Meet The 5 Skincare Ingredients That Are Approved By Real Women

Chic packaging or catchy marketing don’t easily sway us to buying anymore. With the help of our skincare experts and insightful trustworthy online videos, we now can read and understand skincare ingredients lists.

 We’re able to find the most effective product for our skin that saves time, money, and a whole lot of breakouts.

Here are the 5 ingredients that are worth knowing:

Niacinamide

A form of Vitamin B3, it is just as good as Vitamin C when it comes to being a brightening agent. It works to protect the skin from environmental damage and helps it to make more collagen and hyaluronic acid. This will help your skin boost its hydration, thus lessening the production of oil and sebum. It also calms down redness and irritation to help fade hyper-pigmentation.

Chemical exfoliants (AHAs and BHAs)

We’ve all said goodbye to physical exfoliators after experiencing the horrors of rubbing it raw. Now, imagining beads and harsh grains rubbing against our faces already makes us cringe. But with this, how does one get an everlasting smooth complexion? Chemical exfoliants are the answer. These exfoliants are made with the right amount of dead-skin-eating agents that are safer and gentler than a physical scrub. AHAs and BHAs normally go together, but AHAs are usually lactic, citric, and glycolic acids. They are derived from vegan and non-vegan sources to gradually break down dead skin cells. On the other hand, BHAs are oil-soluble, targeting the root of your pores instead of operating at the surface level for a much heavier exfoliation when needed. 

Hyaluronic Acid

All hail the mother of humectants that quenches the thirst of our skin as we grow older. Hyaluronic Acid is the humectant that can hold 1000x its weight in water to prevent moisture loss. With moisture being responsible for smooth and glowing skin, then hyaluronic acid prevents all of our skin concerns from acne to pre-mature aging. 

Cica

The K-beauty skincare ingredient that you need in your routine. Cica or Centella Asiatica is made from a leafy plant in Asia. A fun fact is that it’s actually used by tigers. Tigers rub the plant on their wounds to help their skin regenerate. Now if that doesn’t prove it’s worth enough, let’s break it down further. Cica is full of amino acids, fatty acids, and vitamins C, A, B1, and B2, which together make for a great antioxidant and help stimulate collagen production. It soothes the skin to effectively calm redness and irritations. 

Ceramides are an anti-aging powerhouse and is the glue that holds all your skin cells together to keep them tight and protected. Already a component of our skin barrier, adding more through our skincare routine seals the deal to avoid breakouts. It creates a protective layer that

limits moisture loss and protects it from visible damage of pollution, dry air, and environmental stressors. This then leaves the skin with a firmer and plumper appearance.

Here are our skincare recommendations that include these ingredients:

For Cleanser and Moisturizer:

Made in Korea, Happy Skin’s latest skincare products emphasize on biocompatible ingredients. Upholding their brand philosophy, their skincare line is also cruelty-free and free from parabens and mineral oils. 

Their new line includes a skin-caring duo composed of their Hyaluronic Soothing Cleansing Gel and Hyaluronic + B3 Boost Water Cream that’s carefully formulated with skin-friendly ph levels and good bacteria. Together these two products will make you one step ahead of skin aggressors by giving your skin a strong foundation and a protective barrier. 

A non-stripping but effective cleanser, their Hyaluronic Soothing Cleansing Gel has 3 main ingredients–hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and cica. It has a lightweight formula that makes it suitable to use for the day to replenish and refresh your skin, while at night to gently double cleanse your skin after removing your makeup. 

The B3 Boost Water Cream’s formulation includes hyaluronic acid, ceramides and niacinamide to brighten your skin complexion. Fitting for our warm weather, this water cream is suitable for day and night.  It will effectively moisturize and fade dark spots without leaving an extra greasy film.

For Chemical Exfoliators:

The TikTok cult-favorite, The Ordinary’s  AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution lives up to its hype. Since it’s more on the heavier side of exfoliation, it should only be used for 10 minutes and twice a week at most. This mask includes glycolic, lactic, and salicylic acids, all of which exfoliate the skin, and will noticeably improve the skin’s texture after just one use.

For Serums:

K-beauty brand iUnik’s serums are one to try out. Their Tea Tree Relief Serum has a lightweight formula that easily absorbs into the skin and works well to treat acne-prone skin. Its combination of niacinamide and tea tree oil makes it a moisturizing serum that will soothe irritated skin and target the root of pimples.

Another K-beauty brand that’s on the rise is The Inkey List because of its simple and transparent use of ingredients. Their hyaluronic acid serum contains several ingredients to love. From hyaluronic acid, it also has peptides, glycerin, and radish root ferment which work best to fight off bacteria and infection. 

Visit your nearby Happy Skin store to check out their Skincare Collection located at SM Malls, Ayala Malls Manila Bay, Alabang Town Center, Glorietta, and Greenbelt. The products are also exclusively available now on happyskincosmetics.com, and BeautyMNL. For more updates, follow them on Instagram at happyskin_ph.