Overwhelmed by skincare jargon? Girl, we feel you! Nowadays, it seems like there’s a new beauty buzzword every second week. So to help you navigate skincare’s never-ending glossary, we’re taking things back to basics – decoding one beauty term at a time.
Today’s ingredient spotlight? Ceramides.
You’ve definitely heard of them, and they’re probably in the ingredient list of your favourite serum as we speak. But what on earth are they, and why are they so highly praised for plump and baby-soft skin? Well, here’s everything you need to know about these much-loved skin-soothing superheroes.
What are they?
Ceramides are lipids that are naturally found in our skin. Just envision the outermost layer (the stratum corneum) as a brick wall, with our skin cells forming the ‘bricks,’ while lipids act as the ‘cement’ that helps keep our skin barrier structure intact, resulting in improved moisture retention for a supple and firm complexion.
Source: Pinterest.com.
However, as we age, our skin’s ceramide levels diminish over time, and can further decline due to various factors, such as extreme heat, cold weather, over-exfoliating (
), and harsh skincare products, too. This depletion of ceramides can lead to a compromised skin barrier, which in turn catalyses water loss and a whole domino effect of skin woes, like dryness, inflammation and irritations that can ultimately bring about and exacerbate existing breakouts and infections. This is where the beauty of topical ceramides comes into play, as these aid in replenishing all those lost lipids so you can enjoy healthy skin all year round!
What to shop?
Elizabeth Arden is a leader in the ceramide convo with a vast range of ceramide-laced formulations. Its most famous? Their iconic Ceramide Capsule family, which recently expanded (as in, this week!) with the introduction of their newest capsule, Advanced Light Ceramide.
Formulated for oily and combination skin types, these capsules deliver the same barrier-strengthening, pore-perfecting and glow-boosting results as their OG Advanced Ceramide Capsules Daily Youth Serum, but in an ultra-lightweight texture that won’t leave skin looking and feeling slick and shiny. Its star ingredients include phytoceramides to nourish the skin’s lipid barrier, cyclopeptides to tighten and refine pores and hemisqualene to keep excess sebum in check.
Get your Advanced Light Ceramide fix in-store or online at Edgars.co.za (trust us, your fragile winter skin will thank you!).
