Another new year and the current focus on looking younger for as long as possible is gathering pace. 

Seems like a great time to get out our anti aging crystal ball and peer into it.

Just what exciting, weird, wacky and wonderful anti aging treatments are scientists cooking up for us?

Here's our top predictions for younger looking skin in 2008 and beyond….. 

Instant facelifts - no really… space agency scientists and cosmetic chemists have already produced quick lift skin creams based on extreme cooling technology. Freeze 24/7 was an early version but the latest - from Icy Beauty - is due to launch shortly and claims to reduce wrinkles by over a third within an hour. How long it lasts and whether it really works in practice is yet to be seen but the drive to replace Botox and plastic surgery with topically applied anti wrinkle creams is a big trend.

Stem cell technology - stem cells have a unique ability to protect and repair skin tissue. Dior's Capture R60 and R80 are the most important products arising from this research with a unique ability - so it's claimed - to protect the skin from further damage and deterioration.

Stem cell injections - Russian anti aging research is focusing on using stem cells harvested from your own body to actually rejuvenate your skin. The downside is that the procedure is hugely expensive, untested and illegal in most of the world. Critics of the treatment say that it's unproven and unlikely to work - and at $30,000 a go - way beyond the reach of most of us.

Human Growth Factors - not to be confused with human growth hormones - human growth factors (HGF) are a major focus for anti aging research by most big skincare companies. HGF can be applied topically and have a big impacton skin repair and collagen production.  The technology is here now and available - SkinMedica's TNS Recovery Complex is the product to go for with the highest level of HGF on the market.

Skull lifts - facelifts aren't enough apparently - the bones of the face move with age and contribute to the aging look of our faces - it's not just our skin that goes south with age! The good news is that the research is focusing on injections to prevent the bone shift rather than using the knife to correct it.

So that's it - that's what the future might hold for some of us. 

And the question for anyone interested in the drive to look younger - just how far do you want to takeit?

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