19 best anti-aging creams for men that will help you achieve noticeable results

The latest face saver from Nivea Men, this clever cream features an SPF 30 sunscreen, skin-plumping hyaluronic acid and a patented ingredient called luminous630. The latter is designed to help prevent dark spots from forming and prevent existing ones from getting bigger or deeper in colour. All this makes it a great choice, not only for younger guys wanting to dodge dark spots (prevention is always better than cure) but also for older men wanting to minimise any pre-existing damage.

A little of this lightweight lotion goes a long way, and its barely there scent is pretty inoffensive. It sank into the skin immediately, leaving no residue or shine, and kept skin feeling hydrated all day – though, we did reapply again in the afternoon as per the product’s instructions.

Given all it does, this cream is superb value for money, and the lockable, pump-action delivery system means it’s perfect for gym or travel bags.

Bulldog is renowned for providing affordable, straightforward, efficacious skincare with an ethical emphasis – the products are vegan-friendly, cruelty-free, and free of synthetic fragrances and artificial colours. The brand also strives to reduce its impact on the environment.

Designed for mature skin, Bulldog’s age defence moisturiser helps keep dry skin hydrated, while an antioxidant complex of rosemary, echinacea and vitamin E should protect against the aging process.

This moisturiser doesn’t have a sunscreen, but it still makes a brilliant everyday anti-aging essential – and all for less than a tenner.

One of the stars of Japanese skincare brand Shiseido’s total age defence range for men, this high-performance cream aims to tackle the five main issues skin faces as we age – namely wrinkles, sagging, dullness, unevenness, and lost firmness.

This cream does this with the help of rice bran oil complex to speed up cell turnover; xylitol to help moisturise, and nicotinamide to improve skin elasticity and tackle age-related pigmentation.

It’s certainly not the cheapest product we tried, but it has one of the best textures – incredibly light and quickly absorbed. Meanwhile, the barely there scent and elegant, minimalist packaging made it one of our favourites.

American grooming brand Lab Series has always been at the forefront of men’s skincare, utilising the latest technology to deliver better-looking skin. So, it’s no surprise its recent rebrand also sees it offer newly refillable products in the max LS range.

Suitable for all skin types, the anti-age max LS lotion (previously known as max LS power v lifting lotion) is the most lightweight of all the anti-aging creams here, sinking into the skin in an instant, while leaving no shine. It also features a raft of anti-aging ingredients to support collagen production, improve elasticity, boost the skin’s cellular energy and minimise fine lines. You can definitely feel a slight tightening effect on the skin, which is always welcome in an anti-aging cream.

The fact you can now buy eco-friendly refill cartridges (£41.65, Escentual.com) is the icing on the cake.

A reworked and repackaged version of dermatologist Dr Dennis Gross’s cult advanced retinol and ferulic intense wrinkle cream (yes, even face creams can have a face lift), this premium moisturiser is packed with potent anti-aging ingredients.

It includes antioxidant ferulic acid and retinol – the anti-aging world’s go-to ingredient – and is made for boosting collagen, speeding up cell turnover and tackling hyperpigmentation.

As well as helping smooth fine lines and plumping skin, the presence of ceramides helps fortify the skin’s naturally protective barrier. It has a great, silky, rich texture, is quickly absorbed and its presence on your bathroom shelf is guaranteed to show off your skincare smarts.

Dr D, meanwhile, has more than 25 years of experience dealing with people’s skin problems, so, if he can’t help you with your wrinkles, we don’t know who can.

With awards from everyone from GQ to Forbes, Australian grooming brand Patricks has become a byword for luxury grooming (its face scrub features crushed diamonds, after all).

Designed for normal to dry skin, its antioxidant-packed am1 moisturiser features a roll call of skin-saving essentials – from vitamins C and E, hyaluronic acid and Omega 3 to creatine and squalane – to encourage collagen production and improve skin elasticity.

Formulated to hydrate skin for 24 hours (which it certainly seemed to do), it’s quickly absorbed, leaves a matte finish, and feels more potent than a traditional moisturiser.

As you might expect for a product created by leading supplement brand Vitabiotics, this value-for-money wrinkle buster is packed with antioxidants and vitamins to help guard against premature aging. It also features an SPF 15 sunscreen to help minimise sun-induced fine lines and pigmentation.

