The best ingredients to reduce skin inflammation

Which ingredients are best to reduce inflammation in the skin?

There are a few key ingredients you should be using to reduce inflammation. French green clay is incredibly detoxifying and mineral-rich. It absorbs and extracts impurities in the skin that cause inflammation while also providing essential mineral nourishment, supporting the metabolic process and skin immune health.

Minerals like copper, zinc, iron and magnesium also play an essential role in how the skin responds when under attack and French green clay contains a wealth of these, which the skin is happy to receive on a regular basis.

Baobab tree seed oil is known to be one of the world’s most vitamin-rich oils, abundant in vitamins A, C, D, E and F, which also act as antioxidants. When trying to reduce or prevent inflammation in the skin you need to keep it nourished with antioxidants. These help prevent oxidising stressors like UV or pollution from stimulating inflammation and reducing the skin’s natural ability to defend itself. Balanites seed oil (desert date seed oil) is another good ingredient because it’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which the body cannot synthesise naturally but needs in order to stay healthy.

Western diets contain high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, which have been correlated to stimulating inflammation in the body and skin. Recommend your clients take a one-to-one ratio of omega 3s to omega 6s to keep inflammation at bay. Products with desert date are a great way to find that equilibrium.

Karen Ballou is founder of New York natural skincare brand Immunocologie, which is available at Urban Retreat in Harrods, London.