Study Finds Cheap Cream Fixes Wrinkles

May 1, 2009— -- Britons are queuing up at Boots, a popular U.K. pharmacy chain, to purchase a new anti-aging cream that scientists claim is the first clinically tested over-the-counter cosmetic proven to reduce wrinkles.

It remains to be seen whether Americans will get in line at their drug store to purchase the product to be released by Boots here later this year.

American dermatologists said the study confirmed what they already knew about the active ingredient -- a derivative of vitamin A -- found in Boots No 7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum, which has long been known to reduce wrinkles and is already found in several over-the-counter products sold in the United States.

Following preliminary studies about a similar Boots product's efficacy publicized in a 2007 BBC documentary, that skin cream reportedly sold out in one day.

Boots will not say when you will be able to buy the cream or for how much it will retail in the United States. A similar product, Boots No 7 Refine and Rewind Intense Perfecting Serum, which also contains the ingredient retinyl palmitate, is currently available in the U.S. at Target stores and sells for $21.99.

The market for anti-aging cosmetics is booming, with some creams that promise to reverse the signs of old age retailing for over $500.

La Prairie Cellular Radiance Cream costs $570 at Nordstrom and includes bits of precious stones, but no studies have been published on its efficacy.

Cosmetics in the U.S. are a $2 billion industry and anti-aging face creams make up a considerable piece of the market. In 2008, some $655 million worth of anti-aging face creams were sold, according to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based market research firm.

Investing in facial creams could prove a wise move for the company. The growth in skin care products was driven primarily by face products in 2007, according the research firm.

According to Professor Chris Griffiths at the University of Manchester, scientists have known that vitamin A-derived products, like the prescription strength Retin-A, can reduce wrinkles.