Wrinkle creams: modest results, some overblown claims

Kim Painter | Special to USA TODAY

Wrinkles happen. And when they do, many women, and some men, start searching store aisles or the Internet for a cure.

While there is no such thing, stores and websites are happy to sell consumers wrinkle creams and other "anti-aging" products that, typically, promise to reduce "the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles."

Lately, some are promising a lot more — and getting into trouble with the Food and Drug Administration.

"The number and type of claims that we are seeing has been increasing over the past five to 10 years, with the growth in the market of anti-aging products," Linda Katz, director of FDA's office of cosmetics and colors, said in an e-mail.

In a recent update for consumers, the agency reminded the public that products sold as cosmetics – a category that includes make-up and all non-prescription wrinkle creams – are not reviewed for effectiveness by the FDA and so cannot make the kind of claims allowed for approved drugs.

Claims that a product can change the skin's structure or function – by stimulating the production of skin-firming collagen, for example – are illegal, the FDA says.

In recent years, the agency has sent warning letters to several skin-care companies for making such claims. Recipients have included Avon and Lancôme.

The most recent warning went to StriVectin, a company that makes pricey anti-aging potions sold online and at stores such as Bloomingdales and Nordstrom.

FDA called out the company for, among other things, claiming its Potent Wrinkle Reducing Treatment ($99 for 1.7 oz.) was "clinically proven to change the anatomy of a wrinkle" and that its Advanced Tightening Neck Cream ($95 for 1.7 oz.) could "restore the elastin fiber architecture… improving resistance to gravity."

In a statement, StriVectin said: "We stand by the efficacy of our products" and "are doing everything in our power to ensure that our communication to the public complies" with the law.

The agency can't comment on ongoing cases, Katz says.

Dermatologists say consumers should know that there's no fountain of youth in a bottle – and that even drugs and procedures offered by doctors can't undo a lifetime of aging and sun damage.

"There is nothing that is going to take skin that looks 50 and make it look 20," says Fayne Frey, a dermatologist in West Nyack, N.Y.

Frey, whose FryFace website seeks to debunk skin care myths, says non-prescription wrinkle remedies can have a modest effect, but so can any good moisturizer, including brands sold in drugstores for less than $20 a bottle.

"You get a temporary increase in water in skin," she says, and that can help mask fine lines and wrinkles.

The heavily-marketed extra ingredients in anti-aging formulas are mostly vitamins or watered down retinoids, the active ingredient in drugs such as Retin-A, Frey says. If they add anything to the moisturizing effects, she says, it's minimal. They can also add side effects, such as skin irritation, she says.

At her site, Frey recommends some products from drugstore brands such as Olay, Neutrogena and Aveeno, but she says she has no financial ties with any of the companies.

Over-the-counter products, including some with retinoids, can improve the appearance of aging skin when used every day "for a long time," says Jenny Kim, a dermatologist and researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles.

There's no reason to think the most expensive versions have any advantages, she says – unless the high price makes users more likely to stick to their skin care regimens and stay out of the sun.

For patients who are willing to spend even more – and endure more discomfort and risk – there are options available from doctors, including higher-dose prescription retinoid creams approved by the FDA.

Some people find those creams too irritating at first, so they may want to start with lower-dose options, says Richard Glogau, a clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco.

Other options include Botox injections, filler procedures and laser resurfacing, all of which cost at least several hundred dollars per session and must be repeated every few months or years, say Kim and Glogau. Both have financial relationship with Botox maker Allergan; Glogau also has relationships with companies that make fillers.

But Frey, Kim and Glogau all say the first product they recommend for anyone concerned about wrinkles is a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor of at least 30. The FDA does allow cosmetics containing proven sunscreens (considered drugs) to say they reduce the risk of "early skin aging caused by the sun."

Sun exposure – including the light we get through car windows and on cloudy days – is the most important cause of wrinkling, and keeps causing damage as we age, the doctors say.

"The boomers are all fried, because we grew up in an era when there wasn't any sunscreen use," Glogau says. "Hopefully, the millennials will do better."

The American Academy of Dermatology has this advice on preventing and fighting wrinkles:

• Wear sunscreen every day.

• Don't tan, outside or in a tanning salon.

• Moisturize to improve skin's appearance.

• Don't smoke – it contributes to wrinkling.

• If you try a wrinkle cream, give it some time to work, but expect modest results. Stop using any product that stings or burns, unless you are using it under medical supervision.