It’s designed to offer 12-hour hydration and has a nice, thick, creamy texture and a minimal, slightly vanilla scent that’s not too overpowering.

One of the richer creams we tested, it instantly makes skin feel softer and more supple (though it takes a little longer to be absorbed than lighter creams) and the pump dispenser is a plus, minimising the risk of using too much. It’s designed for all skin types but we reckon it’d be particularly good for drier skin.

A medium-weight daily hydrator, with only a slightly floral fragrance, Dermalogica’s SPF 50 daily moisturiser has been specifically designed to defend against skin damage and UV-induced aging.

Packing the joint-highest protection sunscreen of the products on our list (it’s also a chemical one, which doesn’t leave white residue on the skin), it offers broad spectrum protection against both the sun’s burning UVB rays and the UVA rays that are largely responsible for skin aging. On top of that, antioxidant white tea is included, to help counteract the effects of solar damage, while glucosamine HCL helps minimise hyperpigmentation.

As a bonus – yes, there’s more – it also contains ingredients to minimise the detrimental effects of sugar on the skin’s firmness and elasticity. If you spend a lot of time outdoors (or have a sweet tooth), this is the anti-aging cream for you.

Offering an affordable, 360-degree approach to combatting the aging process, the hero of Nivea Men’s anti-age range features hyaluronic acid. This is a useful ingredient, since, as we age, our skin’s ability to produce the important acid is reduced, leading to a loss of moisture, volume, and elasticity.

As well as tackling the visible signs of aging, by helping minimise wrinkles and firming the skin, it also contains an SPF 15 sunscreen, to help guard against future wrinkle formation.

A pump dispenser means you can measure out just the right dose, and it’s available in a cream or gel formula, the former being a bit better for drier skins. The slight fragrance won’t be for everyone but, at less than £15, this cream is fantastic value for money, given everything it does.

A brilliant, no-fuss, daily wrinkle buster, this vegan-friendly, anti-aging cream from British brand Mojo impressed us with its creamy, quickly absorbed texture and pleasant scent (a blend of tobacco notes and spices such as cardamom and coriander). At 75ml, it’s great value for money, and the gold bling packaging is a stand-out, too.

The hero ingredients here are sodium hyaluronate – often regarded as a superior version of hyaluronic acid, which is especially good for dry, wrinkle-prone skin – and pro-vitamin B5, a moisturising powerhouse that helps support the skin’s barrier function, keeping it soft and supple. Pro-vitamin B5 is also good for hair, making this moisturiser particularly useful for guys with stubble.

If you’re looking for a product that really captures the zeitgeist of the skincare industry at the moment, this deceptively simple facial balm from British brand Pelegrims is it.

Using locally sourced ingredients (in this case, upcycled waste from the Westwell Wines vineyard in Kent), it keeps ingredients to a minimum, is produced in small batches (limited-edition is the new luxury) and puts sustainability at its heart. It’s also designed to help your skin support itself, with antioxidant resveratrol from the grapes promoting rejuvenation, and marine algae boosting natural collagen synthesis.

It’s a balm, though, so it has a rich texture, which is more suitable to older or drier skins. We found a little goes a very long way, so go easy on the application.

Green People is the go-to brand for anyone looking for organic-based, cruelty-free, vegan-friendly grooming. Although there is a dedicated men’s range, it’s this unisex, scent-free cream that’s best for holding back the years.

As well as ticking all the ethical boxes, it has a lovely texture (we found it kept skin moisturised all day long), is fragrance-free (great for sensitive skin) and features 89 per cent organic ingredients and a raft of plant oils, vitamins and minerals to support the skin’s natural repair and defence processes.

It’s also formulated with baicalin – a plant-derived anti-inflammatory antioxidant that helps counteract the aging effects of the sun’s UV rays.

As we age and collagen production changes, skin tends to lose its elasticity and firmness, with the result that everything starts heading south. This clever gel-cream (it contains both textures that only mix as you apply) aims to correct that slow slide slightly, by tightening skin a little.

Featuring three key plant extracts (oat, baccharis and centella asiatica) that tone skin, it’s designed to be used specifically around the jawline but, since it also acts as a moisturiser, it can be used on the entire face and neck. As a bonus, it has Clarins’s anti-pollution complex to help guard against the damaging effects of pollution.

