When looking for new skincare to buy, there are three important ingredients that you should look out for.
The first one is chemical exfoliants (glycolic, lactic, retinol) to remove excess dulling, clogging, and discolouring dead cells that make the skin look tired and older and prevent your other skincare products from penetrating your skin. It can come in the form of cleanser or face cream.
The second is topical antioxidant (especially Vitamin C) which help protect the skin from premature aging and dangerous free radical damage, like pollutants. It’s important to also note that Vitamin C is the only antioxidant that also firms the skin by increasing collagen production, and it also evens skin tone by reducing excess brown melanin. Excellent quality and highly concentrated medical grade Vitamin C usually present in the form of serum. They are very stable due to their special formulation and technology and do not oxidize easily.
Lastly, you need to look for peptides. Peptides are one of the most promising breakthrough discoveries in recent years. They help make more collagen and hyaluronic acid and hence help to reduce wrinkles and firm up the skin.
It might be hard to find all of these ingredients in one jar, so you can spread them out in your daily skincare regimen. For instance, cleanser, serum, day cream or night cream and even a good quality mask which contain one of these ingredients.
For cleansers, healing ingredients like glyerin and chamomile are great. For oily and acne prone skin, you can choose a cleanser with a mild acid eg. glycolic acid or salicylic acid. After you wash your face you can apply a serum with anti-oxidants (Vitamin C and E), which are great to help balance the environmental damage from UV rays. Finally, for nighttime, products that include retinol or retinoids (Vitamin A) are great for cell renewal, collagen stimulation, decreasing vascularity, and improving the appearance of pores.
Written by Dr Tan WW
