10 Amazing Ingredients Your Skin Will Thank You For

by | Sep 7, 2020 | Beauty & Care

Our body requires different types of nutrients and food to maintain itself every day, so does our skin. When choosing a skincare product, the ingredients play a vital role. Shopping for products that contain a range of these ingredients is useful to target specific skin concerns to improve your skin appearance, and in ways your skin will love.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is the most well-researched vitamin that you can apply topically. Vitamin C is not just an antioxidant that reduce free radicals damage to your skin but it can boost the production of collagen in dermis layer for firmer skin, reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots and brighten dull skin.

Tips to look for Vitamin C in your products

There are many forms of topical Vitamin C in the market, such as ascorbic acid, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate (THD), ascorbyl pamitate and ascorbyl tetraisopamitate. Choose the form with higher stability and less irritating like THD ascorbate and magnesium ascorbyl phosphate.

Hyaluronic Acids

Hyaluronic acid (HA) can hold 1000 times its own weight in water, thus it is a superior skin plumping ingredient. HA restores skin ability to retain moisture, prevent moisture loss and restore skin protective barrier.

Tips to look for Hyaluronic acid in your products

There are 3 types of hyaluronic acid: sodium hyaluronate, hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid and acetylated hyaluronate. The best bet for a daily dose of hyaluronic acid would be serum.

Ceramides

Ceramides are lipid found in high concentrations on the uppermost layer of skin. Ceramides are like the bricks of your skin by holding skin together by forming a protective layer that limits moisture loss, increase hydration, reinforce skin barrier to prevent damage from pollution and other environment stressors.

 

Tips to look for Ceramides in your products

There are different types of ceramides (ceramide AP, EOP, NG, NP, or NS) available in different skin care products, and the two precursors of ceramide are phytosphingosine and sphingolipids.

Retinol 

Retinol also known as Vitamin A is one of the most effective anti-aging ingredients to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, refine skin texture, minimize enlarged pores and improving uneven skin tone.

Tips to look for Vitamin A in your products

There are few types of retinol in skincare, including retinyl palmitate, retinaldehyde and retinoic acid. Vitamin A products are recommended to use at night because it makes your skin more sensitive to sunlight. Make sure you use a broad-spectrum sunscreen in the morning if you are using retinol products.

AHA & BHA

AHA stand for Alpha Hydroxy Acids and BHA stand for Beta Hydroxy Acids. There are chemical exfoliants. The function of AHA and BHA are to exfoliate your skin to remove dead skin cells, hydrate skin, improve dull and uneven skin tone and smooth away rough skin texture.

Tips to look for AHA/BHA in your products

Examples of AHA including glycolic acids, lactic acids and mandelic acids while BHA is salicylic acids. AHA is water soluble and it is suitable for dry and dehydrated skin with signs of aging. BHA is oil soluble and it is suitable for oily, combination and acne-prone skin.

Peptides 

Peptides are amino acid and serve as the building block for collagen and elastin.  The function of peptides in skincare serve as messenger to signal skin to produce new collagen and elastin to deliver anti-aging benefits.

Tips to look for Peptides in your products

You can discover different products with different kind of peptides, including pentapeptides, hexapeptides, palmitoyl oligopeptides, palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 as well as copper peptides. Pentapeptides stimulate the production of new collagen, hexapeptides act like “botox” to relax wrinkles while palmitoyl oligopeptides and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 promote the production of new collagen and hyaluronic acid.

Antioxidants 

We know that free radicals damage our skin collagen and elastin and lead to premature aging and uneven skin tone. Antioxidants are added into skincare products to protect skin from oxidative damage caused by free radicals and pollutants

Tips to look for Antioxidants in your products

There are a wide range of antioxidants you can found in skincare products, for example vitamin E, vitamin C, green tea, ubiquinone, astaxanthin, glutathione, niacinamide and ferulic acid. There isn’t a singular best antioxidant that you need to look for, so it is advisable to choose a product that contains different kinds of antioxidants, the more the better.

Squalane

Squalene is a lipid found naturally in human skin. it mimics our skin natural oil, however the production decline with age. Before it can be used in skincare products, it must be converted to squalane, a more stable form of molecule.

Tips to look for squalane in your products

Squalane is odorless and it is suitable for all skin types, even for oily and acne-prone skin. Squalane can be applied on face, body and hair. Squalane locks in weightless moisture, balance oil gland production, calms and protect skin from irritations. You can find different squalane products derived whether from olive, rice bran or sugar cane in the market.

Centella Asiatica 

Centella Asiatica, also known as ‘Gotu Kola’ or ‘Pennywortis’ is a green leafy plant that is native to Southeast Asia. It contains four active compounds which are Asiaticoside, Asiatic acid, Madecassoside, and Madasiatic acid known for its amazing skin benefits. Centella Asiatica is not only a potent antioxidant, it also has a superior hydrating, healing and soothing properties to calm upset, reddened and troubled skin.

Tips to look for Centella Asiatica in your products

Glycerin 

Glycerin is a natural compound of healthy skin. Glycerin is a humectant which can draws the moisture from the air and keep the skin moisture. Glycerin mimics skin’s natural moisturising factor (NMF) to strengthen skin moisture barrier.

Tips to look for Glycerin in your products

Glycerin is a common component of natural soaps due to its moisturising properties and its ability to cleanse gently. Many facial and body cleansers are added with glycerin to prevent irritation and dryness during the cleansing process.

Reference

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