I tried Strivectin and the RoC Retin-Ox products but they didn't seem to give any visble difference at all. Also Strivectin is greasy and expensive and the RoC products smell awful. I also tried the Boot's Protect and Perfect for 3 months but it didn't seem to have any effect.
After trying so many other products, I'm now convinced that there is no over-the-counter product that really works. I'm quite amazed companies get away with some of their claims.
The amount of "so called" active ingredient in over-the-counter products is really small (you can tell by how far down it is in the ingredients list) and there are about 50 other ingredients too! I started to worry about the cumulative effective of all these diverse ingredients (especially if you apply several different products on a daily basis).
Peels which take off the top few layers of skin certainly improve the appearance by giving a smoother surface. But since the top layers of skin are there to protect the underlying layers (where wrinkles are formed), I can't imagine repeated removal of them is beneficial in the long term. For a temporary improvement, a mild facial scrub (which only removes the top layer of dead cells) is good.
I know this is a cliché, but lifestyle has a significant effect on the skin's appearance. When I changed minor aspects of this (better diet, more sleep and drinking water) I noticed an improvement that I've
never seen with any product applied to the surface of my skin. Although it won't remove existing wrinkles the overall appearance definitely improves.
Apart from that, and sun protection, I think the only skin products needed are a gentle soap, a twice-weekly facial scrub and perhaps an simple overnight lotion or serum just to keep skin moist.