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Skin Care Guide: The most beneficial ingredients (in everyday products)

Life Kit from NPR
Life Kit's Guide to Skin Care
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By Kelle Walsh, health journalist
A 2-piece face sheet mask surrounded by smears of liquid skincare products, mini cosmetic tubes and droppers against a red and orange gradient background.
Beck Harlan for NPR
Skin care is full of questionable trends, from snail mucin and salmon sperm facials to 10-step routines. Meanwhile, scientists are studying skin health and aging at the molecular level, work that may influence future products and treatments.

So you may be wondering: Which products can help your skin right now? That’s what today’s email will cover: what’s known to work in common skin care products — the ones you buy at drugstores and beauty retailers, or online.

The guidance comes from dermatologists, researchers and cosmetic chemists. Some of them also do consulting work for companies that make skin care products.

We’ll break down the ingredients shown to be the most beneficial for specific concerns. The goal is to narrow down what works for you, instead of using a throw-everything-at-it approach that can irritate your skin — and strain your budget.

First, let’s get a big question out of the way …

Can everyday products improve my skin?

To an extent, say our experts.

The Food and Drug Administration classifies over-the-counter (OTC) skin care products as cosmetics, meaning they’re intended to cleanse, moisturize or beautify the skin, not change it the way some medical treatments can.

“Topical [OTC] products can certainly help in myriad ways, but they can only go so far,” says dermatologist Lawrence Green, a clinical professor of dermatology at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

But achieving brighter, smoother, more resilient skin that looks better? Definitely in the realm of drugstore skin care.

“There are some cosmetic products that overpromise,” says cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos. “But there are certainly ingredients we use in the cosmetics industry that do have some beneficial effects on the skin.”

4 common skin care goals and ingredients that may help

A squirt of skin care product on a yellow background
Beck Harlan for NPR
I entered the world of skin care because my complexion looked dull. I didn’t believe the dewy, radiant skin I saw on some women my age in their 50s came only from a cream. But if I could get even a bit of that look, why not try?

Whatever your skin care goal, look for products that contain the key ingredients, called actives, shown to help.

“Think about what kind of benefit you want from your skin care product, and ensure that your ingredient choices are supporting that benefit,” says Dobos.
👉 It’s worth noting that you can sometimes get what you need in one product — for example, a moisturizer that also delivers retinols or sunscreen. You don’t necessarily need separate products for each desirable ingredient.

For brighter, smoother-looking skin, look for products with …

Antioxidants: Applied topically through serums or moisturizers, they help neutralize free radicals — the unstable molecules that damage cells — that are generated by ultraviolet (UV) radiation and pollution, which contribute to dullness and uneven tone.
  • Other effective antioxidants include ferulic acid, green and white tea extracts, vitamin E (tocopherol) and resveratrol.
Chemical exfoliants. These help dead skin cells shed more evenly, says dermatologist Amy Wechsler. This creates smoother, more even skin that looks brighter.
  • They include glycolic acid and lactic acid, which are alpha hydroxy acids, as well as salicylic acid, a beta hydroxy acid (BHA) that’s helpful for oily or acne-prone skin.
  • Some enzymes in fruits like papaya or pineapple may offer milder exfoliation. You can find these ingredients in cleansers, serums, night creams, toners and masks.
⚠️ Note: Exfoliators can be irritating and increase skin’s sensitivity to the sun’s UV rays, so introduce them slowly and avoid layering them with other exfoliating ingredients like retinoids.

Niacinamide: This active form of vitamin B3 serves multiple functions in skin products, says Dobos. It helps reduce inflammation, strengthens the skin barrier and limits the transfer of pigment to the skin’s surface, which can contribute to blotchy darker patches. Over time, this helps skin look brighter and more even. It’s found in cleansers, moisturizers, serums, some sunscreens and toners.

For fewer fine lines, look for products with …

Retinoids. These vitamin A derivatives help regulate skin-cell turnover and, over time, support collagen production, says dermatologist Michelle Henry.

