Q&A ON CERAMIDES
— Does every skin type need ceramides? Do some people need them more than others? Why do we need them?
Ceramide deficiency usually develops with age, in mature ageing skin that is. It can be genetic, too, in which case skin dryness and occasionally the development of atopic dermatitis (and some other dermatoses) will occur at a really young age. But in 99.9% of the cases, young, healthy and/or oily skin has enough ceramides of its own.
— How do ceramides work? How do they improve skin health and appearance?
To put it simply, ceramides form waterproof coating on the skin surface. It keeps stratum corneum stable, retains water and regulates epidermal cells so they produce new ceramides. Basically, your skin looks smooth and healthy, free from dryness and irritation.
— What's the best way to incorporate ceramides into your skincare routine? What should we look for on skincare labels?
Ceramides are not difficult to insert in your routine. Obviously, your skincare product must be fat-soluble (cream, emulsion, etc). Natural ceramides are very expensive, because you can only extract a very small amount from plants, so beauty industry employs synthetic or pseudoceramides, similar in their structure to fatty acids of plant origin or phytoceramides extracted from yeast. If you see the word ceramides on a product label, that’s what inside. You can also look for phospholipids, sphingolipids, and phytosphingosine, as these are very similar to ceramides in effect.
— Do they work well with any other skincare ingredients in particular?
Ceramides belong to a class of skin-identical ingredients, so they work well with pretty much anything: oils (macadamia, sweet almond, olive oil, etc), vitamin E, niacinamide, cholesterol, lecithin; amino-acids, peptides, glycerine, carrageenan and hyaluronic acid. They are so skin-friendly and stable that it is difficult to say what ingredient wouldn’t be good to combine with ceramides.