If you already have good skin, you might not need all that much to keep it happy and glowing. Then again, if you already have good skin, you probably aren’t scouring the web for information on better skincare ingredients.
If coconut oil and water aren’t enough to keep your skin looking fresh and flawless, you might need to get experimental with your skincare routine. Here are a few unconventional skincare ingredients that you might need to integrate into your regimen today.
Melittin
When a bee stings you, the venom causes your skin and tissues to become inflamed. While you don’t want the redness and pain associated with a bee sting, you might not be upset about the slight tightening venom can cause. That’s why some skincare products include melittin, or bee venom — to diminish fine lines and wrinkles while brightening your skin.
Cannabidiol
You aren’t the only person to doubt that cannabis compounds can improve skin quality; after all, stoners aren’t notorious for their flawless, glowing skin. Yet, cannabidiol (CBD) won’t get you high, but CBD, plus the helpful pure terpenes found in many CBD products, could provide more than a few advantages to your skin, like helping to reduce redness and puffiness while boosting hydration. You might use a CBD lotion at the end of your skincare routine for the most benefit.
Glucosamine
Bone marrow is among the most important organs in the body, responsible for creating a variety of new cells to keep the body healthy and youthful. In particular, the bone marrow produces glucosamine, a compound critical for producing and maintaining the elastic connective tissues around the body. Thus, skincare that includes bone marrow, or glucosamine, will help to restore firmness and elasticity to aging skin.
Mucin
There is likely nothing else in the world you want to rub on your face less than snail mucus — but wait until you hear about the benefits of mucin. Snail secretions are popular in Korean beauty products because they are extremely high in peptides, which help the skin repair damage quickly and naturally. Using a serum that boasts mucin as an ingredient can help heal acne scarring, sun damage, and premature aging, so you might want to reconsider snail mucus in your skincare.
Dragon’s Blood
In the tropical northern region of South America grows a plant called Croton lechleri, otherwise known as dragon’s blood for the viscous, red resin that oozes out of its trunk. Used for centuries as a means of healing wounds, dragon’s blood has been found to protect the skin against free radicals and encourage new cell growth. Thus, moisturizers that include dragon’s blood are likely to eliminate redness and provide supple skin.
Urea
The skin naturally produces urea as a humectant, or a compound that absorbs moisture from the environment to keep the skin hydrated, soft, and smooth. Oddly enough, the body also produces urea in the kidneys as a means of detoxifying the blood, and this urea is then eliminated from the body through urine. Though the urea added to skincare products is and never was part of urine, it is interesting that such a useful compound for skincare can have another vital use in keeping you alive and thriving.
Yeast
Believe it or not, yeast is everywhere — in fact, it is on your skin right now. Fortunately, your immune system and natural flora are enough to keep yeast infection at bay; otherwise, you would be experiencing red, itchy, weeping patches across your skin. Usually, you don’t want to give the yeast a fighting chance, but as part of a healthy skincare routine, yeast can have some positive effects on the skin. Yeast is particularly beneficial for those with sensitive skin because the skin is less likely to reject the compound and react poorly.
Placenta
Plenty of people do plenty of things with their placentas after birth, but should you apply yours to your face? Probably not, but you might look for skincare products that use placenta or boast placental extracts. Placentas are jam-packed with skin-friendly compounds, like vitamins, minerals, proteins, and amino acids. As a result, placenta extracts can provide anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, anti-allergic properties, and more. Placenta creams are becoming more common, so you should consider picking one up today.
If you are adventurous with your skincare — or if you are desperate for something to heal your damaged skin — you might try some of these wild and weird skincare ingredients. The worst that could happen is you fall in love with rubbing snail mucus and urea on your face.