Why Your Skin Needs Ceramides In Its Life

We love skincare technology and exciting new ingredients but sometimes, even we have to admit, the old beauty tricks are the best.

As you get older you soon realize that mom/grandma/your Auntie May was right about a lot of things. Their stingy toilet paper rationing might have been questionable (what was that all all about?) and their ‘fun meter’ was often way out of whack (according to you, of course!), but when it came to looking after their skin, they may have been on to something.

Back in the day, skincare was much more straightforward. There were no Botox or laser facials to be had and the closest they got to a treatment serum was some kind of cooking oil found in their kitchen cupboards. However, there’s a lot to be said for the simpler things in life. Don’t get us wrong, we’re all about innovative ingredients and ground breaking skincare technology, but certain, old-school skincare tricks have been passed down through generations for a reason. They work.

Read on for five of our favorite vintage beauty hacks you’d be wise to add to your skincare routine.

1. Sleeping On Silk

Ten years ago we bet you didn’t give a damn what kind of pillowcase you slept on. Surely it made zero difference to your skin, right? Well, actually, it kinda does. And if the onslaught of satin and silk pillowcases currently available are anything to go by, (not to mention the number of TikTok videos there are about them) it seems this trusted beauty trick has made a welcome return.

So what’s the deal here? Well, according to The Sleep Foundation regular cotton, linen or flannel pillowcases have a slightly rough surface which causes friction against your skin. This means that if you tend to toss and turn throughout the night you’re likely to crush and fold your skin into your pillowcase, causing creases which could eventually become permanently etched in. Go for a silk pillowcase, however, and the smooth, slippery surface allows your skin to glide over it with much less friction and, fingers crossed, fewer lines and wrinkles as a result. Silk is also believed to absorb less moisture from your skin than cotton which helps to keep your skin and hair better hydrated while you sleep. So there's that.

A few problems, however: silk pillowcases a) are pricey, b) often require hand-washing (yawn!) and c) are not vegan-friendly since silk comes from silkworm cocoons. The good news is that satin pillowcases can offer just-as-good benefits for your skin (and hair) and are budget-, vegan- and washing machine-friendly.

2. The Magic Of Olive Oil

Olive oil has long been used to benefit the skin and hair thanks to its high antioxidant and fatty acid content. As you know, antioxidants are super important for neutralizing the collagen-crushing effects of environmental aggressors like the sun and pollution. And fatty acids? Well, they’re excellent for fortifying your skin’s barrier function and helping to moisturize at a surface level. So put them together in one kitchen cupboard ingredient and it’s no wonder your mother couldn’t get enough of this stuff, often slapping it on before bed to reduce dryness and ‘feed’ the skin through the night.

Olive oil isn’t for everyone, however. Because it sits on top of your skin it can be fabulous for dealing with dryness and dehydration. It’s also great for removing makeup and can be an incredible treatment for people with eczema. But if you have oily or acne-prone skin this layer of oil can clog your pores and exacerbate breakouts.

If you sit in the latter camp and don’t fancy slapping pure olive oil all over your face, we get that. And boy do we have the ideal solution. Say hello to Vitamin C Super Serum+ which contains olive oil squalane. Nice.

3. Witch Hazel To Tone

Ask any older relative who’s been consistently into looking after their skin and most will tell you that, in days gone by, they’d often reach for witch hazel as a post-cleansing toning treatment.

Witch hazel is harvested from the bark and leaves of the witch hazel plant, a small tree that grows wild in Asia and the east coast of North America. It’s a natural astringent and full of anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antioxidant compounds which is why many households ensure they always have a bottle at hand to topically treat a variety of ailments from hemorrhoids and dandruff to bug bites and acne. As a sidenote, it also makes for a pretty effective house cleaner! But we digress…

Although it’s wonderfully healing and great for balancing oily skin, witch hazel can be pretty potent in its purest form. Instead, enjoy its benefits while taking care of your complexion with our Ocean Minerals Daily Face Super Toner which combines this awesome tonic with other powerhouses like vitamin C and glycolic acid.

4. Nice, Ice Baby

We hate to break it to all you Tiktokers out there, but skin icing is not new! Hollywood makeup artists have long raved about the benefits of running ice cubes over the face to reduce puffiness and get skin glowing. It’s a trick that’s been passed down for decades.

