The ABC's of Skincare Ingredients...including the weird ones!

Hello beauty fanatics! Today I've prepared a list of key ingredients in skincare products and what their benefits are to help you choose the right products for your needs. If you are currently using the multi-step Korean skincare routine, you can mix and match your ingredients in different products in different steps to help boost your skin up to its full potential.

Facial oils

Rosehip Oil: natural vitamin A, rich in omega 6 and 3, fights signs of aging as well as provide hydration. Great for scar treatments (ie. stretch marks, age spots, hyper pigmentation, burns and scars.

Argan Oil: contains high level of vitamin E, as well as anti-inflammatory fatty acids. It can help dry skin get hydrated again,

Grapeseed Oil: high in antioxidants, for all skin types, it helps regulate the body’s natural oil production, even skin tone and prevent signs of aging

Sea Buckthorn Oil: loaded with antioxidants, vitamins C and E, can prevent wrinkles, reduce rough skin. Contains Omega 7 fatty acid (called palmitoleic acid), it is a natural component of the skin, it is a very good topical agent in treating burns and healing wounds.

Evening primrose Oil: high levels of omega 6, it is great for treating eczema, reducing redness and itchiness as well as hydrate dry skin. It is also anti-inflammatory

Chamomile Oil: best for sensitive skin, soothes redness and irritation. Loaded with anti-inflammatory properties, ideal for treating rosacea

Almond Oil: full of vitamins E, A, and D. also rich in omega 6 acid. It helps moisturize skin, calm skin and soothe skin allergies. It also help remove dark eye circles with its lightening ability. it can also help reverse sun damages.

Coconut Oil: very moisturizing, great for dry skin. It helps to strengthen skin tissue more deeply and eliminate dead skin cells. It is full of vitamin E, which will help prevent wrinkles, also soothes eczema, sunburn and psoriasis. It also contains 3 fatty acids, capric acid, lauric acid, and caprylic acid, which they kill a common cause of fungal infection on your skin.

Skincare Ingredients

Acai Berry: full of antioxidants and anti inflammatory properties, also high in vitamin c, reduce free radicals, also good for treating acne and hyper pigmentation,

Alguronic Acid: a blend of algae extracts claims to minimize wrinkles while firming and brightening the skin

Alpha Hydroxyl Acid (AHA): this chemical loosen the fluid that binds surface skin cells together, allowing dead ones to be whisked away. Our skin becomes denser as we age, slowing down the natural cell turnover process that reveals younger skin, making AHAs a particularly useful ingredient in anti aging creams and cleaners

Aloe: used for burns, scrapes and soothes skin.

Amino Acids: these are the building blocks of the proteins that make up collagen and elastin, substances that give the skin its structural support. Aging and a combination of external factors (including UV and environmental toxins) reduce the level of amino acids in the body, amino acids creams may help restore them

Antioxidants: any ingredient that reduces free-radical damage to the skin

Apple Seed Extract: key active ingredient is vitamin C, which can reduce dark spots and even out skin tone. Also it can help protect and soften the skin

Arbutin: skin lightening agent, it is a glycoside extracted from the bearberry plant. It prevents the formation of melanin. Arbutin is found in wheat, as well as pear skins.

Avocado Extract: great moisturizer, full of vitamins A, D, and E, it helps heal and sooths skin.

Bee Venom: clinically proven ingredient to halt the damaging effects of hormonal changes (ie menopause) on the face. Reduce wrinkles, improve texture of skin, it is used to fool the skin into thinking it has been lightly stung by bees, this causes the body to direct blood towards the area and stimulates the production of the naturally occurring chemicals collagen and elastin.

Beta Hydroxyl Acid (BHA): this chemical exfoliant can smooth fine lines, even pigmentation, and penetrate deeply into pores dissolving sebum and dead skin, one of the more common BHAs, salicylic acid, is found in many products, however BHA can be dehydrating, so test on your skin before putting too much on

Bird’s Nest: full of proteins for growth and re-plumping of skin cells, it will promote regeneration, rejuvenation, and repair. It can minimize pores and reduce fine lines and wrinkles

Cetyl Alcohol: not the same as the bad “alcohol” you try to avoid in skin care products, this alcohol is used to bind together ingredients as well as dissolve certain ingredients that cannot be dissolved by water

Chamomile Flower Extract: calming skin and anti-inflammatory

Charcoal: purifying properties that absorbs impurities from the skin, and deep clean it.

