Trend Update: Precious Metals for Skincare
Precious metals have long been a part of beauty culture. Ancient Egyptians used copper in their makeup and jewelry. According to the Copper Development Association Inc., metal-based eye makeup was the most characteristic of the Egyptian cosmetics. The most popular colors at the time were green and black. Green materials were originally made from malachite, an oxide of copper. Copper has been an ancient secret since before 4000 BC. Fast forward to today, there are many products on the market that feature copper peptides. In recent years, gold has also emerged as a popular metal used for skincare.
Guess which metal increases collagen and elastin synthesis? That’s right - it’s time to get on the copper bandwagon. Slip some copper peptides into your skin routine to improve your fine lines and wrinkles. This metal dates so far back that it’s actually the first metal to be found on earth. Too bad the mummies didn’t get the memo on copper's anti-aging benefits! Copper is also a known antioxidant and comes to our defense against damaging and aging free radicals.
Products we recommend:
TGF Booster Serum: $65 + FREE Shipping at SkinMPLS.com
Essence Toner: $24 + FREE Shipping at SkinMPLS.com
“Even though copper is old news when it comes to metals, it’s somewhat newer to skincare. Le Mieux offers some products that contain fermented copper. To create copper ferment, a fermentation process is applied to the metal and that creates a copper peptide that’s able to penetrate the skin.”
-Cassie, owner and aesthetician at Skin MPLS
When we think of this precious metal, it’s no wonder people go for the gold. But exercise some restraint when it comes to gold in your skin care. Even though gold is an antioxidant and is also anti-inflammatory and can reduce redness – it can be impractical when it comes to cost. There are other, higher performing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory ingredients out there that come at a more approachable price and will also give you better results. The best use of gold in skin care is to apply gold flakes topically to give an illuminating effect to your skin.
Product we recommend:
NuFACE 24K Gold Gel Primer Mask: $39 + FREE Shipping at SkinMPLS.com
“While gold is gorgeous and trending right now in skincare, don’t succumb to all of the hype.
It’s not ‘worth it’s weight in gold’ when it comes to superior skincare ingredients.”
- Kelly, aesthetician at Skin MPLS
As always, not all products are created equal, so make sure you find ones that you trust. If you aren’t sure about a certain cream, serum or cleanser, ask your aesthetician for recommendations at your next appointment. For more tips and skincare information, follow @SkinMPLS on Instagram! We’re debuting our new #SkinTipTuesday series to help you improve your routine and habits each week.