Kale in your smoothies?
Cacao for breakfast?
Now you can put quinoa in your hair care, chia in your body lotions and matcha in your face masks!
There’s no doubt that including superfoods in your diet has been a trend for quite a while and now the concept of superfoods in your skincare is growing too.
The rise of superfood skincare
Superfoods aren’t just being used as key ingredients in beauty products, entire brands are being built on the superfood concept.
USA brand The Body Deli: Fresh Superfood Skincare is modelled on a juice bar and base their entire brand and range of products on the concept of “gourmet handcrafted bio-active superfood skincare”.
Australian brand Skin Juice create a “superfood-infused skincare range designed to feed the skin like a healthy diet feeds the body”.
Industry publications have reported on the trend. Prospector report a “Superfood surge in personal care” and Cosmetic Design Asia report that “Superfood ingredients getting big in beauty”.
Stephanie Mattucci, Global Food Science Analyst at Mintel, said:
“The popularity of ‘super’ products is clear as food and drink manufacturers globally are tapping into a demand for these nutritionally dense ingredients. But superfoods are not only limited to food and drink, they are regularly springing up in the beauty, health and hygiene and pet food aisles as a result of today’s consumers becoming much more aware of what they are putting into and onto their bodies.” (Source: Mintel)
So what superfoods can you use in your skincare?
There are many types of superfood you can use including:
Seeds eg chia
Berries eg blueberries, cranberries,
Fruits eg pomegranate, avocado
Grains eg quinoa
Algae eg spirulina and chlorella
How can you include superfood in your skincare?
One of the easiest ways is by using cold-pressed oils such as:
- Pomegranate oil
- Avocado oil
- Chia seed oil
- Blueberry seed oil
These are very versatile ingredients and are perfect for serums, body oils, creams, lotions and more.
You can also add botanical extracts such as:
- Hydrolyzed quinoa (popular in hair care products)
- Green tea extract
- Goji berry extract
These can be added to a wide range of products: creams, lotions, haircare, serums and more.
Powdered extracts are also a useful way of adding superfoods to your skincare. Examples are:
- Spirulina
- Cacao
- Raspberry powder
- Seaweed
These are wonderful to use in face masks. Our Certificate in Preservative-Free Face mask and Cleanser Formulation shows you how to do just that!
5 superfoods to add to your skincare products
1) Spirulina
This bright green powder is popping up in face masks such as REN’s Invisible Pores Detox Mask and Inlight’s Organic Superfood Face Mask.
Spirulina is a powdered blue-green algae that contains fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and proteins. It helps to detoxify and remove impurities from the skin, increase cell turnover and provide anti-bacterial properties.
It’s suited to all skin types including sensitive and problem skin such as acne.
We share our version of Inlights Organic Superfood Face Mask in our Certificate in Preservative-Free Face mask and Cleanser Formulation.
2) Blueberries
Blueberry seed oil is hailed as one of nature’s most potent antioxidants or ‘superfood’ oils. It gives elasticity to the skin and helps slow down the visible signs of skin aging and is ideal for skin rejuvenation and damaged skin products.
The Body Deli’s Blueberry Fusion Scrub includes wild blueberries, acai berries and tumeric amongst its superfood ingredients.
3) Chia seed
A super food seed oil which imparts a silky soft skin feeling to the skin. It has a very high content of omega 3 (more than 60% of α-linolenic fatty acid) and contains phytonutrients and antioxidants. Chia seed can help to minimize fine lines, wrinkles and enlarged pores.
This study by the Korea University of Medicine demonstrated how chia helps with skin moisturization; it significantly improved skin hydration and helped maintain skin barrier function.
Sukin Super Greens Nourishing Chia Seed Oil includes chia plus other ‘green actives’ such as spirulina, chlorella, parsley and kale.
4) Cacao
Naturally occurring flavonoids give Cacao its superior antioxidant activity. It also has superb emollient, moisturizing and skin conditioning properties as well as the ability to give your skin a radiant glow. The butter can easily be added to creams, lotions, balms and body butters and the powder is wonderful in face masks.
5) Pomegranate
Pomegranate is rich in antioxidants and polyphenols that give the oil natural protection abilities, shielding skin from UV and free-radical damage.
Pomegranate oil regenerates and repairs skin, and effectively reduces and prevents wrinkles in the epidermis. It also has superior moisturizing ability, nourishing and softening skin.
Weleda have an entire pomegranate range including Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil and Pomegranate Firming Face Serum.
Learn how to create awesome superfood face masks with our Certificate in Natural Face Mask Formulation.
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