CoEnzyme C10: preserve skin cell function and improve skin texture

Cucumber Extract: used to treat problem skin, fade dark circles, it contains antioxidants and silica, as well as ascorbic acid that can help reduce puffy eyes

Dimethicone: slippery form of silicone that hydrates and protects the skin

Fermented ingredients: the process of fermentation is a natural process in which yeast secretes enzymes that are beneficial to the human body. It will help with reducing fine lines, hydrate dry skin, as well as help with pigmentation and brown spots and even skin tone. Examples of fermented ingredients include: fermented botanicals (chrysanthemum, dandelion, and aloe), fermented rice

Ginseng: anti aging benefits, it contains a large amount of phytonutrients, which can stimulate and activate the skin’s metabolism. It gets rid of free radicals that gets accumulated when your skin is regularly exposed to sunlight and environmental pollution. It also increases the production of collagen in the dermis, which makes your skin more elastic and toned, therefore diminishing wrinkles or fine lines. Ginseng roots and leaves are rich in vitamins minerals, and antioxidants, it will help regenerate skin cells by increasing oxygenation and improves blood circulation, as well as help decrease dark spots, dark circles, and puffiness around eyes

Gold: can activate the basal cells of the skin which reduces the elasticity of the skin, hence it reduces wrinkles, fine lines, blemishes, and spots on the skin. The ions in gold help stimulate skin cells, nerves, and veins which lead to improved blood circulation. It also increases the metabolism of the skin cells and secretion of the waste.

Green Tea Extract: reduces sun damage, as well as reducing inflammation and also blocking UV rays (to a certain degree). It is a great enhancement to your regular sunscreen for extra UV protection.

Horse Oil: great moisturizer, was used for burns, cuts, and insect bites for centuries. It has a high level of unsaturated fatty acids, including omega 3 and 6.

Hyaluronic Acid: a sugar molecule found naturally in the skin, it increase skin’s moisture content and prevents water loss, it can hold 1000 times its weight in water

Licorice Root Extract: full of antioxidants, anti inflammatory properties. It helps brightens and lightens skin, helps fading hyper pigmentation and sun damage for all skin tones in a safe manner. It blocks melanin production to prevent formation of hyper-pigmentation

Niacinamide: a form of vitamin B3, it strengthens the skin’s outer layers, improves elasticity, and curbs redness and irritation

Parabens: a class of preservatives used to protect cosmetics against the growth of bacteria and fungi, these controversial ingredients – including methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben- have been shown to possess weak estrogen-like properties, but the FDA deems them safe when used at a very low level (0.1 to 0.3 percent) in cosmetics. There are going to be preservatives in any skincare products no matter what, unless you want your cream to go bad after a couple of weeks. the good side of parabens is that it is one of the safest preservative possible that can be used in cosmetics, your body absorbs it and it will excrete out of your body naturally. I’m only stating the facts about parabens and in no way am I saying it is a good ingredient.

Pearl Powder: acts as a potent antioxidant, boosting the body’s own enzymes and reducing per oxidation. It also contains polysaccharides, amino acids, minerals and proteins, which help replenish and rebuild collagen

Peony Extract: brighten, even skin tone

Peptides: tiny protein fragments that promote collagen growth and help repair skin

Pomegranate Extract: help with UVA and UVB damage control, hyper pigmentation, help boost collagen production. It is full of fatty acids and anti inflammatory properties

Raspberry Extract: high content of antioxidants (to provide a better picture, it has 10 times the amount of antioxidants found in tomatoes), it helps to slow down aging, tighten skin, and help treat eczema. It also contains high amount of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.

Rice Water: good for all skin types, it keeps skin smooth and glowing. Also help with minimizing pores, and help treats eczema. It also help lighten/brighten skin

Rose Extract/Rosewater: it contains vitamins and minerals and antioxidants, it also has anti inflammatory properties that help treat redness and inflammation.

Royal Jelly: is a honey bee secretion that is used to nourish larvae and the adult queen bees. It contains complex B vitamins, amino acids, fatty acids, minerals, enzymes, natural antibiotic properties, and antibacterial properties. It is anti aging and reduce wrinkles, it is anti inflammatory and calms the skin, it is extremely hydrating so good for dry skin

Seaweed Extract/Powder: packed with high concentration of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants, helps prevent damage to skin and protects the cells’ membranes. It also reverses cell damage and restore them to their healthy state. It also help with hyper pigmentation problems.

Snail Secretion Filtrate: contains natural acids and elastin that will improve appearance and protect skin form future damage, it also helps with acne scarring, acne prevention, dryness and hyper pigmentation. Reduce fine lines and wrinkles

Sny-ake: an anti-aging active ingredient designed to mimic the effect of the venom of a temple viper. It can help smoothen expression lines and relax facial muscles, reducing wrinkles and fine lines. It has a nickname of Botox in a bottle.

Stearyl Alcohol: same as Cetyl alcohol

Strawberry Extract: strawberry has great cleansing properties, it contains vitamin C, salicylic acid, and antioxidants. It can remove dead skin cells while tighten the pores. It will remove impurities from skin and soften the skin as well.

Tomato Extract: can help minimize pores, contains high amount of vitamin C that can brighten skin and help treat acne

Vitamin A: or retinol, can treat problem skin including acne, it promotes epidermal differentiation, modulating dermal growth factors, inhibit sebaceous gland activity, and suppress androgen formation. Promotes cell turnover and prevent the formation of comedones that cause acne. Even skin tone, hydrates skin,

Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid): an antioxidant that boosts collagen production and inhibits pigment formation, it can also help prevent and treat UV induced photo damage by acting as an antioxidant.

Vitamin E: moisturizing antioxidant protects against free radical damage

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