If you want to look younger then one of the most important things for you to tackle is wrinkles. Wrinkles are a tell-tale sign of ageing, and because they are most prominent on the face and hands they are very difficult to hide. As such, we are always looking for new ways to quickly eradicate the signs of wrinkles and to make our skin look tighter and smoother – and to this end it seems people are likely to try anything, including putting haemorrhoid cream on their face… But does this work?
How Does Haemorrhoid Cream Work?
Haemorrhoids are veins that occur naturally around our anus and are completely healthy and normal. It is only when they prolapse due to straining that they become a problem and are then known as ‘piles’ (though many people use the term haemorrhoid to describe the pathology rather than the vessels). These haemorrhoids will then protrude and cause discomfort when sitting or when straining and this makes for a painful and somewhat embarrassing condition.
Haemorrhoid creams help this problem by providing phenylephrine HCL which is a vasoconstrictor (which shrinks blood vessels AKA veins and arteries), and witch hazel which is used to close pores and tighten the skin. Zinc is also often used as another vasoconstrictor, while others will contain corticosteroids to help reduce swelling in the area.
Can it Be Used on Wrinkles?
So the question is, what does this do for wrinkles? Well the answer is not all that much. While the witch hazel may be able to reduce the appearance of pores and tighten the skin, the corticosteroids and phenylephrine won’t help. In fact it may even be that using haemorrhoid creams can exacerbate some issues with the skin around the eyes making it appear thinner and tighter and by leaving it more susceptible to sun damage.
So where did this rumour come from? Well actually it is a hangover from a time when Preparation H used a different formulation that included LYCD and live yeast cells that could aid in the repair of damaged skin cells. The good news is that this version of Preparation H cream can still be found in Canada, so if you are set on using bum cream on your eyes then that’s what you want to look for (but check the ingredients).
Or of course you could just use anti-wrinkle cream…