Lessons in skin chemistry
Don’t know your retinols from your vitamin C? Then you’re in the right class, says Rosie Green
Beauty can be befuddling. Especially skincare and all the myriad active ingredients to target specific concerns.
I have friends who are paralysed by the overwhelming choice. Others find the mixed messages from ‘experts’ and social media so confusing they opt out altogether.
That said, many of us now know the ingredients that really deliver: vitamin C to brighten and protect; vitamin A (ie, retinol) to boost skin quality and even out tone; niacinamide to strengthen and calm, and hyaluronic acid, which moisturises intensely.
However, to add to the noise, brands have started shouting about the percentages of active ingredients in their skincare, leaving many of us to assume that the bigger the number the more dramatic the results. But it’s not that simple, as I discover after talking to dermatologist and medical director of Eudelo clinic Dr Stefanie Williams.
First, she tells me, don’t get too hung up on numbers – an increased percentage of a certain active ingredient doesn’t necessarily mean a product works better – its efficacy is actually down to the formulator’s expertise in creating a balanced mix of ingredients. As for singleingredient products with ‘record’ high concentrations of one ingredient, ‘they really bug me’, says Dr Williams – that’s lazy formulating. Skin needs a mix of actives that work together.
‘DO HIGHER NUMBERS OF ACTIVE INGREDIENTS EQUAL MORE DRAMATIC RESULTS?’
Low concentrations – a ‘mere dusting’ – of active ingredients are no good either.
The two ingredients where it seems percentages do really matter are vitamin C and retinol. Dr Williams advises on what you need to look out for:
★ Up to 20% of vitamin C – an antioxidant that protects skin from damage caused by environmental stressors – is the ideal. Above 20% is counterproductive.
★ For retinol, that hero smoother and firmer, 0.5% works best for many people, while for sensitive skins, 0.1% is a better option. And remember, you can’t compare concentrations of different retinoids: 0.3% retinol is very different from
0.3% retinyl palmitate (the latter is much weaker).