In a world where a gallon of gas costs more than a fast food combo meal, we are all looking for a bargain these days. It is not that we are cheap, but that we need to stretch a dollar so that it is most effective. One place that many of us compromise is on skincare products.

Today we will take a look at how the cheapest way to obtain healthy skin might actually be to splurge on a premium product, and how buying those bargain skincare items might actually be one of the costliest mistakes you don't realize you are making.

When you buy a skincare product at the pharmacy or department store, you may not know it, but you are essentially buying a bottle of chemicals.

All of the oils and perfumes and healthy sounding extracts smell wonderful and may even make your skin feel quite nice for a while, but the secret is that they are wreaking havoc on your skin.

Some companies do this in order to make a cheaper product and some do it so that you will continue buying the product to undo the damage the product itself is actually causing.

Clearly this is not going to be the most effective skincare. The reality is that there are completely natural products out there that can truly reverse signs of aging and end dry skin, you just have to find them.

In all my research into skincare products, I have come up with one astounding conclusion. The most effective skincare products are not in my local stores. Instead, they are on the Internet, and at their manufacturer, waiting for someone like me to stumble upon them and realize the truth behind the science.

Trust me, over the last 10 years I have used them all, and finally found the most effective skincare products.

There are products out there that use real proteins, such as Functional Keratin to actually reduce fine lines, rather than offering a synthetic keratin that cannot be used by human skin but does wonders in making a product sound effective.

Truly effective skincare companies conduct extensive research with their money rather than waste it on advertising, and they sell their own products rather than leaving the stores to ad on money for profit.

These products may take some searching, and they may cost a little bit more, but they have one advantage over every product I have ever bought in the store: they work.

In retrospect, the forty dollars or so I spend on one bottle of cream to moisturize my skin and stop redness and irritation is far less expensive than the ten dollars or so a week I spent on products that only served to make my skin worse.

I never thought I would utter these words, but in all honesty, it is better to spend more money on one truly good product than to spend less on something that only looks effective. In this case, premium skin care really is the most effective skincare.