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There are a number of ingredients used in topical skincare that are more beneficial to the skin than the usual water loss prevention that most moisturisers provide.

These range from basic traditional ingredients such as humectants emollients, exfoliants and astringents to vitamin derivatives and botanicals.

These are also alpha hydroxy acids, beta hydroxy acids, poly hydroxy acids, flower acids, antimicrobial and antiseptic ingredients, hormones, immune modulators, antineoplastic agents, steroids and vasoactive agents, although some of these are considered drugs.

It is important to care properly for your skin, and follow the accepted routine of cleansing and moisturizing.

Alpha Hydroxy acids containing skincare products increase the hydration of the skin as well as polishing the surface by encouraging sloughing of dead skin cells. Products with alpha-hydroxy acids may help with fine lines, irregular pigmentation and age spots, and may help shrink enlarged pores and improve acne.

Salicylic acid removes dead skin and can improve the texture and color of sun-damaged skin. It penetrates the hair follicle and stabilizes oil production, and as a result, helps with acne and improves skin texture and color.

Vitamin A derivatives are designed to penetrate the dermis and encourage growth. They are all metabolised within the skin to Retinoic acid which stimulates the dermis to produce collagen and elastin and inhibits UV induced collagen and procollagen breakdown. This results in improvement in fine lines and wrinkles. It also improves pigmentation by inhibiting melanin production and evens out skin tone and texture, is beneficial for acne and photoageing and improves the hydration level in the skin.

Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is a water-soluble antioxidant that can reduce free radicals from a variety of sources and comes in a variety of derivatives such as magnesium ascorbyl phosphate or ascorbyl palmitate have potential to improve skin texture and tone as well as pigmentation and pore size. Vitamin C is an antioxidant and stimulates the synthesis of collagen, minimizing fine lines, scars, and wrinkles. It is the most plentiful antioxidant in the skin and inhibits tyrosinase so is useful in skin lightening.

The skin contains a water binding molecule which is necessary for hydration and contributes to the plumpness and firmness of the skin. Nutrients that improve the skin can travel through it more easily when it is well hydrated. In this way, glycosaminoglycans also assist other active ingredients to benefit skin.

Peptides are multifunctional skin-care actives, with generally 2 – 10 amino acids, that can reduce wrinkles, treat acne, improve skin tone and elasticity and lighten or tan skin. Peptides can stimulate collagen, elastin, laminin, hyaluronic acid, elastin, epidermal growth factor (EGF), and other growth factors, or inhibit an enzymes such as tyrosinase, which stimulates skin darkening, or matrix metalloproteases (MMPs 1, 2 and 9) that can degrade tissue.

There are a multitude of skin lightening agents mostly derived from the plant based substance Arbutin. These substances inhibit the enzyme that converts tyrosine to melanin, thus reducing the expression of colour in the skin. They can be used to generally lighten the skin or for spot treatment.

Niacinamide can inhibit inflammation within the skin, which can reduce damage to the skin. Because of the anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin B3 derivative’s, topical niacinamide-based products are extremely useful in treating acne, rosacea, atopic dermatitis and general skin redness, yellowing of the skin, excessive sebum, large pore size, fine lines and wrinkles and hyper-pigmentation. It also seems to improve moisturisation, barrier effectiveness and elasticity and prevent UV induced immunosuppression and control sebum production.

Vitamin B5, or Pantothenic Acid is also an antioxidant and may be helpful in controlling acne and may increase the efficiency of the healing process. It is a naturally occurring moisturising factor in skin and regulates barrier function.

Vitamin E helps to stabilize the typically unstable vitamin C. It is naturally found in human skin, but it’s easily depleted because of UV exposure and other toxins. Vitamin E is said to have antiinflammatory properties and is an antioxidant. However there is a significant incidence of allergic dermatitis in response to topical Vitamin E products.

Vitamin K has been used in topical preparations to suppress pigmentation and resolve bruising but has also been found to speed healing.

