The best over the counter night cream is not easily found now a days, with the increasing number of skin care products out on the market today. As you are reading this, another product having to do with skin care has probably just been released to the public. With so many products to choose from, how are you suppose to pick the one that's most effective?

Well, there are many things to consider when you compare night creams with one another. The biggest thing to take in to account, by far, is the ingredients that make up the product. I'll get to that topic soon. But before that, I want to share something with you that will help assure you don't get ripped off when purchasing a night cream, or any other skin care cream for that matter.

I suggest that you stay away from most of the bigger companies that sell skin care products. Most of the time, these companies spend more on the marketing and advertising of their product than they actually do on the production and development of their products. These products will often have a popular celebrity or beautiful model as the spokesperson. They only do this to take advantage of the consumer and their obsession with Hollywood and popular people, so be cautious when considering these type of products. The price that you pay will be making up for more of their advertising expenses than their production expenses.

Okay, onto ingredients now. For those who have tried different over the counter night creams, and have seen minimal or no results, don't be discouraged. It's just that you havn't found the best one yet! For those who have not yet tried a night cream, let's try to make your first choice a good one, okay?

Their are certain ingredients you should both look for AND avoid to find the best over the counter night cream. You can't just look for certain ingredients in a product and ignore what else they put into it; this is because the results from the good ingredients can be countered by those of the bad ingredients.

Commonly used ingredients you should look for in an effective night cream are:

* plenty of antioxidants, specifically vitamin E and CoenzymeQ10 (CoQ10)
* functional keratin
* iron, sodium, and calcium
* ingredients that stimulate production of collagen and elastin in your body, specifically CynergyTK
* something to block the production of hyaluronidase in your body (Phytessence Wakame, an exotic kelp, is best at doing this)


And here are some ingredients that you should avoid if you can. Some of these ingredients will not cause short term harm, but can effect your health throughout the long haul:

* fragrances should not be included in any effective night cream because they contain toxins and chemicals and these can easily be absorbed by the skin since they are applied topically
* alcohols will strip away your skin's natural oils
* mineral oil will clog your pores and can even cause acne flareups
* dioxane, padimate-O, and polyethylene glycol are all suspected carcinogens
* parabens are used as preservatives for longer shelf life, but they have been known to cause cancer and mess with your endocrine system.