hello. This is Kim Hong-seok, your skin boss. Today, I want to talk about good cosmetic ingredients to use together. If you use the cosmetics that contain the two ingredients I’m talking about, you can see a significant synergistic effect.
Good combination of ingredients ① Vitamin C + Vitamin E
Vitamin C is a component of ‘L-Ascorbic Acid’ and vitamin E is a component called ‘tocopherol’ in cosmetics. Both act as antioxidants. Vitamin C is water-soluble, so it usually acts as an antioxidant for water-soluble substances inside or outside cells. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble substance and often exhibits an antioxidant reaction mainly in the cell membrane rather than in the cell.
Vitamin C and vitamin E are better when used together because they make our body’s antioxidant system more efficient. When vitamin C is oxidized and then converted back to vitamin C, vitamin E helps part of this process.
Vitamin E helps vitamin C to oxidize itself. Vitamin C also binds to glutathione. Each has a recycling system.
There are times when cosmetics contain glutathione. It is commonly known as an ingredient that helps our body with powerful antioxidant and detoxifying action. However, when glutathione is used as a cosmetic, there is a problem that its function is deteriorated because it is rapidly oxidized by itself due to its unstable and powerful antioxidant effect. So, the amount of glutathione in cosmetics is not so high. To summarize, it is generally recommended to use cosmetics that contain both vitamin C and vitamin E.
A combination of ingredients that can be used together ② Vitamin A + Vitamin C
Vitamin A is a family of retinoids. Ingredients such as retinol and retinaldehyde, which are generally mentioned, can be used in cosmetics, but they cannot be used in cosmetics with the strongest retinoic acid ingredient, but are used as pharmaceuticals. Because retinol becomes retinaldehyde, which reacts when it goes to retinoic acid, when we apply it to the skin it is in the form of retinoic acid. Vitamin A is known as an ingredient that improves wrinkle/anti-aging/regulates the secretion of sebum on the skin.
However, this retinoid series is weak to light and easily oxidized in the air, so it is not used well during the day. Recently, products for daytime use are also coming out little by little. It is being talked about in a way that it is good to use it with sunscreen, but I recommend using it mainly at night. Since vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, if you use vitamin C and vitamin A in the evening, you can feel the functions of both vitamins at the same time. However, there is one thing to note here.
Vitamin C is also an ingredient that can cause irritation. Vitamin A has the potential to be quite sensitive or problematic when first applied to the skin. So, I think the most ideal way to use vitamin C after getting used to vitamin A is enough.
Vitamin C is also acidic. There are some stories that retinoids are also acidic and their efficacy is reduced. Because they coexist with each other, the effect does not disappear at all. Because vitamin C has the same effect as vitamin C, and vitamin A as vitamin A. It is also recommended to use together as long as your skin can adapt to it.
A good combination of ingredients ③ hyaluronic acid + squalane
When it comes to moisturizing, we usually talk a lot about the moisture balance, whether we lack moisture or oil. Some people don’t feel dry at all when using the same cosmetics, while others say, “Oh, it’s very dry. There are definitely people who think, “I can’t do this.” As a result, those who feel very dry will repeat the process of applying other products here. In this case, I recommend applying both hyaluronic acid and squalane together.
In the case of hyaluronic acid, it is an ingredient that attracts moisture and makes the skin retain moisture well. So, the moisturizing power is quite good, but the downside is that it can become a little sticky if you use too much. And in fact, there is a slight lack of hyaluronic acid to catch the evaporated moisture.
So, some people who have used hyaluronic acid say that their skin seems to be drier over time. There must be a line of cosmetics that each one uses, right? If the dry skin disappears when you use a serum containing hyaluronic acid, you can confirm that it is ‘water-deficient skin’, which lacks the role of attracting moisture.
If your skin is dry despite doing so, you can think of it as a state where the moisture content of the skin is low because it holds moisture well, but if you talk about it, the moisture cannot be maintained well and evaporates and goes away. In other words, you can confirm that it is ‘oil-deficient skin’.
It can be difficult to find both conditions every time, so to solve these problems at the same time, use hyaluronic acid and then add a drop or two of squalane oil. Then, the sealing film is formed and the skin improves a lot. Try using the product you already used, and add a serum (hyaluronic acid) in the middle or an oil (squalane) step at the end.
If your skin is always greasy or dry, this method is recommended. Squalane is an oil, and our skin produces squalane. Since squalane and squalene have almost the same composition, when applied, the oil does not feel heavy or foreign, and you can feel that it suits your skin well. It is good for people with very dry skin, but if you have oily skin and dry skin, you can mix one or two drops of oil with the lotion. Combining the two can result in a synergistic effect.
I gave you three combinations, but I think it might be helpful if you check the cosmetics you are using and how you are currently using it. If there is a missing part, I think it might be a way to fill it in a little more and apply it.
This copyright-protected content was produced with permission from Hongseok Kim, a dermatologist on the YouTube channel P.R. Nam.
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