3 Science-Backed Skincare Ingredients You Need To Use

It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of skincare fads. From aloe vera to fancy fruit extracts, “holy grail” ingredients and products come and go. Beauty brands crowd us with the benefits of their skincare lines — expensive ones at that! Is fresh, supple skin really a few shopping cart clicks away?

Does it seem like a huge task to find out what formulas actually improve your skin? Luckily, science has done a lot of heavy lifting in finding out what might work for you. For stronger, healthier skin, here are 3 skincare ingredients you should add to your routine:

1. Antioxidant serums

We’ve all heard of antioxidants, right? They’re substances that fight free radical damage to your body’s cells — think Vitamin A and C. Free radicals are molecules important to supporting your immune system and your body’s processes, but they cause harm when they build up in large amounts. High doses of air and light pollution, UV rays, and tobacco, among other things, can produce lots of free radicals. Too many.

Your body produces antioxidants naturally to prevent free radicals from accumulating, but the food you eat contains them as well (yay for fruits and veggies!). Your skin is your body’s first layer of protection so it takes the brunt of outside influences like sun and bad air quality. Over time, these stressors can cause faster visible aging, such as deep wrinkles and leathery skin. In more extreme cases, skin cancer is the result. The American Academy of Dermatology states “skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States.” Not to mention, UV rays are the main culprit in most cases of melanoma (a type of skin cancer). For this reason, long periods of unprotected sunlight are especially dangerous. Use sunscreen!

With that in mind, it’s never too late to begin protecting your skin. Prevention is better than treatment — most antioxidants work best to control damage before it happens.

You already know you can eat fruits and veggies to get your antioxidant fix, but what about applying them to your skin? You have a host of different options, but I’ll be touching on Vitamins A, C, & E:

• Vitamin A (in retinol form) treats fine lines and other signs of aging caused by sun damage
• Using Vitamin C and E along with your sunscreen enhances protection from UVA and UVB rays
• Vitamin C improves fine lines and rough skin by encouraging collagen production. Collagen is an important protein that keeps your skin strong and elastic.
• Using a 5–8% concentration of Vitamin E alone can help reduce visible aging from sun damage.

Here are some things to note when using and looking for antioxidant serums:

• Look for ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) in an airtight, dark glass container. This’ll protect the serum from light and air damage.
• To protect your Vitamin C formula even more, try buying one with other antioxidants. Ideal percentages are 15% ascorbic acid, 1% Vitamin E, and 0.5% ferulic acid.
• Retinol (Vitamin A) can be irritating for your skin. You should slowly build your way up to higher concentrations.
• Retinol can also make your skin more sensitive to sun. Always use sunscreen!

2. Hyaluronic acid (HA)

Hyaluronic acid, despite the “acid” in its name, is a molecule that occurs naturally in our body. 50% of it is in your skin. Part of forming fine lines and wrinkles comes from losing skin moisture — and HA is key in preventing that loss. In one study, applying this substance as a lotion, serum, or cream helped significantly decrease wrinkle depth, and boost skin hydration and firmness.

Something important to note is that you should be applying products with low molecular weight hyaluronic acid. What does that mean? Simply that the HA particles in the product should be small. Large particles can’t enter the deeper layers of your skin. Your best bet in finding out if a product uses small or large HA molecules would be to ask the manufacturer or brand.

Similarly, research has shown that consuming at least 120 mg of hyaluronic acid a day can moisturize dry skin and decrease wrinkles. You can take this in pill form, but talk to your doctor and do your research — in lots of countries, supplements aren’t as regulated as prescription meds. Sometimes the doses aren’t high enough to even affect your skin! Consider supplements that use high molecular weight HA since you’re not applying them. These larger molecules better match the natural hyaluronic acid in your body. If you have or have had liver problems, it’s not recommended for you to take these supplements as they can potentially worsen those issues.

3. AHAs

Alpha hydroxy acids are compounds that exfoliate your skin. Some of the most popular examples include glycolic acid, citric acid, and lactic acid. Several, like citric acid, are actually found in fruits. The drawback of these fruit extracts is they’re not as well-studied and often come in larger molecules. Glycolic acid is one of the most commonly used AHAs because it’s composed of small molecules — and as you know, they can penetrate your skin better! Besides exfoliating, research shows that AHAs decrease wrinkles and lighten age spots, encourage hyaluronic acid production (your other best friend), and promote collagen.

At lower concentrations, AHAs leave your skin smooth and hydrated because they get rid of dead skin in the top layers of your skin. Consistently using these compounds can even strengthen the deeper layers. Some chemical peels, on the other hand, use AHAs in higher percentages. These peels exfoliate your skin more deeply but prove irritating for some. For those who don’t visit dermatologist offices, using a product with 10% glycolic acid every day should work just as well as less frequent chemical peels. Be sure to check how your skin feels after — don’t use it if it burns and don’t use it when your skin feels sensitive.

When you look into buying any new product, you should always be doing the research for what’s going on your skin and asking brands about their product formulas. You deserve to spend your hard-earned money on amazing solutions for your skin needs. Antioxidant serums, hyaluronic acid, and AHAs are just a few great ingredients you can start using in your routine. You should be complementing them with enough water, nutritious food, exercise, and sunscreen. Above all, don’t overwhelm your skin with a ton of new products at once. Treat it gently — it’s the only skin you’ll have for life.