Essential Oils are an enormous group of oils that are extracted from plants either by cold pressing, steam distilling or alcohol extraction.

They can be extracted from all parts of the plant, including flowers, leaves, stems, branches, wood, fruit and roots.

They are aromatic due to ketones, esters, alcohols, phenols, monoterpines, sequiterpines, oxides and aldehydes, and have a wide range of effects and side effects.

Many are photosensitising or have allergenic potential and the manufacture of essential oils is not regulated as they are classified as natural products. This means there can be considerable variation in activity and application from oil to oil and from year to year, and that they are essentially not tested.

These oils are small molecules so can be absorbed into the circulation and are often used for their systemic effects. Some are said to be moisturising, some astringent and some have antimicrobial activity. Rosemary and tea tree oil and some others have been used in a modified form as a preservative, and many of the oils are used as fragrances.

There has been extensive research done on essential oils and many therapeutic properties of essential oils have been found.

In some cases it is the water soluble fraction of the plant which has useful properties and essences are made from extracting these chemicals.

Oxygen-containing components, such as, esters, ketones, aldehydes, alcohols and phenols have moderate water solubility and essences can be made from most flowers and plant parts.

The range of useful botanicals is extensive, with effects ranging from enzyme induction or inhibition, moisturisation, growth stimulation and receptor stimulation or blocking, to DNA or RNA changes.

The number of botanicals used in skincare is ever increasing and ranges from Pycnogenol (pine bark extract) through Tea Tree Oil extracts and many other fruit or vegetable or bean, peas or grain extracts such as ligands, and even yeast extracts. Other sources of botanicals for skin care include fibres, polysaccharides, proteins, enzymes, vitamins, flavanoids and resveratrol.

Properties of various botanicals range from inhibition of release of chemicals like histamine, anti inflammatory actions, immunomodulaion, UV protective actions, collagen synthesis or gene expression, Growth factor release, MMP inhibition, antioxidant, antiseptic, anti fungal, antibacterial and even anticarcinogenic abilities. There are also botanical extracts that interfere with the transport of melanosomes to keratinocytes and many that inhibit tyrosinase or other enzymes such as ornithine decarboxylase, which promotes hair growth.

Peptides are multifunctional skin-care actives, with generally 2 – 10 amino acids, that can reduce wrinkles, treat acne, improve skin tone and elasticity and lighten or tan skin. Peptides are created in the body in response to stimuli in order to achieve healing.

There is a range of naturally occurring peptides in the skin with a variety of purposes.

They have function such as antimicrobial activity, wound healing modulation, blood vessel growth and inflammation modulation.

Applying certain peptides tricks skin into thinking that it is injured and needs to make additional types of proteins. Peptides can stimulate collagen, elastin, laminin, hyaluronic acid and growth factors, or act on enzymes.

In this way they help to firm, smooth, and soften skin, and remove damaged collagen and elastin from the skin and scar tissue, and improve lymphatic drainage.

Ceramides help improve the skin’s barrier function and therefore greatly reduce transepidermal water loss. Ceramides are made naturally by the skin to waterproof it. They also repair the barrier when it is damaged, and assist with cellular regulation. A reduction in the amount of ceramides in the skin contributes to dryness, scaliness, itching and wrinkles.

DMAE boosts the production of acetylcholine. DMAE in skin care products may affect cellular metabolism, as there are acetylcholine receptors in parts of the skin.

DMAE applied topically to skin can reduce fine lines and wrinkles and possibly affect underlying muscle tone, as well as act as an anti-inflammatory agent.

Alpha-lipoic acid has been referred to as a "universal antioxidant" because it is soluble in both water and oil, which permits its entrance to all parts of the cell. Due to this quality, it is believed that alpha-lipoic acid can provide the greatest protection against damaging free radicals when compared with other antioxidants. Alpha-lipoic acid can help to diminish fine lines, gives skin a healthy glow, and boosts levels of other antioxidants, such as vitamin C.