When you think about it, the concept of applying cold water or ice to brighten, tone, smooth and depuff your complexion makes sense. After all, cold temperatures constrict your capillaries which stimulates blood circulation, encouraging oxygen and nutrients to flood to the surface. However, you need to know how to do this properly because freezing cold temperatures can also cause redness, irritation and dehydration if not dealt with carefully.

For starters, you should never apply actual ice cubes straight to your skin because they can strip the skin of natural oils, killing your skin’s barrier function and even causing ices burns which is no fun. Instead, wrap ice cubes in a soft handkerchief or cloth and gently work them in circular motions over your skin for five minutes max. Oh, and always work on clean skin – we love to cleanse first with our Soothing Cleansing Milk.

Even better? Invest in some ice globes which are glass or metal wands with balls on the ends that are kept in the fridge or freezer and awesome for massaging the skin. These give you all the benefits of the frigid temps, without all that melty mess.

5. The Classic Eye Depuffer

While we’re on the subject of cold things, hands up if you remember your mom or older sister lying on their bed with either cold teabags, potatoes or slices of cucumbers on their eyes? Classic. But this age-old beauty tricks is not to be knocked.

The concept of popping a couple of cold things over your eyes for 10 minutes is similar to placing ice cubes on your skin – cold temperatures make your blood vessels contract which reduces puffiness, tiredness and dark circles. The light pressure also helps drain excess fluid. Plus who can knock the stress-relieving benefits of lying down and enjoying a bit of me-time once in a while?

What you use is totally up to you but slices of cucumber are great because they have a high water content which helps to boosts moisture under the eyes. Potatoes, on the other hand contain skin-brightening enzymes. And cold tea bags? Well, depending on the type of tea used, you can help tackle all manner of eye issues. Chamomile is soothing and great for calming redness while lavender tea may help relieve dryness. Green and black teas contain caffeine so they should be your go-tos for tightening the skin and reducing under eye bags.

We also like to finish this kind of treatment with a little eye cream just to really drive the eye-loving point home! Try Peptide Eye Gel if you’re looking for a good all-rounder.

Packed with some of the most forward-thinking (and super effective) ingredients in skincare, our Longevity range is everything for healthy, aging skin. So, let’s get acquainted, shall we?

It’s not often we pat ourselves on the backs, but at the end of 2023 we launched a complete new range of awesome, healthy aging products called Longevity. Brimming with incredible ingredients and with three expertly formulated products, we’re super proud of this range. It’s also been getting some excellent feedback on Amazon with reviews like: “This eye cream has truly been a game-changer for me,” and “I’m sensitive to retinol products, but this makes my skin feel so soft and hydrated.”

True praise indeed.

We figured, therefore, that it was time to tell you a little more about the range. Consisting of three products, Renewing Longevity Moisturizing Cream, Depuffing Longevity Eye Cream and Rejuvenating Longevity Serum this collection is all about its innovative ingredients which are specifically formulated to help skin age healthily and beautifully. We know how much you love to learn about skincare ingredients so we figured you’d love to hear more about the five powerhouses that make Longevity so unique and effective.

So, here we go…

1. Bakuchiol: The Retinol Alternative

Bakuchiol has made headlines over the last five years, but if you’re still none the wiser, here’s the lowdown.

A botanical extract derived from the leaves and seeds of the Psoralea Corylifolia plant (commonly known as babchi), bakuchiol has been used in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine for years to treat skin ailments and diseases. Thanks to its popularity in Ayurvedic practices, it started making its way into western skincare around 2007. And it quickly showed a lot of promise because of its similarities to the gold standard of skincare, retinol.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for your entire life, you’ll be well aware that retinol is one of the most highly regarded ingredients for improving the tone and texture of the skin. It works at a cellular level to rev up turnover and encourage healthy collagen production, making it a shoo-in for both aging and acne-prone skin. But the thing with retinol is that it’s potent. Like, really potent. So much so that it doesn’t suit all skin types, often causing facial redness, excess dryness, irritation and itching. Which is no one’s idea of a good time.

Of course, there are plenty of alternatives out there that work on similar issues (ceramides, peptides, antioxidants and exfoliating acids to name just a few) but nothing before has ever been compared so closely to retinol as bakuchiol.

This is why we simply had to base our corrective, aging products around this absolute gem of a skincare ingredient. All the powers of wrinkle-reducing, skin-smoothing retinol with way fewer side effects? We’d have been fools not to.

