Ceramides
Ceramides are another well-known ingredient in the world of skincare. Ceramides are one of those sensitive, friendly, supportive skincare ingredients. It is vital in improving and maintaining skin barrier health (1). Ceramides are enormously helpful in healing to attain long-term skin goals.
While ceramides are naturally occurring, we tend to lose them as our skin ages and is chronically exposed to the environment. Using ceramide-based products helps lock in moisture to keep skin hydrated and resilient.
Let's dig into the details!
What Are Ceramides
Ceramides are the naturally occurring fats in skin cells and make up nearly half of the epidermis. They act as a bodyguard to the skin to keep it resilient to the outside environment.
Products can contain a mix of ceramides to help the skin topically. Foods like nuts, flaxseed, fish high in omega fatty acids, sweet potatoes, and brown rice are all naturally rich in ceramides.
How Do Ceramides Work?
Ceramides form a barrier to prevent moisture from leaving the skin. They are essential to skin health because they moisturize and coat the cells for better function (2).
Because our skin's natural fats deplete rapidly, adding them to your routine is enormously beneficial.
Lines, wrinkles, and dullness become more prominent when your skin is dry. Hydration is vital, but since our skin can expel water (via sweat, etc.), it is key to "lock in" the moisture. This is where oils, ceramides, wax, and butter come in.
Maintaining your skin barrier is essential to skin health. Chronic dry skin low in ceramides can lead to dryness, irritation, dermatitis or eczema, and more permanent skin barrier ailments (2).
Moisturizing ingredients offer different properties and can be used in combination or separately depending on your skin type, skin goals, and lifestyle or exposure (1). Not all nourishing ingredients are the same, so you cannot swap one for the other.
For example, Hyaluronic acid is a "humectant" that hydrates and plumps the skin by pulling water from the environment or the deeper layers of the skin. Ceramides are an emollient; they deeply moisturize skin cells allowing them to function better.
Understanding how these essential ingredients work on the skin helps you achieve healthy skin. While "healthy skin" seems like a broad discussion, learning about generally beneficial and targeted ingredients is essential to forming a plan or road map for your skin goals.
Ceramides can be combined with other effective ingredients like vitamin C, retinol, peptides, AHAs, and BHAs. A functioning skin barrier will help these ingredients more effectively penetrate the skin.
How Do Ceramides Affect Skin?
Allow skin to stay hydrated
Reduces fine lines and dull complexion
Support a healthy skin barrier
Plumps and hydrates the appearance of skin
Product Recommendations
The Hyaluronic Acid Boosting Serum includes Hyaluronic Acid and Ceramides to deeply hydrate the skin, retain moisture and strengthen your natural skin barrier.
Citations
Feingold Kenneth R. Thematic review series: Skin Lipids. The role of epidermal lipids in cutaneous permeability barrier homeostasis. 2007.. https://www.jlr.org/article/S0022-2275(20)42904-9/fulltext
Matthew H. Meckfessel. The structure, function, and importance of ceramides in skin and their use as therapeutic agents in skin-care products. 2014. www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(14)01022-6/fulltext