by Michael Lorence (https://linktr.ee/melorence1)
The world of beauty is all about trends and popularity. It's incredibly ephemeral and has new brands launching products every few months.
While common ingredients like retinoids are making a comeback yet again, there's still plenty of innovation regarding trending ingredients.
With so much buzz in the industry about green-focused beauty, it's only natural that more of them are showing up, so here are six ingredients trending in 2022.
The Rise of Retinoids
Retinol-based cosmetics have been at the heart of many people's skincare routine for several years now. It's commonly used as an anti-aging ingredient, and there's no sign of its usage slowing down anytime soon.
In 2022, the increasing prominence of retinoid derivatives like retinyl retinoate, retinaldehyde, and retinyl propionate is changing.
The usage of pure retinol is already proven and has plenty of research behind it. Its derivatives intend to work quicker, showing promise as the next step of retinol-based cosmetics.
Water-Soluble CBD
One of this year's most noteworthy discoveries in the cosmetic industry is that water-soluble CBD gets absorbed easier by your skin cells.
There are several CBD-based skincare products. Many of them use oil blends to deliver their actives. Brands are making CBD more water-soluble to incorporate it into water-based formulas.
The new water-based formulas are used to create products that cross the aqueous layer of the skin with ease, resulting in superior efficiency compared to pure CBD oil.
Organic Ceramides
Ceramides are responsible for holding the cells that compose the skin barrier together. It makes them essential for any product that wants to soothe the skin or fortify this barrier.
However, many products have been using synthetic-based ceramides in their formula instead of plant-based organic ones.
Leveraging all-natural ingredients like sweet potatoes, wheat, and rice add to the fortification of the outer layer of the skin. When coupled together with calendula and oat kernel, it helps to soothe the skin as well.
Using all-natural ingredients also helps avoid irritations and allergic reactions from using synthetic-based products.
Fermented Ingredients
Fermented ingredients are common in cooking, but large brands have slowly introduced them into the cosmetic industry in the last few years. These new ingredients are set to make a significant impact on the industry this year.
The research behind these ingredients is still in the early stages, but there are some small advancements about their effectiveness as skincare ingredients.
Fermented ingredients are rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and polysaccharides. These qualities make them great to improve the skin's moisture, boost its microbiome, soothe it, and repair the barrier.
Menopause Oriented Topicals
Women become increasingly more worried about the degradation of their skin when entering menopause. So menopause skincare has been on the rise for years now, with great research supporting the use of topicals for estrogen-deficient skin.
The lack of estrogen caused by menopause speeds up the signs of aging on the skin, leading to sagging, wrinkles, and dryness of the skin. As a result, we may also see greater use of phytoestrogen ingredients, which promise to combat the effects of menopause on the skin directly.
Niacinamide
Niacinamide (AKA nicotinamide) became greatly popular across many products last year. It's a water-soluble form of vitamin B3 with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
Its main use is to combat wrinkles, improve skin texture, enhance skin elasticity, and more. It also helps with the skin barrier, regulating oil production and giving pores a better look.
Being so well-accepted by consumers last year, Niacinamide-based products are sure to make a strong comeback during 2022.