2. Coffeeberry: The Free Radical Terminator

One of skin’s biggest enemies is the free radical. Free radicals are nasty components that form in your skin when it’s exposed to external aggressors like UV radiation, pollution, stress and cigarette smoke. They’re bad news because they screw up your collagen and elastin supplies, having the knock-on effect of encouraging premature lines, wrinkles, dark spots and sagging skin. As we said, bad news.

A proven way to combat free radical damage is to throw topical antioxidants at your skin. And, while we’re huge fans of vitamin C (*understatement of the year, right there!), we’re nothing if not open to other antioxidant ingredients. And coffeeberry extract fits firmly into this camp.

Derived from the fruit that surrounds the coffee bean, coffeeberry extract is chock full of antioxidants and some studies suggest that it has up to 10x the antioxidant powers of other topical ingredients. We call that a pretty strong argument for using it in skincare products for mature skin. So that’s exactly what we did! And you’re welcome.

3. Glycerin: The Hydrating Classic

While we love being at the forefront of skincare technology and exploring nature’s finest new ingredients, we loathe to ignore the classics. And glycerin might be an oldie… but it’s a real goodie.

Sometimes known as glycerol, glycerin is one of the most effective humectants in skincare. In fact, research suggests it’s the most effective humectant you can use on your skin. Even better than hyaluronic acid (HA). This is because it has a lower molecular weight than HA which allows it to penetrate the skin deeper and quicker.

But wait, what do humectants do? Well, they’re the wonderkids of hydration, drawing water to the top layers of the skin like tiny little magnets. This helps to replenish your skin’s natural moisturizing factor, increasing hydration and minimizing water loss while also encouraging healing and better protection from that bad old world we live in. For such an unassuming ingredient, it's pretty powerful stuff… and something you’ll find not only in our Longevity range but across a whole bunch of TruSkin favorites. We salute you, glycerin.

4. Lingonberry Stem Cells: The Anti Blue Light Hero

Berries are big in the superfood world, but few pack the punch of lingonberries which are literally loaded with active plant compounds such as vitamins and polyphenols (basically super-charged antioxidants).

With small, bright red berries and glossy green leaves, the lingonberry plant is a hardy evergreen that’s commonly found in northern American forests as well as northern Europe and Canada. Again, it’s not as common in skincare as other fruits, but it’s great for adding hydration and blocking those pesky free radicals that love to cause havoc deep within your skin. In particular, these smart stem cells have been shown to protect the skin against blue light damage (aka high energy visible, or HEV light) which surrounds us everyday thanks to the sun as well as your smartphones, computers, TVs and other digital devices.

Blue light is part of the visible light spectrum which means that, unlike UV radiation, you can see it. It’s pretty good stuff because it’s high in energy and proven to boost your mood, improve memory and increase mental alertness. However, it’s been linked to eye damage and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), if you expose your body to blue light late at night, it throws your sleep way out of whack. It’s also seen as a real enemy to your skin because, just like UV rays, it produces free radicals which damage DNA and destroy collagen and elastin.

Protection is key, people, and lingonberry stem cells are your gals.

5. Snow Algae: The Pink Powerhouse

You might not have seen snow algae on the skincare shelves before (or in your local park for that matter!), but don’t let that fool you, because it's a true force to be reckoned with.

Snow algae is found in the ice caps and mountain tops of some of the coldest, most extreme climates in the world. Although it’s green at warmer temperatures, snow algae turns pink when the mercury drops and levels of UV radiation increase. This is why it’s often referred to as pink, red or watermelon snow. Why the color change? Well, this produces a clever defense system which protects snow algae from harmful UV radiation and allows it to thrive in such extreme, frigid conditions where most plants would stand no chance.

Pretty cool, right? Well, it’s just as cool for your skin. In fact, research shows that when applied topically and regularly, snow algae not only offers amazing antioxidant properties (take that, free radicals) but also activates certain enzymes and genes to restrict energy to your skin. This encourages them to work more efficiently which, in turn, accelerates DNA repair, boosts collagen production and slows down the aging process to help fortify your skin’s barrier function and strengthen your skin.

Fancy getting in on all these skin-regenerating, age-loving ingredients? Then you must try our fantastic Longevity range, right here.