The Long Game
Anti-Ageing Is Mostly Prevention, and That's Good News
The interventions with the strongest evidence are unglamorous and cheap. The expensive ones are mostly adjuncts.
The anti-ageing market sells correction. The evidence supports prevention, and prevention is cheap, boring, and largely about two things.
What the evidence actually ranks
1. Sun protection. UV exposure accounts for the majority of visible skin ageing. Daily SPF is the single highest-return intervention available, and it costs $15.
2. Not smoking. Smoking constricts blood vessels, degrades collagen and elastin, and accelerates wrinkle formation. Cessation reverses some of the effect over years.
3. Retinoids. The best-evidenced topical for collagen synthesis and texture, with decades of research. Effective, cheap at the low end, and irritating if rushed.
4. Vitamin C. Antioxidant support, modest brightening, some collagen signalling. Useful, not transformative.
5. Sleep, diet, alcohol. Real but slow effects, hard to measure, easy to ignore.
Everything else — peptides, growth factors, expensive creams, most supplements — sits below these in evidence quality.
The prevention timeline
Twenties. Sunscreen, a gentle routine, and optionally a low-strength retinoid. The goal is establishing habits, not correcting damage.
Thirties. Retinoid becomes more valuable as collagen production begins to decline. Vitamin C in the morning.
Forties and beyond. The same routine, plus consideration of oestrogen-related skin changes, and possibly in-office treatments if desired.
The routine does not change much. The consistency matters more each decade.
What does not work as advertised
“Firming” creams. Temporary tightening from film-formers, not structural change.
Collagen creams. Collagen molecules are too large to penetrate.
Most “stem cell” products. Plant stem cells are not human stem cells and do not behave like them.
Detox products. Skin does not detoxify through the surface.
The cheapest effective routine
- Gentle cleanser ($10)
- Retinoid at 0.3% ($15)
- Moisturiser with ceramides ($15)
- SPF 30–50 ($15)
Under $60 for several months of product. This outperforms most $400 routines on evidence.
Bottom line
Prevention beats correction, and prevention is mostly sunscreen. Add a retinoid when you will actually use it consistently. Spend the saved money on nothing in particular.
Links on this page go to retailer search results — check the retinoid percentage and the SPF rating on the listing.
Tested Glow may earn a commission from links on this page. This summarises published dermatology literature; it is not medical advice.
Frequently asked
At what age should I start anti-ageing products?
Sunscreen from childhood; a retinoid can reasonably start in the mid-twenties. There is no benefit to starting actives earlier, and there is a cost in irritation.
Are expensive creams worth it?
Rarely for anti-ageing. The evidence supports sunscreen, retinoids, and vitamin C. Price correlates weakly with efficacy in this category.
Do collagen supplements work?
Evidence is emerging but modest. Some trials show small improvements in skin elasticity. It is not comparable to topical retinoids or sun protection.