Beautiful skin is not something you can achieve overnight, it has a lot to do with what you include in your skincare regimen. Having great skin is all about picking the right ingredients for your skin! While eating a wholesome diet is important to beauty, it is vital to have a good skincare routine as well. With an array of skin care routines out there, it can be tricky to handpick the one that works for you! One skincare trend that has been climbing up the charts is fermented skincare.

Beauty enthusiasts look for components that are both efficient and devoid of synthetics. Fermented products have long been hailed for their ability to cure the body from the inside out, but do they work for the face as well?

Explaining the nitty gritty of fermented skincare, celebrity cosmetic dermatologist Dr Renita Ranjan, shared her wisdom with Health Shots.

What is fermented skincare?

For the unversed, the fermentation process involves the breaking down of microorganisms like bacteria, which helps change their chemical structure into something new. Studies have shown that fermented products contain skin-friendly substances like probiotics and lactic acid. Also, they have been used for decades in the beauty industry and otherwise.

Dr Ranjan, founder of Render Skin Clinic, says that the use of fermented products in your skincare is not new. “For example, the widely used xanthan gum is a product of fermentation of starch by a kind of bacteria called Xanthomonas, and this is the same for a number of other agents. However, the skincare trend that is going around is more about biofermentation of plant-based ingredients, typically like rice water or carrot or collagen – to allow more antioxidant generation,” she highlights.

Are fermented skincare ingredients the game changer you need in your beauty regimen?

As mentioned, the fermented skincare trend is all about antioxidant generation. Dr Ranjan likes to think of it as “sprouting the beans before adding them to the salad for some antioxidant boost.” She says while fermented skincare can increase antioxidant content, the claim that it increases penetration depends on the mechanics of the material and the formulation of the product.

One of the most famous ingredients that work and has been trending all over is rice water. Some fermented ingredients that work well include “fermented wasabi, fermented algae and soya.”

According to the dermatologist, there are new bio-preservatives coming in! Fermented root extracts may be very good options for product protection in place of synthetic preservatives. Given that everyone is looking away from parabens, these bio-fermented preservatives may be a boon everyone needs, adds the expert.

Are they safe to use?

While research on the safety of fermented skincare is limited, Dr Ranjan thinks these products are as safe as the non-fermented skincare ingredients. However, the stories about them being more potent entirely depend on the formulation. Also, fermented products are not typically skin irritants if the formula is fine, says the expert.

Caution: Make sure to consult your dermatologist before making any changes in your skincare routine.