| If you want to look young, don't spend a fortune on | | | | "The women used a test product on one side of their |
| anti-wrinkle creams. A study shows that the cheaper | | | | face and the lab's standard moisturizer on the other |
| brands work just as well - if not better - than the more | | | | side for comparison. A high-tech optical device was |
| expensive ones. | | | | used to detect changes in wrinkle depth and skin |
| This was the verdict of Consumer Reports, a monthly | | | | roughness," Goldsmith said. |
| publication of the non-profit consumer research group | | | | Results were disappointing and showed that the |
| Consumer Union that recently tested different | | | | effects of most anti-wrinkle creams were barely |
| products to determine whether or not they could fight | | | | noticeable. |
| wrinkles. | | | | The small study, however, was criticized by some |
| After 12 weeks of testing, researchers found that the | | | | dermatologists. Dr. Tina Alster, a dermatologic laser |
| best performer cost only $19. However, none of the | | | | surgeon from Georgetown University Medical Center |
| products they tested was able to significantly reduce | | | | in Washington, D.C., and a member of the American |
| wrinkles. | | | | Academy of Dermatologists, said it was difficult to |
| "The top-rated products smoothed out some fine lines | | | | conclude from such a limited study that these products |
| and wrinkles but even the best performers reduced | | | | did not work. |
| the average depth of wrinkles by less than 10 percent, | | | | "People would love to believe that cheap products are |
| a change barely visible to the naked eye," according to | | | | the same as the more expensive ones, and I may |
| Belinda Goldsmith of Reuters. | | | | pooh-pooh someone paying $500 for a cream, but I do |
| "The tests revealed that, on average, these products | | | | see the value of some of the luxury brands which are |
| made little difference in the skin's appearance and | | | | science-based. But it is a cautionary tale that people |
| there's no correlation between price and | | | | should be looking at the ingredients rather than just at |
| effectiveness," a spokeswoman for the magazine | | | | the packaging," she said. |
| said. | | | | Still, some women said they would continue to use |
| For its tests, Consumer Reports chose several popular | | | | anti-wrinkle creams if only because it gave them the |
| brands priced from $19 to $355. The creams were | | | | illusion of being beautiful. |
| used by 17 to 23 women aged between 30 and 70. | | | | "I've never really believed these creams would stop |
| The services of a European laboratory were used to | | | | wrinkles, but they make me feel and smell good," said |
| recruit the women and evaluate the products. | | | | Amira Thoron, a 36-year-old New York teacher. |