10 Ingredients You Need to Include in Your Skincare Routine: The ingredients in your skincare routine stir your skin to either perfection or disaster. In reality, having a healthy skincare routine can have different meanings and include different practices as well as ingredients to address specific issues and achieve certain results.
In short, it mainly depends on what you try to achieve. Because for one thing, you already know a flawless skin takes a bit more than just your DNA.
It all comes down to the ingredients you include in your skincare routine. You might have already read about the ingredients that need to be avoided on our blog. Now let’s find out about the ingredients that must be included in each step of your skincare routine.
Hyaluronic Acid
Maintaining the skin’s moisture is one of the important goals of any skincare routine for all skin types. Hyaluronic Acid can be naturally found in the body tissues, and plays a major role in cushioning and lubricating them.
When your skin is deprived of hydration, it can look flaky, scaled, damaged, and wrinkled. Factors such as aging, the sun, smoking, medication, as well as beauty and health products can cause damage to your skin.
So, it is important to use products, especially moisturizers, with Hyaluronic Acid. You can make sure to use it with or after using ingredients that have the potential to cause skin irritation, such as the AHAs, BHAs, and retinoids.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is one of the essential ingredients to include in your anti-aging army. Retinoids are one of the most famous ingredients derived from Vitamin A. These include: retinol, retinyl esters, retinal aldehydes, and etc. The stronger type of retinol is called tretinoin.
Because of its thinness, the retinoids are capable of penetrating into the skin, and inducing the production of collagen and elastin.
So, the ingredient is highly effective in treating fine lines and wrinkles, improving skin texture, maintaining the skin’s tone and color, erasing pigmentation and acne scars. It is also effective for treating acne and restoring the skin’s hydration level.
Despite all its benefits, it’s not a good idea to take retinols with irritating ingredients such as the AHAs, Benzoyl Peroxide, and Vitamin C. But you can use it with moisturizing ingredients such as Hyaluronic acid, Ceramides, and SPF.
Vitamin C
The ingredient you need to look for on packages is L-ascorbic acid. Vitamin C is a famous antioxidant. So, next time you put off using it for the time you feel cold, think twice.
This skincare ingredient will boost the collagen synthesis in your skin, and result in a rejuvenated, smooth, and fresh skin over time. Even though you might feel a small tingling sensation when you apply it, it will disappear with regular use.
You might need to use an oil-free moisturizer after using vitamin C, so as to prevent skin dryness.
Vitamin C is the skincare ingredient you can apply after washing your face for accelerating the production of collagen and treating issues like acne breakouts, and hyperpigmentation.
Make sure to use hydrating agents with Vitamin C, avoid sun exposure without wearing SPF after using it, and not mix it with other irritating agents like AHAs.
Niacinamide
Niacinamide or Vitamin B3 is a powerful noninflammatory ingredient. It works pretty well with a variety of ingredients, without causing irritation to the skin. Even so, try not to use it with Vitamin C, as they tend to cancel out each other’s potential to benefit your skin, when used together.
Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs)
As you might have guessed by the name, a group of acids are categorized under this name. More specifically, lactic, glycolic, citric, and tartaric acids count as AHAs.
These acids effectively address fine lines and wrinkles, shrink large pores, and treat hyperpigmentation. However, the AHAs also come with side effects such as skin irritation and sunburn. So, you need to be careful not to use the AHAs with retinol but definitely use a moisturizer.
Generally speaking, products with a concentration of 10 to 15 percent of the AHAs are good for the beginning. This will help you prevent skin irritation. And if you like to avoid sunburn, a good sunscreen can always be helpful.
Beta Hydroxy Acid
This skincare ingredient also goes with the name of Salicylic Acid. Products sold for improving skin color and texture, ideally contain Salicylic Acid. So, the ingredient is good for treating acnes and sunburn.
Just like the Alpha Hydroxy Acids, applying other irritating ingredients must be avoided. On the contrary, ingredients boosting the health of your skin are welcome.
Kojic Acid
In case hyperpigmentation is what you need to be addressed with your skincare routine, then tap into Kojic Acid. The ingredient is derived from a type of fungus and slows the production of melanin. On a side note, melanin is the pigment produced in your skin, and its overproduction can cause pigmentation.
As effective as Kojic Acid is, you still need to be careful. This is because prolonged use can cause skin thinning or make your skin more vulnerable against the sun.
Hydroquinone
Another ingredient that will help you with hyperpigmentation is Hydroquinone. Specifically, dark spots or age spots caused by hormonal change, for example during pregnancy melasma or chloasma, can be treated with this bleaching ingredient.
You may find it in sunscreens too. However, since the ingredient is prone to causing allergies, you’d better patch test it on another area before applying it directly on your face.
Please remember that using the ingredient with other irritating ingredients such as Benzoyl Peroxide is not advised.
Benzoyl Peroxide
If you’ve had enough with acne breakouts, then Benzoyl Peroxide should be one of the ingredients to look for.
As this ingredient can cause dryness in your skin, you definitely need to use gentle cleansers. This will prevent further dryness. Moisturizing ingredients such as hyaluronic acid should be included in your skincare routine too.
Also, as sunburn can cause more dryness, then you need to either use sunscreen or moisturizers with SPF.
SPF
Never even think about letting go of this one! SPF is the must-have ingredient if you’re trying to block the damage caused by the sun. You must already know that other than Vitamin D, all you can get from excessive exposure to the sun is hyperpigmentation, sunburn, dryness, wrinkles, and fine lines. So, make sure to include broad spectrum sunscreen, with SPF 30 or SPF 50 included on the package.
In case you find it hard to put on an extra layer of sunscreen after your moisturizer and probably your make up, then you can use moisturizers with SPF.
If you look more closely to skincare, you will see how many factors work their way into making a beautiful, fresh, and healthy-looking skin.
Of course, besides the general dos and don’ts mentioned here, your specific skin type mainly determines how well different ingredients work on your skin. The good news is that if you need an expert’s opinion, you can just get in touch with us at Mahimo, and have your skin examined.
You don’t need your google map for this, just head over to Mahimo.co and use the services offered on our online cosmetic clinic.
