The anti-ageing cream market is the segment with the highest profit margins and least regulated claims in cosmetics. None of the usual claims are regulated the same way as a pharmaceutical claim. The result: you can spend £200 on a cream with 0.1% of the anti-ageing active the label promotes.

What an Anti-Ageing Day Cream Really Needs

Treatment Actives (What Does the Work)

• Peptides — stimulate collagen type I and III synthesis, signal to fibroblasts, reduce wrinkle depth. Must be in the first 10 INCI ingredients
• HA in multiple molecular weights — immediate and deep hydration, attenuates dehydration lines
• Niacinamide — reinforces barrier, anti-inflammatory, stimulates endogenous ceramide production

Functional Base (What Seals and Protects)

• Ceramides or fatty acids that replenish the skin barrier
• Antioxidants (vitamin E, polyphenol extracts)
• Texture appropriate to skin type

The SPF-in-Day-Cream Question

Many day creams include SPF. The limitation: to achieve the labelled SPF, you'd need to apply 2mg/cm² — the equivalent of a teaspoon just on the face. Nobody applies that much cream. In practice, creams with built-in SPF offer real protection of ~SPF10–15. For adequate protection, SPF should be a separate product applied at the correct quantity.

Anti-Ageing Protocol by Age Range

• 20–30s: SPF + antioxidants (vitamin C) + prebiotics. Prevention, not correction.
• 30–40s: add peptides + bakuchiol. Start stimulating collagen before visible loss occurs.
• 40+: collagen-boosting serum + ceramide cream + bakuchiol + rigorous SPF.

FAQ

Does topical collagen work?

Topically applied collagen doesn't penetrate skin — the molecule is too large. What works are the actives that stimulate endogenous production: peptides, vitamin C, bakuchiol. Creams with collagen as their main ingredient have a humectant function (hydrolysed collagen as humectant) but don't stimulate synthesis.