Hi there, finally back to write down some good skincare knowledge you all should have so you can know exactly what active you should reach for and what it will do. I have many customers and followers that aren't knowledgeable actives or ingredients that might really help them. I thought I would share some of my favorites from my experience! Plus, other ingredients that we personally know will keep your skin looking really nice throughout life.
Actives and extracts are wonderful to use in skincare. They have the power to target deeper issues in the skin such as melasma, hyperpigmentation, redness, inflammation, rosacea, larger pores, deep set wrinkles, and acne. These are the special ingredients in a product that when used on a regular basis can penetrate and help your skin look its best. Let's go over some of our favorites in detail and share why you should try them based on certain issues.
VITAMIN C
Let's start with the big one Vitamin C. The main one you will see used in skincare and the one with the most data supporting its benefits is L-Ascorbic Acid. This is an acidic powder that dissolves in water and is very effective. Some of the benefits that is has are helping with hyperpigmentation, sun damage, acne, texture and firmness. You would think you could just eat high amounts of vitamin C and your skin would reap benefits from that, but research has shown that applying actual vitamin c topically has more proven benefits than diet alone. Diet alone is not going to fix your skin despite what online skinfluencers say.
L-ascorbic Acid can be slightly irritating so if you has sensitive skin, look for one with a lower concentration. Vitamin C is an antioxidant for the skin and body, so applying it to skin with lots of UV damage can be very helpful. Vitamin C also works as a collagen supporter in the skin. It can help the body and skin with its collagen production. More research is needed on this aspect but its promising.
Vitamin C also can be anti-inflammatory, if you have eczema, psoriasis, rosacea then vitamin C can be helpful with that. The downsides of the Ascorbic Acid vitamin C is that it is very unstable and doesn't stay active for very long without oxidizing. When it does oxidize it will turn brown and start smelling off. At this point it needs to be thrown out.
There are other forms of Vitamins c known as Vitamin C derivatives. Those are not as widely studied as ascorbic acid, but nevertheless many of them have shown to be just as effective. Some Derivatives are:
Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate
THD Ascorbate
3-O Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
Ascorbyl Glucoside
Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate
Glyceryl Ascorbate
Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate
All of these derivatives have shown great results in INVITRO studies, which unfortunately isn't enough. Again, they're promising, and the pros with these are they are very stable and can be used throughout the day with no irritation, and at high concentrations. The trick with derivatives is using them consistently. A con though is they are slightly more expensive then a regular ascorbic acid serum.
We offer a vitamin C serum click here Desert Dew Vitamin C Serum (Bestseller), our vitamin c serum is made with THD ascorbate at 5%. We've found it to be very effective and helpful. There is also another ingredient in this formula that adds to the vitamin C's benefits. We will list it down below in more detail.
If you think you might benefit from a vitamin c serum, try one out. Try out a cheaper storebought version with ascorbic acid in a lower concentration, around 1-2% and see how your skin does. If its too irritating try a derivative form of vitamin c.
Niacinamide
Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3 which is essential to skin health. It addresses a wide range of concerns much like vitamin c but works a bit differently. Niacinamide is similar to niacin the vitamin present in many foods naturally but is different in its molecular structure. The body converts niacin to niacinamide by the body which means when taken orally the body cannot use it to spot target skin concerns. Conveniently the type in skincare is already in the form of niacinamide which means it can be used immediately by the skin. Many of the benefits it offers falls under the anti-aging umbrella like minimizing fine lines and wrinkles, helping with skin inflammation, helping with hyperpigmentation, sunspots, damaged skin cells, reducing sebum production, and preventing moisture loss.
Niacinamide is great to use if you can't handle a stronger active like Retinol. We aren't including retinol in our list because it's a strong active and many people's skin can't handle it. FYI Retinol has all the benefits that our list has and more, but the caveat is it can be extremely irritating and cause sensitivity to UV rays.
If you have oily skin, acne prone skin, sun damage, and texture problems than Niacinamide is your girl. Its important to know that Niacinamide over 4% can be irritating, you can use higher concentrations if you want but be aware of that.
We offer a niacinamide in our Hibiscus Honey Serum click hereHibiscus Honey Hydro Serum. This is a oil free serum, and very easy to use. We've seen amazing results with our serum, our overall texture and complexion looks better and smoother.
Niacinamide is a great active to have in your skincare arsenal, like everything in this list it must be used consistently to see the benefits over time.
Hyaluronic Acid
The only real downside with it is that if you suffer from dry skin then it can end up making your skin feeling drier. Hyaluronic acid will pull moisture from wherever it can find it, so if you live in a dryer climate and you already have dry skin then the HA will likely pull moisture from your own skin! Subsequently leaving it drier and not looking the best.
Those who would benefit from this active are those who live in a more wet environment and those with oily skin types. Our Hibiscus honey serum has a very small amount of sodium hyaluronate. Try out different products with HA and see how your skin likes them!
