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The skin is the body’s largest organ. It is also complex and intricate, and so requires far more than one or two great ingredients to thrive and look younger. Think of it like your diet: broccoli and green tea are healthy for everyone, but if those foods were all you consumed, you’d soon be unhealthy. Just like the body requires several types of foods and nutrients to maintain itself each day, so does our skin.
What your skin needs to have in abundance, every day, are three categories of ingredients, regardless of your age or skin type. These categories are antioxidants, skin-replenishing ingredients, and skin-restoring ingredients. Each group includes dozens of amazing ingredients that can provide amazing benefits. Shopping for products that contain a range of these ingredients is the only useful approach to improving your skin’s appearance, and in ways your skin will love.
Your skin is hungry for these must-haves, and here’s why they are so important!
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are ingredients that intercept problems in the environment and then, through a complex process, stop, or at the very least lessen, their visible impact on skin. That means you’ll see fewer signs of aging and a more vibrant, healthier-looking skin tone!
There is no shortage of antioxidants available - most occur in fruits and vegetables, others are from vitamins or made in a lab (“designer antioxidants”). Both natural and lab-made antioxidants benefit skin and you cannot begin using antioxidants too soon. Going back to the food: antioxidant-rich blueberries are good for you at age 20 and continue to be just as good for you as you move into your 40s, 50s, and beyond.
Antioxidants work via different pathways and on different types of environmental threats to your skin, which is why it is advised to use products that contain a potent mix of antioxidants, not just one or two.
Skin-Replenishing Ingredients
Skin-replenishing ingredients help fortify and revive the skin’s surface, supplying long-lasting infusions of hydration. This stunning benefit helps skin look and feel soft, smooth and supple. With ongoing use, skin-replenishing ingredients help skin resist moisture loss and maintain an enviably smooth, plump appearance, just like when we were younger.
There are fewer skin-replenishing ingredients than there are antioxidants (the field of antioxidants is truly immense). Some of the most well-researched skin-replenishing ingredients are:
Hyaluronic acid
Sodium hyaluronate
Ceramides
Glycerin
Fatty acids
Cholesterol
Glycosaminoglycans
Sodium PCA
Amino acids
Sphingolipids
Salicylic acid
Glycolic acid
Skin-replenishing ingredients are found in all types of products, from facial cleansers to eye creams.
Skin-Restoring Ingredients
Skin-restoring ingredients have a special ability to care for skin’s surface in a way that helps transform it to appear noticeably younger. These ingredients can bring about a renewed feeling of firmness and, over time, a more even-looking complexion.
Skin-restoring ingredients also help improve a dull skin tone and rough texture, and soften the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles - including deep wrinkles. They work beautifully with antioxidants and skin-replenishing ingredients to give aging, lackluster skin the total package of what it needs to look younger and more radiant on numerous levels.
Well-researched examples of skin-restoring ingredients include anti-aging superstar retinol, niacinamide, peptides, linoleic and linolenic acids, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (found in green tea), and adenosine.
If you keep antioxidants, skin-replenishing ingredients, and skin-restoring ingredients in mind as you shop for skincare products, you’ll be ahead of the game. These are the best ingredients for helping your skin look better in every way imaginable!
xx
As you go through life, grow through it.
Nailah.