FOUNTAINS OF YOUTH OR JUST GENETICS?

Dozens of skin-care products are available to help keep skin young looking.

Women have fretted about their appearance probably since the first one caught her reflection in a pool of water. They religiously scan their faces in the mirror each morning, looking for another crow's foot near their eyes or smile line near their mouths.

Skin-care consultants admit that genetics play an important role in skin's elasticity, but they encourage customers to begin a cleansing and moisturizing regimen early on.

Dr. Hal Brown, Cape Girardeau's only dermatologist, said the best anti-aging formula is a wide-brimmed hat mixed with a generous amount of sunscreen. The sun's ultraviolet rays do more damage to the human epidermis, or top layer of skin, than anything else.

If it's too late for prevention, the skin-conscious can turn to two topical preparations -- tretinoin or alpha hydroxy acids.

Tretinoin is the chemical found in the prescription drug Retin-A. It helps the collagen found in the skin's second layer replenish itself, and collagen is what makes skin supple. Brown said Retin-A produces substantial improvements in about 30 percent of the people who use it.

The other 70 percent may see a small amount of improvement, including the decrease of fine lines and dark blotches caused by sun damage.

Alpha hydroxy acids, including glycolic acid and lactic acid, are found in many over-the-counter preparations. Let the buyer beware, Brown warned.

"They seem to be well tolerated in most people," he said. "But they have been on the market for a relatively short period, so there haven't been a tremendous number of controlled studies about what they can or cannot do."

Brown added that no one is sure how the acids work to reduce lines and sun damage, which they do in many people.

Neither tretinoin nor alpha hydroxy acids are replacements for major age-reversing procedures like plastic surgery or chemical peels, but Brown said they could help some people.

For people who aren't ready to get a dermatologist's prescription or have plastic surgery, there are simpler options available through cosmetic companies' skin-care regimens.

The key to younger-looking skin is moisture, said Mary Kay Director Gloria Jackson. The Sikeston consultant said even teen-agers, who routinely battle oily skin and blemishes, need to moisturize their skin. If they begin caring for themselves early, they won't fight as many wrinkles later.

Avoiding the sun, and probably tanning beds, helps a lot, Jackson said. Another ally in the fight against wrinkles is an oil-free moisturizer. Oil and moisture aren't the same thing.

"If you put a prune in a jar of baby oil, it stays shriveled up," Jackson said. "If you put it in a jar of water, it plumps up."

The same applies to skin, and Mary Kay and several other companies offer moisturizers that actually absorb oil while retaining moisture.

Many of Jackson's middle-aged clients continue to use oil-fighting moisturizers to try and stay young. Because of imbalances caused by birth control pills and stress, today's working moms continue to have problems with blemishes long after the last generation's wives and mothers stopped.

But other middle-aged women battle dry skin, which is more conducive to wrinkling. Jackson said she didn't start on a skin-care regimen until she was 30 years old and started using Mary Kay. Now she uses a stronger moisturizer and makeup foundation with an oil-based sunscreen.

Almost any skin-care or cosmetic company advises its customers to use the same basic regimen each day for younger-looking skin. It includes a cleanser to remove impurities, a toner to restore the acid balance and create a smoother surface, a moisturizer to keep skin supple and a foundation with sunscreen.

The products don't have to be expensive, but Merle Norman consultant Cherie Schaffer suggested women sit down with a skin-care expert before buying anything. It helps them avoid a large drawer full of products that didn't work with their skin type, something most women have.

"You might pay for service, but you save money in the long run," Schaffer said. "You can talk to someone who knows that product and has used it."