New year, new skin.
2018 is the year to get serious about your skin. Because even if you’re one year older, it doesn’t mean your skin has to show it.
While there’s no miracle potion that can turn the clock back 10 years, science and Mother Nature have given us precious actives that can reduce wrinkles, firm skin and fade away dark spots.
Your job is to include them into your skincare routine now so they can go about repairing the damage and make you look your very best.
I know you’re curious now. So, without further ado, here are 3 anti-aging ingredients you should try this year for younger-looking skin.
Best For Wrinkles: Microencapsulated Retinol
Vitamin A is your most effective weapon in your anti-wrinkles arsenal. This brave solider fights wrinkles on three fronts:
- It destroys the free radicals that cause premature aging
- It speeds up cellular turnover, the skin’s natural exfoliating process (in turn this makes wrinkles less noticeable)
- It stimulates the production of collagen, the protein that keeps skin firm and elastic
The catch? Pure Vitamin A is very harsh on the skin and can cause a serious case of peeling and irritation. That’s why you can only get it by prescription only.
In skincare products, you’re more likely to find a derivative: retinol. Retinol is much gentler than pure Vitamin A but it’s not without side effects: it can still cause redness and flaking in some cases though, especially if your skin’s sensitive.
In the past, you got around this by using a tiny concentration (1% or less) two or three times a week. But now, we have a better way: microencapsulation.
Microencapsulation is a new technology that allows the retinol to be released into your skin over a period of several hours rather than hitting your skin all at once. That’s a much gentler way of getting your retinol fix. It gives you all the benefits of retinol without its side effects.
Our Night Renewal Cream 2.5% All Trans Encapsulated Retinol goes a step further. Usually, your skin must convert retinol into retinoid acid for it to work its magic on wrinkles. Our pure retinol, on the other hand, is partially converted so it works better and faster.
Just so get you an idea of how much better and faster, pure Vitamin A gives results in just 4-8 weeks while our pure retinol takes 12 weeks. Regular retinol, instead, can take up to 4-6 months to show visible improvements.
This is the fastest and gentlest way to finally reduce those pesky wrinkles and look as young on the outside as you feel on the inside.
Best For Firming Skin: Matrixyl 3000
Saggy skin ain’t cute - unless you’re a bulldog. The rest of us cringe every time we see our softening cheeks and loose neck in the mirror.
The main culprit behind the saggy look is collagen - or better, lack of it. Collagen is the protein that keeps your skin firm. When you’re young, your body makes plenty of it. But as you start to get older, it can’t keep up with production.
By the way, don’t think this happens all of a sudden as you hit the big 5-0. As soon as you turn 21 years old, your body starts producing 1% less collagen each year. By the time you’ve hit menopause, you’ve lost around 30%! Then menopause speeds up the process even more, causing collagen loss at an ever faster rate.
The fix is simple: replenish that collagen! Matrixyl 3000 does the job well. This peptide stimulates the production of Collagen-I, -IV, -VIII and -XVIIII and Nidogen-I proteins. In other words, it pumps up the production of collagen in your skin, keeping sogginess at bay.
That’s not all it does. This peptide multitasker also reduces the depth of your wrinkles and smoothens out your skin.
You can get your fix from our wildly popular Peptide Potion or our Firming Argireline Serum with Matrixyl 3000. Argireline is another wrinkle-fighting peptide. It’s dubbed Botox In A Jar because it relaxes the muscles so they can’t move as much. This combo can firm skin in two months, reduce the appearance of your wrinkles and even prevent new ones.
You can also find Matrixyl 3000 in our Massive Hydration Hyaluronic Acid Serum. This serum also contains vitamin C, another collagen booster, while hyaluronic acid hydrates even the driest of skin types. It’s a godsend for dry, mature skin.
Best For Dark Spots: Bearberry
Remember how fun it was to spend all those clear summer days in the sun? You were a bit careless with sunscreen but who cared?
Fast forward a few years and dark spots have made an unwelcome appearance all over your face. Turns out, there was a price to pay for all that careless fun.
For years hydroquinone was the gold standard for treating dark spots. But its popularity is now fading. You’ve probably heard how harsh it is on the skin. There must be a better option….
Bearberry. An extract derived from the leaves of the Uva Ursi plant, bearberry contains arbutin, a powerful, natural skin-lightener. Arbutin is a naturally-occurring derivative of hydroquinone BUT it is NOT hydroquinone and it does NOT break down into hydroquinone. In other words, it has all the benefits of hydroquinone without the side effects.
Bearberry works by inhibiting the activity of tyrosinase, the enzyme that produces melanin. Melanin is the pigment that gives skin its color. When some areas of your skim pump out way more melanin than usual, they get darker than the rest of your face.
Bearberry stops the overproduction of this pigment. Now that your skin isn’t getting its extra dose anymore, the excess pigments wear off over time as those skin cells shed naturally.
You can find this natural arbutin in our Pure Bearberry Extract for Skin Lightening. We sell this in a concentrate for better value, so simply mix in a few drops when you apply your face cream or serums. Contrary to popular opinion, more bearberry doesn’t lighten dark spots faster. It just causes uneven lightening. Slow and steady wins the race here.
Go on, give these three antiaging actives a try. You’ll be amazed how much younger your skin will look by the end of the year.