A recent article trivializing the importance of skin care and its lack of scientific backing caused a quite a stir online, and to be honest, we were pleased to read many of the reactions because it reinforced our belief that many consumers who spend their time and hard-earned money on treatments and serums are well-informed and want to protect and improve the health and condition of their skin. Whether you would class yourself as a “fanatic” or someone who just wants to do the absolute minimum to keep your skin at its best, choosing the right products is paramount, and you can’t do that until you get to know the ingredients in your skin care.
When reading ingredient lists, active ingredients are those considered to perform a specific function on the skin. Active ingredients are backed by research and clinical studies and often must adhere to specific government-mandated regulations. They include sun filters like Mexoryl, skin lightening agents like hydroquinone, topical exfoliants such as glycolic acid, antioxidants and retinoids, to name a few. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a single dermatologist who would not agree that sunscreens and retinoids are not truly beneficial to the skin. Keep in mind that, in order to be effective, active ingredients must be present in adequate concentrations and, secondly, be able to penetrate through the skin’s barrier system.
What helps the active ingredients do their job are the inactive ingredients. Although not necessarily performing a specific action on the skin, inactive ingredients play a key role in the overall performance of a skin care product. They may include stabilizers to ensure a product will not degrade to the point of ineffectiveness, preservatives to discourage bacterial growth and contamination, and carriers to deliver the active ingredients to where they will be most effective and beneficial to the skin.
When we know and recognize the role that ingredients play in our skin care, we can make the most informed decisions on what will work best on our skin based on its current needs. Although the variations in weather, temperature, environment, hormones and even stress levels can affect changes to our skin, what doesn’t change is the need for skin care backed by science. We think our own exclusive line of skin care treatments, Apothekari Dermaceuticals, delivers just that. Coincidence? We don’t think so.
