How to read beauty labels

Don’t know your antioxidants from your AHAs? You’re not alone. When it comes to keeping up with the latest beauty buzzwords and ingredients, most of us are clueless. Nilo Richardson, BeautyLab expert at Transform Body UAE, helps you wise up.

AHAs

Alpha hydroxyl acids are big news in the beauty world because they promise to smooth wrinkles, improve skin texture and unblock pores. “Cells in the outer layers of your skin are bound together by inter-cellular fluid and as you age, this glue-like substance binds the skin cells tighter and denser,” says Nilo. “Dead skin layers build up and, unlike younger skin, natural exfoliation becomes difficult.”

AHAs are able to loosen up this fluid and give your skin back its natural ability to shed the dead cells at its surface layer. Most skincare products contain AHA levels of up to ten per cent.

Antioxidant

“Antioxidants are substances that may protect your cells against the effects of free radicals, which are molecules produced when your body breaks down food, or by environmental exposure to tobacco smoke and radiation,” says Nilo. “Free radicals can damage cells, and may play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases.” Ingredients to look out for that include anti-oxidants are Beta-carotene, Lutein, Lycopene, Selenium and Vitamins A, C and E.

Collagen

Collagen is the fibrous protein that binds and supports your body’s tissue such as skin, bone, muscle and cartilage. It makes up about 25 per cent of the total protein in your body. According to Nilo, it gives tissue form, firmness and strength. It works hand-in-hand with elastin, and without its presence, your body would literally fall apart. As you age, collagen degradation occurs, leading to wrinkles, which in turn means that it is an important substance for scientists who are looking for ways to fight the visible effects of ageing.

Elastin

Elastin is another important protein found in the skin and body tissue — it keeps skin and tissue flexible but tight. Nilo says, “Enough elastin in the skin means that your skin will return to its normal shape after it has been pulled. It helps to keep the skin smooth as it stretches when doing normal activities like flexing a muscle or opening your mouth to talk or eat.”

As with collagen, elastin depletes with age, resulting in wrinkled and saggy skin, which again, means that it plays an important role in anti-ageing products.

Enzymes

A current trend in anti-ageing skincare is enzymes, which according to Nilo, are vital to help your skin combat free radical damage and maintain regular skin cell activity. “Skin is a rich reservoir of enzyme activity,” says Nilo. “Enzymes help dissolve dead cells from the skin’s surface, resulting in a healthy glowing complexion. There are skincare products that can enhance or inhibit the activity of natural enzymes in your skin, and there are skincare products containing enzymes that work with the natural enzymes in your skin, helping maintain the youthfulness of your skin.”

Free radicals

Unfortunately free radicals are not a peace-loving, hippie movement; they’re actually a collection of chemical particles that cause progressive damage to your body. In simple terms, Nilo says, “Free radicals are the by-product of chemical processes. For example, when two chemicals join together to form another chemical, some particles are eliminated and can form free radicals.” Everything from processing food, producing energy and using your muscles to manufacturing collagen creates free radicals, and your skin is exposed to approximately 5,000 every day! This inevitably means that your skin ages faster than any other organ in your body, but the good news is, with the help of anti-oxidants, this ageing process can be slowed down.

Hypoallergenic

When products advertise themselves as being hypoallergenic, it means that they are non-allergy producing. Nilo says that it is a term applied to a preparation in which every possible care has been taken in formulation and production to ensure minimum instance of allergic reactions.

Melanin

Melanin is the substance that gives your skin and hair its natural colour. It can also be referred to as pigment, and according to Nilo, it is also responsible for the colour of your iris. The tone of your skin is determined by the amount of melanin that you have in your body. Darker skin has higher amounts of melanin, while paler complexions have less.

Natural

Natural-boasting skincare products use botanically sourced ingredients that are formed by nature. They are typically chemical-and synthetic-free, and produced in a way that preserves the integrity of the ingredients. Scientific studies have proven that certain natural ingredients, such as chamomile, have healing properties when applied to the skin. Many large beauty companies have chosen the natural way to go with their products, as more and more women look for them in beauty products.

Peptides

“Peptides trigger the body to work a bit better,” says Nilo. “It takes approximately 15 years for your skin cells to completely recycle, so by harnessing the state-of-the-art knowledge about how to make the skin work better with the help of peptides, you can literally slow down the way that the skin support breaks down and increase the way your skin makes proteins.”

Peptides are a lot more sophisticated since their early beginnings in the 90s and basically work as ‘messengers’ to your skin, sending signals to change and control it. Typically, peptides are used to heal and reduce inflammation in problematic skin, such as acne-prone skin. New developments in the industry use peptides that are antibiotic — preserving the product as well as treating your skin.

Photoageing

“Photoageing refers to the premature ageing of skin as a result of excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Effects of photoageing can include dryness, loss of elasticity, wrinkles, discolouration and changes in texture,” says Nilo.

Retin A

Nilo says, “Retin A is a form of vitamin A and is used in the treatment of acne. It is thought to loosen the cells in the surface of your skin, which helps to unblock pores so that the skin’s natural oil-producing glands can function normally. In addition, it increases the turnover of your cells, which aids the natural exfoliation of the outer layers of your kin. This also helps to unblock pores and decrease the formation of blackheads and spots.”