Does tummy firming cream really work? It might. It all depends on the ingredients it contains. One ingredient has been shown to improve skin firmness by 40% after 18 days of daily use. Here’s what we know and what we don’t know. Effective ingredients are those with anti-aging properties. Most of the tests are done on the faces of volunteers. The skin our faces is not that much different from our stomachs. So, we can hope that the results seen in clinical trials on volunteer’s faces are applicable, but we just don’t know.

Keratin is the protein that makes up the epidermis, the skin’s outer layer. Only bioactive keratin can be picked up and used by the skin’s cells. The ingredient mentioned in the first paragraph of this article is called Functional Keratin, an active protein complex extracted from sheep’s wool. If you can find a stomach firming cream containing Functional Keratin, you should be happy with the results. Petrolatum and mineral oil are cheap fillers commonly found in the major brands. They provide no benefit and could actually work against you.

There is one peptide ingredient that works well on the neck, but not so good on the cheeks of the face. The difference could have to do with the amount of sagging that is normally seen on the neck. Where there is less sagging, the benefits would be less noticeable. We know that the skin’s production of collagen and elastin fibers, new skin cells and other things decreases with age. That’s why anti-aging ingredients are the ones most likely to work. The better ones are known to stimulate collagen production and increase skin cell proliferation.

So, instead of a tummy firming cream, you might actually want to look for an anti-aging body lotion. That’s one suggestion. Another is to read the label of ingredients. One of the popular creams contains collagen and elastin, which cannot provide any benefit. They cannot penetrate into the skin’s dermis layer where the collagen and elastin fibers are located.

When it comes to seeing results and reaping benefits, everything depends on the complete formula. The better brands are free of allergens and irritants. You don’t want a stomach firming cream that causes pink belly. You want something that works. From what we know today, creams containing Functional Keratin are the ones that work best.