Reset for Spring – Use These Ingredients NOW to See a Difference in Your Skin!

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acid, bakuchiol, collagen, Dermalogica Daily Glycolic Cleanser, Dermalogica PowerBright Dark Spot Serum, dull skin, enlarged pores, gel, gentle, glycolic acid, hyaluronic acid, hydrate, ingredient, ingredients, Maskology Hyaluronic Acid Professional Sheet Mask, moisturiser, natural, Niacinamide, pores, REN Clean Skincare Glow Daily Vitamin C Gel Cream, Republic Vitamin C 6% Serum, retinoids, retinol, sensitive skin, serum, skin, This Works My Wrinkles CBD Booster + Bakuchiol, uneven skintone, vitamin, Vitamin C, wrinkles

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich

While we might still be firmly in the grips of winter, many of us are already starting to think forward to the warmer, brighter days of spring. This may involve trying to improve our fitness, giving your house a thorough decluttering, or possibly getting control of your complexion before the warmer weather arrives. If you are concentrating on the latter, using products containing the following five ingredients between now and the start of spring (although maybe not all of them at the same time!) is sure to reset your skin and give you the complexion of your dreams:

Vitamin C

Adding vitamin C to your skin care routine can not only brighten your complexion but also protect against skin damage caused by sun exposure and harmful free radicals. This potent antioxidant is commonly used in face cleansers, serums, oils, and moisturisers. Skin Republic Vitamin C 6% Serum is a great place to start, and we’d also recommend adding REN Clean Skincare Glow Daily Vitamin C Gel Cream, which is a light gel cream moisturiser to hydrate and illuminate your skin.

Glycolic Acid

Glycolic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), a natural acid derived from plants. It’s made up of tiny molecules that can easily penetrate your skin barrier, helping to make it a particularly effective anti-ageing ingredient that promotes good skin health. Dermalogica Daily Glycolic Cleanser is packed with this acid and will help renew dull, uneven skin tone and remove build-up caused by environmental factors. 

Hyaluronic Acid

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last ten years, you’ve likely heard of hyaluronic acid as it’s in so many different skincare products – with good reason! It is a powerful component that both binds moisture to the skin and is suitable for all skin types and ages. It’s found naturally in the skin, although production reduces as we age. When added to skincare, it helps to hydrate the skin, gives a plumper, wrinkle-free appearance and makes your complexion look more radiant. For an easy introduction to hyaluronic acid, we recommend Maskology Hyaluronic Acid Professional Sheet Mask.

Bakuchiol

We’ve written about bakuchiol before, and it’s an ingredient which is worth mentioning over and over again! Retinoids are potent ingredients which encourage faster turnover of surface skin cells and boosts collagen, as well as improving skin tone and reducing fine lines and wrinkles. However, for some, retinoids are a little TOO powerful for their sensitive skin and can cause irritation and discomfort. Bakuchiol is a gentle, naturally occurring alternative, found in This Works My Wrinkles CBD Booster + Bakuchiol, which is perfect for those with sensitive skin. 

Niacinamide

Also known as vitamin B3, niacinamide is a water-soluble vitamin that works with the natural substances in your skin to help visibly minimise enlarged pores, improve uneven skin tone, soften fine lines and wrinkles, diminish dullness, and strengthen the skin’s surface. It can be found in Dermalogica PowerBright Dark Spot Serum, along with hexylresorcinol to help fade dark spots and shiitake mushrooms, which are rich in beta glucans, to help to brighten skin.