Panthenol
Panthenol also known as pro vitamin B5. This amazing ingredient you'll notice is in a wide range of products including skincare, haircare, and makeup. Its really a hidden hero, like a superhero that you know is there but you never see or they dont get much attention. It falls under the humectant category. It draws moisture to the skin, but it also functions as an emollient, making the skin soft and smooth. Panthenol is often used in wound treatments and the treatments of severe sunburns because it's SO extremely soothing and healing to damaged skin.
When panthenol is applied to the skin, it gets converted to Patothenic acid where it then can help the skin maintain moisture and elasticity. In our opinion this should be in every body and face cream. Panthenol also has anti inflammatory properties.
Those who would benefit the most are those with dry damaged skin types, although any skin type can use this and have benefits.
Our Body butters have a high amount of panthenol in them and we think thats also why so many customers have told us how its really softened and smoothed their dry skin. click here Body Butter
Ceramides & Peptides
Ceramides are like the mortar between the bricks holding them together on the house that is known as your skin barrier. Our skin barrier composition has ceramides naturally present in them. They are monumentally important to a healthy skin barrier, because they allow your barrier to protect itself and keep out nasties that would damage it and cause further issues like aging inflammation, dermatitis, the list goes on and on.
The benefits they offer are locking in moisture, repairing a damaged barrier, giving smoother softer texture on the skin, minimizing redness, minimizing wrinkles, and keeping skin looking healthy and happy. Ceramides are for everyone! Dry skin, oily skin, sensitive skin you name it! Ceramides is for YOU.
Try our Reishi Silk Ceramide Cream and watch your skin look radiant super quick Reishi Silk Ceramide Cream
Peptides are short chain amino acids that make up proteins used by the skin. Similarly to collagen, peptides are known to stimulate the skin to make more collagen (more research is needed). They have to of course be formulated in a particular way where their molecules are small enough and in an equally penetrative formula to get through the skin. There is more research that needs to be done, but so far much of it has shown peptides to be effective in minimizing the look of wrinkles, more elasticity in skin, less inflammation, and less breakouts. Peptides work well with all skin types.
Urea
Urea! Eureka! This is an ingredient that we are absolutely crazy about! Since we started using it two years ago, we have a tendency to want to put it in everything :/.
Urea is an intensely moisturizing ingredient that's a byproduct of the human body meant to maintain a healthy and hydrated skin barrier. It's best known for its "keratolytic" properties. The urea used in skincare is synthetic urea so don't fret! We're not using our own pee to extract urea and putting it in our products! Haha.
Urea is an ingredient that was meant for dry rough skin, it can help loosen dead dry skin and increase moisture levels. Urea has naturally anti-fungal properties so like yes that's a huge bonus! Urea also has really good anti inflammation benefits, and we've seen it ourselves with our own skin. We personally had a bad allergic rash around our eye areas from accidently using a retinoid there, and urea saved us! The redness and irritation would calm down immediately. It was quite amazing to see it in action. This ingredient is for anyone and everyone especially those with ultra dry rough scaly skin.
Our Reishi Silk Ceramide Cream and Desert Dew Vitamin C both have Urea in higher concentrations.
Extracts & Honorable Mentions
Plant extracts are pretty great to use in skincare, they almost function like an active booster, or an active all on their own. Certain plants have chemical compounds that can be very effective for targeting certain skin concerns. Like calendula for example, a well-known ingredient in skincare and that's because it can sooth damaged skin. Lots of plants also have tyrosinase inhibitors which basically means they can slow the production of melanin in the skin when used topically consistently. Some of our other favorite extracts are:
Mulberry Extract-great for brightening skin/hyperpigmentation
Licorice Root-skin soothing and calming
Chamomile extract-brightening and softening
Mushroom extracts-minimizing wrinkles and lines
Green Tea Extract
Willow bark Extract
Arnica Extract
Date Palm Extract
Other amazing plants for skin are Aloe Vera juice or gel. Aloe vera is amazing at soothing irritated skin, and hydration.
Some other honorable mentions are CoQ10 an enzyme naturally produced by the body that is fat soluble. A great active that functions as an antioxidant on the skin helping repair damage and supporting the skin barrier. It also can help with sun damage and help even out skin tone.
Acids. Glycolic acid, Lactic Acid and Salicylic Acid are great for those struggling with acne and skin that produces too much oil. These acids can help with deep exfoliation and cellular turnover. They can help balance the oil on the skin and keep it clean of acne causing bacteria. It can be irritating to those with dry sensitive skin, it seems to fit best for those with acne and oily skin.
Well that's our personal list of ingredients to check out that can really target skin concerns that WE ALL have especially as we age. If there are any others you can think of drop them in the comments below! Signing off
Jen