  • Prescription retinoids, like tretinoin, are more potent and are also used for acne and hyperpigmentation, but they can be irritating and may increase sun sensitivity when you first begin using them.
  • Over-the-counter forms like retinol (retinyl palmitate, acetate or linoleate) and retinal (retinaldehyde), found in moisturizers, serums and some eye creams, are less potent but also often less irritating.

⚠️ Note: All retinoids should be avoided during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

For moist, plump skin, look for products with …

Ceramides. These lipids fill in spaces between skin cells. In skin care products, they’re used to help reinforce the skin barrier, says Dobos, which reduces moisture loss and keeps skin hydrated.

Glycerin. Compared with trendy hyaluronic acid (below), glycerin may not be the sexiest of cosmetic ingredients, says Dobos. But it's an effective, low-cost humectant that helps keep skin hydrated.

Hyaluronic acid (sodium hyaluronate). This humectant attracts and holds water at skin’s outer layers, says Dobos. In topical products, it mainly works at the surface of the skin, creating a temporary plumping, smoothing effect. You can find these ingredients in moisturizers, serums and masks.

To help control oily, breakout-prone skin, look for products with …

Salicylic acid. This BHA penetrates pores to help dissolve oil buildup, making it especially useful for acne-prone skin, says Dobos.

Also, look for products labeled noncomedogenic, which are less likely to clog pores, says Wechsler. This is especially important for moisturizers, which you still need even if you’re “oily,” says Henry.

Niacinamide. In addition to its other uses, niacinamide calms inflammation and can help regulate oil production, making it a useful ingredient for oily skin.

👉 As you consider these ingredients, take your skin type into account. Does your skin tend to be on the oily or dry side — or is it sensitive to things like fragrance? Look for products designed for your type.

Are ingredient lists helpful?

Ingredient lists can be long and confusing — and very tiny to read! Experts say they’re best viewed as a tool to be used alongside other information, like claims backed by clinical studies and product reviews.

Meanwhile, here are a couple of tips to help you determine whether your product contains what you need.

☑️ Know what the active you like is called in an ingredient list. Ingredients are listed by standardized cosmetic names from the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) system. Vitamin C, for example, might be listed as ascorbic acid or one of its derivatives, like THD ascorbate.

I found INCIDecoder easy to navigate. It lets you upload a photo of an ingredient list and tells you what each ingredient is intended to do.

☑️ Keep in mind: Ingredients are listed from highest concentration to lowest. Ideally your desired active ingredient will fall in the top half of the list.
But also know that a low concentration of an ingredient doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not beneficial.

“Ingredients like peptides and some retinoids have efficacy at low use levels,” says cosmetic chemist Dobos.

Do more expensive products work better?

There is an allure to expensive brands. You also might simply prefer the look and feel of a certain product. But experts agree that quality skin care doesn’t need to cost a lot.

“There is no correlation between how much you spend on a product and how well it works,” says dermatologist Fayne Frey, who tests skin care products for her consumer guide FryFace.com. “I've seen very expensive ones work well, and I've seen very expensive products that [don’t].”

“I'm a firm believer that you can get a lot of great products at the drugstore,” says Dobos. “As a matter of fact, that's the vast majority of what I use as a cosmetic chemist who studies this for a living.”

Experts recommend looking for brands that put their resources into research, not packaging or marketing.

📝 Today’s skin care assignment

Gain a more purposeful understanding of your skin care products. Gather the ones you use regularly — or the ones you plan on buying — and look at the labels.
  • Do they contain ingredients that support your skin goals? Take a look at our handy chart below and see whether your products include those beneficial actives. (You may want to enlist the help of an online ingredients tool for this.)
  • Watch for overlap. You might have different products with ingredients that essentially do the same job — like exfoliate. Simplifying your routine will help protect your skin barrier and save money.
In our next newsletter, we’re going to address the upgrade question: When should you consider prescription-grade or medical intervention?

I’d love to hear from you. Email me with your thoughts on this series at [email protected].

Kelle
This newsletter was edited by Malaka Gharib, Meghan Keane, Clare Marie Schneider and Emily Barocas. Fact checking by Zazil Davis-Vazquez. Copy editing by Preeti Aroon. The visual editor is CJ Riculan.

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