You finally decided it’s time to take your skincare routine seriously. You drive down to the mall, walk to the biggest skincare racks in the building, examine one moisturiser bottle after another, and realize you have no idea what you are doing. You ask for assistance, and it comes, but you eventually feel that they also have no idea what all those ingredients on the label mean or do.
The moral of the story: do your homework and come prepared next time. While it’s amazing to have so many options available today, you should know what it is exactly that you are putting on your body. Some skincare companies will scrimp on quality ingredients to bring down the costs and widen their margins, so be very careful. And yes, even the gigantic skincare companies do this. So don’t just rely on assistance in the mall—do your due diligence.
The worst part is that these ingredients may not be very helpful when using your self-tanner of choice.
To fast-track you down the road to non-oblivion, we have a little starter guide for an overview of the ingredients you should be using, and the ones that don’t do anything at all to enhance your self-tan glow.
Ingredients that are good for the glow:
1. Antioxidants
This is a popular one. Antioxidants is a term tossed around not just in the beauty sector, but largely in the health sector. This is because it does some wonderful things for the body’s health, starting from the inside and radiating out to your skin.
On the skin front, one of the huge benefits is that it helps your skin age gracefully. Antioxidants help control collagen breakdown and help to repair skin. Because it helps protect tissues from damage, it also prevents unnecessary inflammatory responses that may lead to more complications.
Another benefit is it helps guard your skin from sun damage. Antioxidants have properties that help create a protective layer on the skin to ward off premature aging, sunburns, and general harmful rays
Last is that it helps to brighten skin. Antioxidants replenish the skin to help give your self-tanners a more glowing canvas.
2. Hyaluronic Acid
Also known as HA, Hyaluronic Acid is a natural carbohydrate polymer found in our bodies that can hold over 1,000 times its weight in water. This ingredient has become quite the buzzword in the beauty scene in recent years for its hydration properties. HA helps in maintaining your skin’s suppleness, plumpness, and radiance.
The older we get, the body’s capacity to produce HA steadily declines, which leaves our skin less hydrated than in our younger years. By sneaking some HA into your self-tanner, you’re giving your skin some honey glow while replenishing it.
3. Peptides
Peptides are short chains of amino acids that stand as the building blocks of elastin, collagen, and other skin proteins. They signal the skin cells to carry out important functions and produce a more smooth, plump, and hydrated complexion.
This ingredient is also said to help stimulate melanin production, which is great for encouraging the skin to rejuvenate, which also means self-tanners get absorbed in it better.
4. Ceramides
Ceramides are lipids (fats) that help in forming the skin’s barrier, making up 50% of your skin’s composition. This ingredient is naturally produced by the skin but like the others, your body’s natural capacity to produce it decreases over time. This is due to aging and a number of environmental and chemical factors. Ceramides help your skin to retain moisture, as well as to slow down premature signs of skin aging.
If you have sensitive or dry skin, this is one ingredient that you must look for in your moisturiser or self-tanners.
Our recommendation: Bondi Bodz Self-Tanning Lotions
What ingredients do I have to avoid?
Self-tanners have an active ingredient called dihydroxyacetone (DHA) that is derived from plant sources. It interacts with amino acids on your skin, which then darkens and gives the appearance of tanned skin.
It is important to note that there are certain ingredients in the world of skincare that do not go well with DHA’s amazing effects. These are mostly what are known as alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) such as lactic acid, glycolic acid, and salicylic acid – a beta hydroxy acid (BHA) that is commonly used on acne-prone skin. Triggering your skin to produce new layers at a quicker pace may cause your tan to fade quickly.
Now that you have some of the basic downs, you can shop the aisles with more confidence. This is not an extensive list but it will give you the basics of what to look out for when shopping for your skin.