This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% from Her Campus.
When I went shopping for some leave-in conditioner at Walmart two days ago, I saw an entire line of hair masks, shampoo, and conditioner infused with wine..? Whether its unicorn/mermaid themed makeup collections or glittery peel-off masks, we’ve all seen our favorite cosmetic brands use trends as marketing tools targeted towards our demographic. When I saw gummy bear “melting sugar” face masks at the end of an aisle, I got to thinking – which ingredients are actually beneficial to us and which are just attention grabbers?
In recent years, I’ve become more interested in checking the ingredients especially in the skin care products I buy. When I get dry skin during the winter, I can’t use just any lotion because most have alcohols meant to help the moisturizing ingredients penetrate your skin faster. This alcohol content is very irritating to my skin and causes more discomfort than it alleviates. I also watch a lot of YouTube “beauty gurus,” like Tati, who voice concerns over unnecessary dyes and fragrances in the products they review.
Certain brands, such as Too Faced or the Yes To Skin Care brand formulate entire product lines centered around ingredients with known skin care benefits. Many companies boast that their skin care products use all natural ingredients like green tea or lavender for a variety of effects. Green tea has been used throughout history for medicinal purposes, but does it really make a big difference in skin care?
According to research published in the Archives of Dermatology, the antioxidants in green tea help protect skin cells from free radical damages. These antioxidants can also reduce inflammation and help prevent skin cancer. To read more of the scientific research, you can start by checking out this WebMD article. This means that the green tea in your moisturizers is doing something good for your skin. If we use serums and creams to prevent wrinkles, why not choose products that also help to maintain the health of our skin on a deeper level?
As someone with perpetually red skin, I’m interested in looking for products with green tea the next time I need to buy a new moisturizer. If you go to Susquehanna University, our Her Campus chapter is going to be giving away FREE SAMPLES of Innisfree Green Tea infused face masks, serums, and eye creams! Make sure you follow us on Instagram @hcsusquehanna for updates on these giveaways, and stay tuned for more articles on reviewing these products!