12:02 AM CDT on Saturday, July 15, 2006

By BRAD WATSON / WFAA-TV

WFAA-TV

Freeze 24/7 promises to reduce wrinkles without injections.

North Texas women like Gina Wilson of Colleyville are lining up to fight the lines at cosmetic stores.

Botox injections are proven ways to smooth out wrinkles for months by relaxing facial muscles, but the procedure can be expensive and somewhat painful. So the cosmetics industry is offering more over-the-counter creams that claim to reduce wrinkles, and do so instantly.

“The consumer demand is there, so they're wanting those products and they're seeing results, and so they're wanting to see more of those type products out there,” said Beck Peacock of Saks Fifth Avenue.

Make-up makers are spreading products across what's become a multi-million dollar market. There's Prevage Anti-aging Treatment, Estee Lauder's Future Perfect and Oil of Olay's Regenerist line.

At Saks at Galleria Dallas, Wilson tried another one of the creams, Freeze 24/7.

Company rep Alex Meraz said the cream contains natural ingredients that go beneath the surface to relax muscles and lead to wrinkle reduction within moments.

Wilson was pleasantly surprised.

“It feels a little tighter, and like its maybe been plumped up and stretched out just as they say, the lines are definitely softer,” Wilson said.

“Like I said, this is somewhere between a 20 and a 50 percent reduction,” said Meraz.

But as popular as these anti-wrinkle products are, consumers should not be under the impression that they are a permanent fountain of youth in a jar.

Dr. Kent Aftergut is a Dallas dermatologist who's also a clinical instructor at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He says if consumers choose the right anti-wrinkle cream, they can see temporary improvements in modest wrinkles.

“If you've got, for instance, deep forehead wrinkles or ... crows’ feet around the eyes, you're really going to need Botox to smooth those," Dr. Aftergut said. "And if you're expecting to get those from a cream, you're going to end up disappointed.”

WFAA-TV

Gina Wilson said she's pleased with the results from an over-the-counter cream.

Further, Freeze 24/7 and other cream makers cannot point to any serious studies to back up their claims. The Food and Drug Administration doesn't require them to, since it doesn't consider cosmetics as major skin-altering products.

But Wilson brought up a big point for her. “I have had Botox, and it's painful. That [Freeze 24/7] wasn't," she said. "If I can go buy a bottle, put it on, have instant an instant change, and it not hurt, then I think that's the way I would go.”

Freeze 24/7 costs $115 a jar. That lasts about a month.

Even at those prices, sales are growing and show that consumers believe these creams will freeze the effects of time.

E-mail bwatson@wfaa.com