I don't know when it started, but the number of people with sensitive skin is increasing.
Sensitivity is not a disease, but it indicates that the skin is in a state of high reaction and intolerance, which is equivalent to the skin sounding a small alarm. When the skin is in this state, it means that the skin barrier is damaged, so the skin's response to external stimuli will be enhanced.
Therefore, the core of sensitive skin care is to repair the damaged "skin wall". Of course, soothing is also important while repairing.
Timely extinguishing the flames (various inflammatory factors) in the wall can effectively relieve various discomfort symptoms such as skin redness, itching, and tingling, and prevent the flames from spreading further.
Among them, Centella asiatica extract, olive leaf extract, kava pepper, curcumin, etc. are all well-known star ingredients for sensitive skin. Today, let's do a small review. What is the corresponding mechanism of the fire-fighting team? Which products are worth buying? How to use them to get better results?
01 Centella asiatica extract, an evergreen in the industry
Centella asiatica is a typical "healing" plant. Legend has it that when a tiger in the forest is injured, it will roll in the Centella asiatica bushes, and the wound will slowly heal. Therefore, Centella asiatica is also nicknamed "tiger grass". It has made great achievements in soothing skin micro-inflammation and promoting skin repair, and has accumulated a lot of literature data; and Centella asiatica ointment, as an ointment, has been used for decades to promote wound healing and prevent scars.
In cosmetics, we often use Centella asiatica extract, which not only has excellent fire-fighting effect, but also has excellent repair ability. It is an evergreen in the industry for sensitive skin raw materials.
Centella asiatica extract contains a variety of bioactive substances and organic ingredients. Triterpenes are the most effective ingredients in Centella asiatica.
For example, the familiar ones: Centella asiatica glycoside, madecassoside, asiatic acid, madecassoside, etc. These effective ingredients are currently included in the list of cosmetic raw materials.
Among them, hydroxy-madecassoside and asiaticoside are slightly more inclined to repair, have an activating effect on fibroblasts, can promote skin cell renewal, and accelerate wound healing; triterpenoids such as asiatic acid have a good inhibitory effect on TNF-α and IL inflammatory factors.
Therefore, when choosing skin care products containing Centella asiatica extract, it is very important to learn to identify the content of its core chemical substances, such as asiaticoside, hydroxy-madecassoside, asiatic acid, hydroxy-madecassoside, etc.
02 The star ingredient: olive leaf extract
If we talk about soothing and repairing raw materials for sensitive skin in recent years, olive leaf extract can be said to be the most popular soothing and repairing star ingredient in the industry.
Olive leaf extract is rich in secoiridoid ether terpenes and their glycosides, flavonoids and their glycosides, biflavonoids and their glycosides, low molecular weight tannins and other ingredients, which can effectively regulate the skin's immune barrier, and therefore has become a star ingredient in fighting skin micro-inflammation.
From the raw material data of olive leaf extract from well-known raw material suppliers, it can also be seen that it has good anti-inflammatory effects, such as inhibiting the expression of IL-1α and effectively reducing the expression of inflammatory factors; at the same time, the high content of oleuropein in olive leaf extract has been proven by many experiments to have good antioxidant effects.
In addition, olive leaf extract has another unknown killer. It not only has good anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, but also can effectively increase the expression of skin collagen IV by promoting PPAR expression, and further repair the inner wall of the skin (basement membrane). No wonder it has been dominating the list of raw materials for sensitive skin repair for many years, which is well deserved.
Similarly, when choosing skin care products containing olive leaf extract, it is not enough to just look at the ingredient list. It is necessary to confirm the content of the core substances of the corresponding raw materials (such as oleuropein, etc.). If there are experimental data related to the efficacy of the raw materials or the relevant experimental data of the skin care products, it will be even better!
03 Kava extract: a rising star
Kava extract is a rising star in the soothing field. According to the filing data of the China Food and Drug Administration in the second quarter of 2021, the Beauty Industry Research Institute has calculated that kava extract ranks first in the growth of filings in the field of soothing.
Kava extract comes from the distant South Pacific. Locals make this plant into a beverage. Currently, some studies have used it to treat anxiety.
