Olivia
Using natural ingredients for your skin like rose water, cucumbers, potato peels, turmeric, yogurt, and practically any ingredient lying around in your kitchen helps with various benefits for your skin. But are they the only options for skincare?
Skincare myths have told us that the more natural and organic the ingredients in your skincare products are, the better they are for your skin. This could not be more wrong!
In fact, there are several chemicals that are really great for your skin. Although some skincare products tend to use bad chemicals for your skin, we are here to help you identify the good versus the bad chemicals in your products.
Proper usage of good chemicals on your skin can improve texture, pigmentation, and overall health of your skin.
Let’s take a closer look at what these good chemicals are, and why we need to look for them in the ingredients of our skincare products.
1. Retinol
To understand retinol, we need to know where it comes from. Retinol comes from retinoids, which is a blanket term for all the derivatives of vitamin A. Retinol is one of the famously known forms of vitamin A.
Retinol penetrates deep into the skin to regenerate the growth of new skin cells. The use of which results in smoother and an even-tone skin. It also helps with treating acne. Right from stopping the development of new acne, to treating existing acne, retinol is a miracle worker!
It also combats any unevenness caused due to pimples and improves the overall appearance of your skin.
Retinol can be used as a serum or as an ingredient in a skincare product. Retinol can cause photo-sensitivity (sensitivity of the skin to sunlight or ultraviolet light). Do keep in mind to use a good sunscreen when using retinol.
2. Hyaluronic Acid
If your skin concerns revolve around dry skin, then hyaluronic acid is the perfect good chemical for you. It is naturally produced inside our bodies, and using an artificial version of it directly on our skin can provide results faster.
Hyaluronic acid helps with the retention of water so your skin always stays moisturized. It also helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles. If you experience dry skin and no amount of moisturizer helps, try adding hyaluronic acid into your skincare routine.
3. Salicylic Acid
Ancient are the practices used for exfoliation that include walnut and coffee scrubs for your face.
Using any harsh substances like beads and scrubs to exfoliate the skin on your face causes micro-tears on the surface of the skin.
Salicylic acid is known for deep cleansing the skin, clearing clogged pores, preventing the development of whiteheads and blackheads, exfoliating the skin, getting rid of dead skin cells, and is anti-inflammatory in nature. Be sure to use this serum only in the evenings.
4. Glycolic Acid
Glycolic acid is one of the many good chemicals that does not just better the health of your skin but also helps other products penetrate a little deeper into your skin, helping them function more effectively.
Glycolic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) which is used in many face washes and creams, especially those that promote anti-ageing. It works best to resolve issues of fine lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, clears acne and provides chemical exfoliation of the skin.
Much like salicylic acid, you must use it in the evening if it is a serum. But if it is in the form of a toner or cream, feel free to include this into your skincare routine.
5. Peptides
Peptides are naturally created in our body to keep our skin plump and hydrated. Peptides in the cosmetic industry are artificially designed to use them on the surface of our skin. So there is double the amount of peptides working from both inside and outside our bodies.
It helps with hydration of the skin, removing fine lines and wrinkles. Make sure you incorporate peptides – good chemicals into your skin care routine for younger looking skin.
Conclusion
Do not let the word chemicals scare you! They are naturally present in our bodies, and the cosmetology industry has found artificial ways to formulate these chemicals so your skin is taken care of from the outside as well.
Say goodbye to wrinkles, pigmentation, uneven skin texture, acne, dry skin, whiteheads, blackheads, and say hello to a younger and healthier skin that does not just look good but feels great as well!
