Not too many years ago, it was not unknown for some cosmetics companies to boast of miracle cures within their products; claims such as "Miracle ingredient prevents wrinkles" and "Banish dark rings forever" were commonly used advertising slogans in the UK.

The strange thing about these claims however, was that if you looked up the product on an American website, the exact same product would simply be known as a "Moisturiser". When I was researching the quality of hair and skincare products, I thought this was quite strange and wondered if the States had banned some of the ingredients in the products. It turned out that the two products were identically the same and that the US simply had more strict advertising laws.

Now, that sounds like a bit of a con dont you think? The same product just moisturises peoples skin in the US, but makes us younger looking in the UK? Surely not.

Well it turns out that there are a few interpretations of "anti-ageing" when it comes down to product function. Simply put, the suns rays damage and age your skin prematurely. Now, if you put some sun block into a moisturiser, you can call it "anti-ageing" since it is protecting you from the suns UV rays. What a simple and clever way to make a product sound fantastic.

So, assuming you want to slow down the ageing process, what else can you do?

As I said, the most important thing you can do to slow down ageing is to reduce your time exposed to the suns radiation (this includes sunbeds too) and to use a moisturising sun protection factor product. The damage happens when the suns UV rays penetrate your skin and attack collagen, which normally keeps your skins structure supple and elastic. Thankfully, moisturisers protect by keeping your skin hydrated whilst sun protection factor products deflect the suns rays.

Smoking is the next obvious cause of ageing. Tobacco smoke restricts the blood vessels in your body leading to the depletion of oxygen and nutrients in the skin and body. Giving up smoking will substantially reduce the rate at which you become older looking.

Did you know that adults should be drinking at least two litres of water per day? This is because your body is made up of 75 to 80% water and it is lost constantly throughout the day via perspiration and respiration. Dark circles formed under the eyes are normally caused by dehydration.

So, when it comes down to it, the anti ageing label given to these products may be seen by some as slightly misleading, but at least its helping to create products that both moisturise the skin and reduce sun damage; and with the increasing number of skin cancer cases diagnosed in the UK, that can only be a good thing.

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