Dispatches 'The Truth About Beauty Creams'

"Testing some of the High Street's most popular anti-aging creams, with surprising results", was the teaser on the Channel 4 website. The subject of last night's Dispatches programme was 'The truth about beauty creams", but I found that it was pitched firmly to have them all fail. While I didn't catch the whole programme, I saw the last part and was amazed at how biased it was. The use of older subjects, some of them with pronounced ageing, a plastic surgeon of all people (how biased was he?) to poo-poo the claims made by anti-ageing creams, and as for the products themselves - who seriously expects a brand like Nivea or Simple to be able to reverse the ravages of time? Not me.

While I know this was a study done on high street products, it was completely disingenuous. There are plenty of products that are very easily available in high street pharmacies and department stores that will provide results. The RoC RetinOx range and La Roche Posay's new Substiane product spring immediately to mind. Affordable, they also both have good science behind them, as well as proven ingredients. But the key with anti-ageing is always to start young. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, barring fillers, injectibles or surgery, will have an effect on deep lines and wrinkles. And what did these ladies have? Yup. Deep lines, eye bags, wrinkles.

The charts the women were shown when they went back to see their results were also misleading. We were told that a cosmetic effect may have taken place, but the wrinkles were still there. Yes, that may well be true - but it's precisely the cosmetic effect people care about, because that's what affects the appearance of the skin. And the woman who pointed out that her deeper wrinkles were on the side she slept on was absolutely spot on. We all have deeper wrinkles on that side of our face, but that fact was glossed over.

So, what should we be doing to try to call a halt on premature ageing? These are my recommendations:

• Hydration is absolutely key. A lot of fine lines are caused by nothing other than a lack of moisture on the skin and will go away with use of a product that suits you. Regularly assess your skin and if you notice a change, take steps. Once you reach 30, your skin will change and so should your products. Likewise, you may need extra help in the winter too
• Make 'prevention is better than cure' your mantra, and take care of your skin now, as opposed to trying to fix big problems later
• Don't smoke
• Wear sunscreen every day - sun damage is an absolutely massive cause of premature ageing
• Eat properly. No one who eats endless junk food has good skin in the long term
• Exfoliate. Dead skin cells settle in lines and make them look deeper. Sloughing off that dull layer will give you a smoother looking appearance