Bioactive Ingredients? What are they and why are they important?

The Problem With Buying Skincare.

We all want healthy, radiant, youthful skin. Many of us buy excessive amounts of skincare products looking for the magic, only to become disappointed when they don’t see the results we crave.  I’ve been there myself and really it was that dissatisfaction with my own skin that led me into the field of cosmetic dermatology and aesthetics. I was a product whore in my late 20’s and yet my skin was still dry, dull, and discolored. The final straw was when wrinkles started appearing at age 30.  What was I doing wrong? I had talked to a dermatologist, I had read every article in beauty magazines that I could, and I tried every over the counter product I could get my hands on, yet nothing seemed to give me the results I wanted. I did not understand the issue until I started my career in cosmetic dermatology.

What did I learn?

I learned that the purpose of skincare products is to improve the skin’s natural functions to restore the supple, hydrated, smooth skin of our youth. So why weren’t the products that I was using giving me those results?  The reason not all skincare products work is because their ingredients are not bioactive nor bioavailable. So, the products that I was using were only sitting on the surface of skin “band-aiding” my skin issues and not actually improving them.

What are Bioactive and Bioavailable Ingredients?

Bioactive and bioavailable ingredients are what give skincare products their effectiveness.  These types of products are often referred to as cosmeceuticals. Bioactive compounds are produced by plants to play a role in protection, signaling, defense, resilience or attraction. These compounds have been found to not only help the plant be more resilient and healthy, but can also have similar effects on our cells and tissues. Bioactive ingredients are only the half of it because those great ingredients need to be able to reach their target in your skin to affect the desired change and deliver the results you want.  Bioavailability is the ability of the ingredient to absorbed and then be utilized by the cells in the skin.

Reaching Deeper

Bioavailability and product penetration are based on molecular size, skin pH, polarity or molecular charge, and oil solubility. This is where science steps in and with technological advancements, ingredients can be changed into smaller particles with nanotechnology and microspheres to increase skin penetration. Liposome encapsulation and micro-encapsulation are also technologies used to increase product penetration by increasing oil solubility and increasing ingredient stability. For sustainability, many times science is used to synthesize the best plant-based ingredients in a lab environment to increase their concentrations and bioavailability while also decreasing the use of water and soil.

At Mikel Kristi, we formulate our products with bioactive and bioavailable ingredients like Peptides, Vitamin C, Prickly Pear Extract and Retinaldehyde to name a few. Our goal is to improve your skin’s natural functions of natural exfoliation, restoration, and protection to deliver you healthier, more radiant and beautiful skin. Here's to a New Year of discovering Your Best Skin Ever!