The earliest animal studies showed that this herb has a very significant effect in relieving micro-inflammation. Kava can reduce inflammatory reactions caused by exposure to chemical compounds and ultraviolet rays.
The various kava lactones contained in kava extract can control TNF-α to a certain extent and inhibit the activity of PEG2, effectively playing the role of anti-redness, analgesia, antipruritic and soothing.
As we all know, sensitive skin refers to a highly reactive state of the skin under physiological or pathological conditions. Among them, TRPV1, also known as the capsaicin receptor, is a heat-sensitive receptor; it is closely related to the burning and pain of the skin.
Domestic raw material suppliers have verified through experiments that kava pepper extract can inhibit the expression of TRPV1 protein and achieve a soothing effect.
Moreover, it can not only inhibit nerve receptors, but also inhibit nerve transmission after the nerve receptors are activated. Prevent discomfort such as tingling, burning, itching, etc. caused by external stimuli from the source, and relieve them instantly. It is not inferior in all soothing dimensions and can relieve various discomforts caused by sensitive skin. Friends can try it.
04 Curcumin, a star ingredient in many fields
In China, turmeric is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine; in India, turmeric is a traditional seasoning and is found in many curries. Curcumin is an active substance extracted from turmeric by scientists that has multiple functions.
And there are few raw materials like curcumin that are not only popular in different countries, but also widely used in a variety of fields including dietary supplements, beverages, cosmetics, functional foods, etc.
As early as 2016, Google released a global diet trend report showing that the search volume for turmeric has increased by 300% in the past five years; by 2018, turmeric was easily listed as "the most watched food ingredient formula in the world" and successfully entered the beverage industry; data from PubMed shows that scientific research papers on curcumin are also increasing year by year. Curcumin has excellent anti-inflammatory effects and can effectively inhibit the activity of cyclooxygenase (COX-2), thereby preventing arachidonic acid from being converted into prostaglandins; at the same time, it can also effectively reduce the expression of inflammation-related active factors (such as IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α, etc.), which can help relieve skin inflammation.
At the same time, many studies have found that curcumin also has excellent antioxidant properties, which can be found from the molecular structure of curcumin. At the same time, it can also regulate antioxidant enzymes, such as increasing the activity of SOD (superoxide dismutase) and glutathione peroxidase.
In other words, it not only has excellent antioxidant capacity, but also has the ability to call on other partners to join the antioxidant cause. Is it excellent?
This is not to mention that curcumin can also help promote the proliferation of fibroblasts and promote the healing of some micro-wounds. It can be said that it plays a repairing role from the bottom of the skin.
Of course, curcumin also has difficulties, such as yellow color, difficult to dissolve, easy to be oxidized, etc., so there are many technologies under research at present, and it is a good raw material for sensitive skin repair that is worth looking forward to.
Three principles to make sensitive skin repair more effective
Having said so many excellent raw materials, but for sensitive skin repair, it is necessary to pay attention to some small details while having good skin care products, which can achieve twice the result with half the effort!
Principle 1 - Prevention. Avoid various irritants that may be caused in life, including ultraviolet rays, allergens, etc.
The first recommendation here is all kinds of hard sunscreen, such as sun hats, parasols, sun-proof clothing, sun-proof sleeves and other sunscreen artifacts; at the same time, according to the actual ultraviolet conditions when going out, you can appropriately choose sunscreen products with physical sunscreens (mainly titanium dioxide and zinc oxide) as auxiliary. In principle, it is not recommended to use sunscreen products with chemical sunscreens.
Principle 2 - Gentle selection of mild skin care ingredients and skin care methods, gentle treatment of skin in special periods.
For example, cleaning, whether it is oily sensitive skin or dry sensitive skin, the cleaning process should be weakened. You can wash your face with clean water, or choose mild cleansing products with amino acids and alkyl glycosides as the main surface active.
Principle 3 - Streamline. Simplify the skin care steps, streamline skin care, and stay away from strong whitening and anti-aging ingredients.
When caring for sensitive skin, the skin care ingredients should be as mild as possible as per the above criteria, and the quantity should also be reduced to reduce the extra burden on the skin.
Statement
This article is only for sharing scientific knowledge, not medical advice.
The pictures in the article are from the Internet.