The Complete Guide To Firming Facial Cream

If the skin on your face is starting to sag or lose its obvious elasticity, you’re probably curious if there is anything that you can do to help stop it. With so many skin care products out there, it’s easy to go through hundreds of dollars before finding one that works for you or just giving up entirely. 

MiamiMD wants to help cut through all of the fluff so that you can find a product that works for you as soon as possible. Don’t waste any more time; start your new routine today.

The Causes of Loose, Sagging Skin

The reason that the skin begins to get loose or sag is actually twofold.

Age is one of those factors. As our skin begins to age, it loses two of its most important proteins,  collagen and elastin. These proteins are made in the dermis of the skin, which is the middle layer between the hypodermis (sometimes referred to as subcutaneous layer) and the epidermis (the most external layer). 

Elastin is the protein that gives the skin its elasticity, as it helps to build and maintain connective tissue all over the body. It provides the skin with its ability to be able to bounce back when it gets stretched, as it is up to 1000 times more flexible than its sister protein, collagen. 

Collagen, on the other hand, is the protein that is responsible for keeping the skin plump. It is made out of tightly constructed fibers, sometimes known as a matrix, which helps the skin to maintain its firmness and structure. 

As the amount of both collagen and elastin decrease more and more, the skin is less able to maintain its firmness and resiliency. That leads to a breakdown of the matrix that helps to keep the skin as tightly together, which means it tends to sag, wrinkle, and even start to appear “crepey” in nature.

The other factor that can make a serious difference in the way that the skin looks is sun exposure. There are two different types of ultraviolet rays that come from the sun: UVA and UVB. UVA is generally to blame for age-related concerns, as it has a longer wavelength, which means that it is able to penetrate through the epidermis (where UVB rays stop), through the dermis, and even into the epidermis. In fact, UVA rays are even able to penetrate through glass! That also means that UVA rays are able to create damage to the skin on a DNA level.   

When natural aging and excessive sun exposure come together, they thin, loosen, and wrinkle the skin quicker and quicker. If the sun exposure starts early in life, people may also notice the results of sun damage (wrinkly, “leathery” skin) as early as their mid to late 20s. On the flipside, people who take care of their skin and focus on wearing sunscreen every time that they are outside may be able to push back the visible signs of aging until their 40s or even their 50s.

While protecting your skin from the sun is on the individual, firming facial cream was designed to help you firm and tighten the face by encouraging the body to hang on to as much collagen as it can. Some can even help to prompt further collagen production, mostly using peptides. 

While exactly how they work is unique to each cream, they all want the same thing in the end —  firmer, tighter, more youthful looking skin that seems to glow from the inside. 

How Do Firming Facial Creams Work?

With so many creams on the market that claim to firm and tighten the skin, it can be hard to really break them down on an individual level. To help, we’ll take a close look at MiamiMD’s Age-Defying Lift & Cream, including our ingredients and our science behind how it can work for you.

First on the ingredient list is Progeline. 

Progeline, known chemically as trifluoroacetyl tripeptide 2, helps to inhibit the synthesis of a protein that has been scientifically linked to thin, aging skin. That toxic protein interrupts the body’s ability to repair itself and replace old, dead and damaged skin cells with new, healthy, more youthful skin cells. 

Progeline inhibiting the body’s ability to produce that protein helps the body help itself, leading to an increase in the skin’s volume, firmness, and skin density. In addition to blocking that toxic protein, Progeline is also a strong peptide that can help to increase the production of additional collagen, while reviving the skin’s strength and elasticity. 

Next up is Matrixyl 3000.

Matrixyl 3000 is a peptide-based formula, similar to Progeline. Also, much like Progeline, Matrixyl is considered to be a potent age-fighting ingredient that sends signals to the body that it needs to produce more collagen to replace the collagen that has been lost. It is made up of two different peptides — palmitoyl tripeptide-1 and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 — that work together to be able to provide their age-defying effects. 

And finally, Argireline.

As anti-aging skin care products go, Argireline is quite often the star of the show. Argireline, chemically known as acetyl hexapeptide-3 or acetyl hexapeptide-8, is made out of six different amino acids. The ingredient is so effective at what it does because it is related chemically to a substrate of the same chemical that makes up botulinum toxin (more commonly referred to as botox).

The way that it works is that it helps to prevent the muscle movement in the face that actually leads to the formation of wrinkles. Because it is able to inhibit those nerves, the subtle facial movements that we often make without even noticing are limited, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. Think of Argireline as a gentle form of botox that you can actually do at home, without the pain or doctor’s appointments. 

When all of those ingredients come together, they are able to really transform loose, saggy skin. You’ll notice an obvious difference, not only in the firmness of your skin, but also in how you feel about yourself. Having that youthful radiance back can really help you feel more confident about yourself, and that’s a good feeling at any age.

How To Use Firming Facial Cream

The first step in using any firming facial cream is to make sure that you always start out with a clean, dry face. Cleansing the skin is absolutely essential to being able to remove all of the old, dead skin cells that clog the epidermis and cause the skin to look dull and uneven. When you cleanse your skin, it washes away any of the build up of the day (or the evening, when you wash your skin in the morning) that has collected there, including pollutants and other residue.

After you’re done cleansing, resist the urge to rub the skin dry. All of that rubbing can actually hasten the signs of aging skin, as you can encourage both stretching and thinning of the skin. 

What you want to do instead is to gently pat the skin dry. You can leave a little moisture behind if you’d like, to help further encourage hydration of the face. If you’re wearing a targeted serum, this is the point that you’ll want to put that on, as well.

Now it’s time for your firming facial cream!

All you need is an amount about the size of a quarter. Using your fingertips and a gentle pressure, massage the facial firming cream into your face using an upward motion. Keep massaging until all of the cream has been absorbed. Don’t forget to use the skin on your neck, as well.

After you’ve rubbed all of the cream in, wait at least three to five minutes for it to be thoroughly absorbed before going to bed, or 15 minutes before you apply any makeup. If you’re using firming facial cream before bed, it should always be the last step in your routine. The cream will not affect the way that makeup is able to be applied, and it won’t change either the color or the texture of your foundation.

One jar of MiamiMD’s Age-Defying Lift & Firm Cream should last about four weeks when applied both morning and night. Most users will be able to see a difference in their skin’s softness within minutes of the first application, but people who use it for at least four weeks will notice the most visible difference. 

In Conclusion…

MiamiMD’s functional skin care products are exactly what you need to help you get back to that youthful glow that you used to have. 

With a full line of products meant to help reverse the signs of aging skin, targeting common complaints like dark circles, fine lines and wrinkles, and sagging, you’ll wonder why you ever used any other product. You’ll notice a difference right away and, over time, you’ll be stunned by how beautiful your skin can look. 

Don’t waste one more day not liking what you see when you look in the mirror… you deserve to love yourself, and a little skin care can go a long way toward that.

Sources:

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-ap1/chapter/layers-of-the-skin/

Peptide – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

The anti-wrinkle efficacy of argireline, a synthetic hexapeptide, in Chinese subjects: a randomized, placebo-controlled study – PubMed (nih.gov)