Sea Buckthorn Oil – Why You Need This in Your Skincare

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ageing, Aloe Vera, arthritic joint pain, Asia, bakuchiol, berries, brighten, caffeine hyaluronic acid, cellular turnover, circulation, collagen, cottonseed oil, detoxifies, doll, dryness, elasticity, Europe, fine lines, firma, fortify skin barrier, gentle, healthier, high end, hydrate, hydrated, I make seven fatty acids, impurities, inflammation, ingredients, leaves, lotions, make up, Maritime pine, nourish, pigmentation, pollution, retinoid, rosemary, roughness, Sea buckthorn oil, see fennel, seeds, shrub, skin texture, skin types, skincare, soreness, soybean oil, super charge, tetra vitamin C, tired, tired skin, toxins, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, wrinkles

Photo by munkhbayar dambajav

There are some ingredients – from caffeine to hyaluronic acid to aloe vera to clay – which you shouldn’t be surprised to find in your skincare. They’re commonly used in lotions and potions from the cheaper stuff to the higher end. Some ingredients, however, seem to pop up out of nowhere and sea buckthorn oil is popping up on ingredient lists everywhere for good reason – it can hydrate, brighten and improve skin texture, making it an ingredient that truly ticks all the boxes and can work for all skin types. 

While it may sound like something that comes from the ocean, sea buckthorn oil is extracted from the berries, leaves and seeds of the sea buckthorn plant, which is a small shrub that grows across northern Europe and some parts of Asia. As well as offering excellent hydration, sea buckthorn oil also helps to refine the skin’s texture and contains up to 12 times the amount of vitamin C as oranges, which brightens the complexion.

With this in mind, we’ve searched our shelves to show you a selection of the best sea buckthorn-containing products:

Elemis Musclease Active Body Oil

Elemis Musclease Active Body Oil is specially formulated for anyone with an active lifestyle. Its concentrated formula has ingredients to help ease sore spots and refresh the body. Sea buckthorn oil also protects the body against harmful toxins while sea fennel soothes inflammation and detoxifies the body. Rosemary loosens stiff joints and relieves sore muscles. Maritime pine improves circulation and reduces arthritic joint pain. The combination of oils is highly effective in offering relief from muscle pain and soreness. 

Evolve Organic Beauty Bio-Retinol+C Booster

Evolve Bio Retinol + C Booster is an innovative cocktail of vitamins which helps supercharge dull and tired skin by brightening the appearance of pigmentation, improving cellular turnover, boosting collagen and significantly improving all signs of ageing, tired skin. As well as sea buckthorn oil, it contains ingredients such as bakuchiol and tetra vitamin c to deliver a brighter, firmer, more nourished and renewed overall complexion.

REN Clean Skincare Bio Retinoid Youth Concentrate Oil

This lightweight moisturising serum contains a potent retinoid that works to support the skin’s natural collagen production and cell turnover, helping to smooth the complexion and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The addition of soybean and cottonseed oil work together to fortify the skin barrier, helping to reduce the irritation generally associated with retinol use, while sea buckthorn oil helps nourish, reduce roughness, and combat the dulling effects of dryness or dehydration, for a healthier-looking complexion.

UpCircle Cleansing Face Balm with Apricot Powder

This natural, sustainable balm from UpCircle is formulated for everyday cleansing, to gently remove makeup, pollution and impurities. It leaves skin deeply cleansed, soothed and hydrated and is suitable for all skin types. This cleansing balm is made with the finely-ground powder of discarded apricot stones, a natural by-product of the apricot oil industry and rich in antioxidant Vitamin E. It also contains sea buckthorn oil, which is high in vitamin E, C and Omega 7 fatty acids, and helps skin retain its elasticity. 

Medik8 Mutiny

This gel-like balm melts into an oil upon application to deliver instant and long-lasting hydration to your lips. Formulated in a squalane base, with plant-sourced sea buckthorn oil and multi-weight hyaluronic acid, the lip balm absorbs into lips to replenish lost lipids and leave lips feeling nourished, replenished and moisturised. Once applied to lips, the balm gives a slight refreshing tingle and an indulgent lemongrass natural fragrance.