After a little time on the skin, you definitely notice a slight tightening. Don’t get us wrong, it’s not going to give you a noticeable facelift but it does tighten the skin slightly, and, when it comes to anti-aging, every little helps, right?

This anti-aging avenger is made in Britain and was created by three guys whose main mission was to reduce the number of skin cancers in men. It might not contain fancy antioxidants and other hero wrinkle-busting ingredients, but it does pack a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a generous SPF of 30. It’s also great value for money, given this is a 100ml tube, which Lifejacket estimates will last you up to six months.

Its lightweight, fragrance-free, no-shine formulation impressed us, and though it goes on white, the sunscreen disappears completely with a little massaging. A good, year-round, no-frills moisturiser with anti-aging benefits as a bonus.

A cult brand in the UK, France’s finest skincare brand for men has plenty of products worth getting acquainted with, but this clever firming gel is a go-to if you’d like to reduce sagging and minimise wrinkles.

Featuring two forms of hyaluronic acid to moisturise and minimise fine lines, it also contains skin-strengthening peptides and kakadu plum extract to boost collagen and enhance skin’s elasticity.

More of a serum than a cream, it does act as moisturiser, though, if you have very dry skin, we’d suggest adding a moisturising cream over it – once it’s been fully absorbed – for maximum all-day hydration.

If you’re a city dweller looking for an anti-aging product that protects skin from anything urban life can throw at it, this award-winning lightweight lotion is for you.

As well as packing a broad spectrum SPF 50 sunscreen for max protection against sun damage, it’s designed to shield skin from 98 per cent of blue light rays emitted by computers, TV and phones – rays that studies show may also age skin. On top of that, it features a polymer matrix that creates a shield on the surface of the skin to rebuff toxic pollution, making it the perfect choice if you work or live in a traffic-congested town or city.

Given that it’s formulated with a 100 per cent mineral sunscreen, we were amazed by how smoothly the product goes onto skin, with none of the white residue sometimes associated with this kind of SPF. It does have that mineral sunscreen smell you get with sun creams, but that’s a small quibble for a product that is essentially a suit of armour for your skin.

Nothing makes a face look old quite like fatigue. If skin is stressed out and ashen following a sleepless night, period of stress or weapon-grade hangover, it’s definitely not going to look its most youthful. This daily moisturiser features two known skin pick-me-ups in the form of brightening vitamin C and energising, revitalising guarana.

It has a pleasant smell, offers lasting hydration and the chemical sunscreen is a great addition – adding protection against the sun’s rays year-round.

The finish is slightly silky rather than full matte but, if anything, that actually improves the look of skin – especially if it’s a bit below par to begin with. A great, daily-use, skin refresher.

If you’re looking for a belt-and-braces approach to anti-aging skincare, a decent wrinkle-busting night cream is a product well worth having in your grooming kit, as it helps ensure you’re taking round-the-clock care of your skin.

The key ingredient here is retinol – a form of vitamin A that boosts collagen, improves skin tone and one that’s best used at night when skin is in repair mode. The downside of retinol is it can be drying and, if used in too strong a strength, may cause irritation. Luckily, we didn’t experience any problems with this carefully crafted night cream, which features time-release retinol. Our skin felt – and looked – a little better after a couple of weeks’ use.

On the downside, this product is quite pricey, and you have to stick with it (retinol’s benefits only really appear with continuous use). Plus, as the main ingredient can make skin sensitive to sunlight, it’s important to apply sunscreen during the daytime. That said, if you want to up the ante when it comes to anti-aging skincare, this a great place to start.

The most lightweight of all the creams we tried (it has a texture a bit like a soufflé), this anti-aging product from acclaimed American dermatologist Dr Nicholas Perricone has been specifically designed for the neck area.

It was absorbed into the skin in an instant, and comes packed with anti-aging essentials, including skin-brightening vitamin C, dark-spot minimising vitamin B3, a decent SPF 25 sunscreen and alpha lipoic acid to minimise the appearance of fine lines.

The neck area is one that most men forget about when practising a skincare routine, yet it can betray age just as much as the face if not looked after. So, if you’re serious about your skincare, tackle that “turkey neck” by adding this little wonder to your daily routine.