5 Of The Best Skincare Ingredients For Glowy Skin

It shouldn’t surprise you that glowing skin is consistently one of the most searched for skincare topics on the internet. For there’s something about luminous skin that makes all other skin woes pale into insignificance. Sure, you might have a pimple on your chin and yes, there are some lines and wrinkles around your eyes, but if your skin looks fresh and radiant you’re gonna be pretty happy, right? Call it the J.Lo effect if you will, but Ms. Lopez and her infamous glow have been gracing our screens and tabloids for some 30 years, so the desire for glowing skin is clearly not going away!

There are many factors that determine just how much your skin glows. Of course, makeup is a pretty legit way to instantly boost your skin’s luminosity, but if you’re searching for something a little more ‘skin deep,’ it’s more important to examine a) how you look after yourself and b) what you put on your skin. For starters, crummy sleep patterns, an overload of emotional stress and a poor diet that’s heavy on sugar and low on antioxidant-rich fruit and veggies is a sure-fire way to kill your skin’s mojo. 

Then there’s your skincare routine and, more specifically, the ingredients you use on your skin. As you know, there are a gazillion lotions and potions that claim to work miracles on everything but the kitchen sink. But how do you sort the wheat from the chaff when you’re looking for the most effective ingredients for putting the glow back into dull skin? Well, firstly, ignore anything that sounds too good to be true. Great skincare is awesome and can absolutely help your skin look and feel its absolute best, but it won’t magically give you J.Lo’s glow overnight. It just won’t.

Once you’ve gained some perspective, study your skincare routine to make sure it’s got some glow-getting ingredients in there to help put you on the right path. Not sure what you’re looking for? No problem. Behold, in no particular order, five of our favorite tried and tested ingredients for radiant skin…

1. Vitamin C Serum

Ask any dermatologist to recommend their go-to radiance boosting skincare ingredient and vitamin C will almost always be it. A powerful antioxidant, vitamin C is one of the most trusted ingredients in the skincare world because it’s an absolute butt-kicker when it comes to fighting damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals form in your skin when it’s exposed to environmental or lifestyle aggressors like pollution, smoking, UV radiation and stress. They’re nasty business because, without getting too technical on you, they break down important proteins in your skin and age you up much quicker than nature intended. Antioxidants, like vitamin C, however, fight back and help neutralize free radicals before they get a chance to cause too much damage. Please take a minute to thank the beauty gods for antioxidants!

Vitamin C, in particular, has been proven time and again to be a very effective antioxidant, helping to keep your collagen plentiful and healthy. As an important side, it also helps inhibit melanin production to reduce your risk of developing patchy skin and dark spots which are a real mood killer for radiant skin. 

The one problem with vitamin C, however, is that it can sometimes cause mild irritation for more sensitive skin types. This is why we flood our serums with a gentle version called sodium ascorbyl phosphate. You can thank us later!

Try: Vitamin C Serum with Vitamin E + Hyaluronic Acid

2. Glycolic Acid Serum

One of the most obvious ways to dial up your glow is to make sure your skin is nicely exfoliated. But exfoliation can take many forms and some exfoliants can do more harm than good. Abrasive scrubs and harsh cleansing brushes, for example, are great at boosting skin turnover and whisking away dulling dead skin cells, but if you don’t use them with care, you can irritate your skin, encourage breakouts, increase redness and, well, the list goes on. 

A far more effective way to keep your skin turning over and to reveal all those fresh, bright skin cells is to apply a leave-on facial serum that contains exfoliating acids. Our MVP is glycolic acid which is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) derived from sugar cane. It works by loosening the bonds between dead skin cells, helping them to slough away at a more optimum rate without you having to scrub away at the surface of your skin. Brighter skin with zero effort? Get in!

Try: Hydrate & Renewal Serum

3. Licorice Extract

As a sweet treat, you either love or hate licorice, but as a skincare ingredient there is nothing not to love. Extracted from the root of the licorice plant (no surprises there!) it’s a powerful anti-inflammatory and is up there with vitamin C as an effective antioxidant. 

But that’s not all. Licorice extract has another important and very beneficial string to its radiance-boosting bow. And that’s its ability to get to grips with unwanted pigmentation issues. Again like vitamin C, it helps inhibit melanin production to stop dark spots from appearing, but unlike vitamin C, it also contains a special, active compound called liquiritin. What’s so special about liquiritin? Well, this little beauty helps break down and get rid of melanin that already exists in your skin. And that’s what we call hitting dark spots and patchy skin from all angles!

Try: Clear Skin & Redness Relief Serum

4. Hyaluronic Acid Serum

A common cause of dull skin is dehydration. Not to be confused with dry skin which is skin that lacks oil (or sebum if you want to get fancy), dehydrated skin is short on moisture, or more specifically, water. So yes, that’s right, you can totally have oily and dehydrated skin at the same time.

It doesn’t take a genius to know that dehydration causes your skin to feel tight and look dull thanks to the lack of water keeping it plump and healthy-looking. So if you want to boost your glow you need to make sure your skin is well hydrated on the reg. And one of the best ways to crush this? With the queen of hydrating skincare ingredients, hyaluronic acid (HA). HA is a bone fide water magnet, drawing in moisture up to about 1,000 times its own weight. It’s literally one of the best ways to quench your skin’s thirst and simultaneously up your skin’s radiance factor all in one go.

Try: Hyaluronic Acid Serum with Vitamins C + E

5. Retinol Serum

Retinol is skincare royalty. Heavy-hitting in the anti-aging world and just as awesome for acne-prone skin, retinol is a topical derivative of vitamin A. Similar to AHAs (although it works very differently to exfoliation) it accelerates your skin’s turnover to improve both the tone and texture of your skin. This means that with consistent use you will see a marked difference – in a positive way, of course – in the appearance of enlarged pores, dark spots, fine lines, wrinkles and dull, tired-looking skin. 

Retinol also boosts collagen production to strengthen your skin at a cellular level and thus make your complexion softer, smoother and more plump as a result. If you’re looking for your glowiest skin ever while improving your skin’s overall health and quality – and who doesn’t want that? – then retinol is a no-brainer.

Try: Retinol Serum with Vitamin E + Hyaluronic Acid