Five of the Best Ingredients for Youthful Skin

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acidic, acne, ageing, all skin types, allergic reactions, alternative, anti-aging, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, ayurvedic medicine, bakuchiol, blemish prone, breastfeeding, ceramides, Chinese medicine, collagen, combination skin, complexion, dark spots, dehydrated, delicate, dermatology, dry skin, dryness, eczema, epidermis, Eyes, fats, firm, firmer feeling, germs, glowing, healthy, humectant, hyaluronic acid, Indian Babchi plant, inflammation, leaves, lines, lipids, melanin, moisture, oceans, oil based, oily skin, pigmentation, plump, plumper, potent, pregnant, products, Psoriasis, rainforests, reinforce, retinoids, retinol, rosacea, seeds, sensitive skin, sensitivity, skin, skin barrier, skin care, skin cells, skin issues, smoother, sun damage, topically, useful, vitamin A, Vitamin C, water, wrinkles

Photo by Karolina Grabowska

Here at Pure Beauty, we’re well aware of how confusing skincare can feel. There’s a different product for every different skin issue and a wealth of ingredients which vary from things found in your pantry to things found in the deepest oceans or rainforests! Looking at ingredient lists often feels like trying to decipher an unknown language, but there are some key things that you can look for if you’re in the market for anti-ageing products. Here are five of the best ingredients for maintaining a youthful complexion:

Retinol 

Retinol is a form of vitamin A that’s suitable for the skin. It belongs to a group of vitamin A derivatives, known as retinoids. Retinol has multiple uses and can be used to combat conditions like acne and can target areas of pigmentation. It can also reduce signs of ageing and sun damage. Retinoids don’t work equally well on everyone. If you suffer from rosacea, eczema, or psoriasis, it’s probably best to avoid retinol since it can be too powerful on skin that needs a gentle touch – it can increase inflammation, dryness and sensitivity in already delicate complexions.

Try Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Serum

Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic Acid is a humectant — a substance that retains moisture — and it is capable of binding over one thousand times its weight in water. This substance is naturally found in many areas of the human body, including the skin and eyes. Hyaluronic acid helps skin stretch and flex and reduces skin wrinkles and lines. Hyaluronic acid is also proven to help wounds heal faster and can reduce scarring. Allergic reactions to hyaluronic acid are rare, so that means whether you have oily skin, sensitive, dry skin, or combination skin, you have the green light to use hyaluronic acid products.

Try SkinCeuticals H.A. (Hyaluronic Acid) Intensifier Serum 

Vitamin C

Vitamin C can help keep skin looking plump and firm. This is because it’s highly acidic when applied topically and can help to promote collagen production and reduce the appearance of ageing skin. It also contains a property that inhibits the skin’s melanin production levels, two of the culprits that can lead to dark spots and hyperpigmentation, making it an absolute hero at giving you a glowing, healthy complexion. It’s usually found in oil-based products, so may not be ideal for acne and blemish prone skin, but it’s great for pretty much all other skin types. 

Try REN Clean Skincare Glow Daily Vitamin C Gel Cream

Bakuchiol

If you’re looking for an alternative to retinol that can be used on more sensitive skin, bakuchiol is a good place to start. Bakuchiol is found in the seeds and leaves of the Indian Babchi plant and has been used in traditional Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for centuries. It also has calming anti-inflammatory and healing antibacterial properties and is even safe for use when pregnant and breastfeeding. It’s a potent-yet-kind ingredient which the British Journal of Dermatology found was just as effective as retinol and significantly less irritating, which is great news for anyone looking for an alternative.

Try Medik8 The CSA Bakuchiol Edition Kit

Ceramides

Ceramides are fats or lipids that are found in skin cells and make up 30% to 40% of your outer skin layer, or epidermis. Ceramides are important for retaining your skin’s moisture and preventing the entry of germs into your body. If your skin’s ceramide content decreases, which often happens with age, it can become dehydrated. Skincare products with ceramides will help reinforce your skin’s barrier and increase hydration, giving you plumper, smoother, firmer-feeling skin with fewer visible lines and wrinkles, as well as fewer signs of sensitivity.

Try Advanced Nutrition Programme Skin Moisture IQ