Bounce Magazine 76

FEBRUARY 2019 | ISSUE #76
Skin care expert Geraldine Walters gives the low
down on the A-Z of what’s in your bottles...
[A] The world of cosmetics is not the simple
one that our mothers knew.
We are far beyond cleanse,
tone and moisturise with our
routines and ingredients have
become the stuff of text books.
Every year a new product comes
onto the market with its promise of
rejuvenation, hydration, dewy glow
and flawless skin. From hyaluronic
acid through nanospheres to peptides
we’re swept up in the language of
formulations and marketing. But do any
of us really know what it all means? This
year I’m going to take you through the
lexicon of cosmetic chemistry, picking
out an A-Z of ingredients that make
up the potions in your bathroom. The
goodies, the baddies and the absolute
stars.
So let’s start at the very beginning...
A is for one of my absolute favourites,
Vitamin A and it’s worth a month to
itself. You’ll also see it referred to in
its different forms as Retinyl Palmitate
or just Retinol, depending on its
formulation. Vitamin A products are
among the most widely used active
ingredients in skin care, but they
are often misunderstood, and don’t
produce equally beneficial effects on
the skin. That’s why some anti ageing
creams vary so much in price.
Retinol is the whole vitamin A molecule,
and is therefore just a fancy name for
Vitamin A, whereas retinyl palmitate is
a combination of retinol with another
chemical called palmitic acid. However,
experts agree that the one family of
ingredients that reduces wrinkles and
firms skin is retinoids.
What does it actually do? Retinol has
the ability to penetrate the skin and
increase elasticity. It makes the skin
look smoother, reduces pore size,
and improves wrinkles. Retinol aids
in the resurfacing and rejuvenation
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