-quality products with years of legitimate scientific research and testing behind them. Skin-friendly products that are suitable for every skin type. Powerful products that actually work.

You can regard them as your "secret weapon" -- something the more popular and bigger companies don't want you to know about.

So, if you truly want to regain skin that's more vibrant and looks younger, visit their website and learn about their skin care philosophy. You just might find the right skin care solution you're looking for. At the very least, you'll learn more about what to search for and what to keep away from when it comes to treating and caring for your precious skin.