Fermented skin care

Fermentation is a traditional and ancient way of preserving ingredients with the help of their own microbes. With the help of fermentation, the ingredients become more acidic, which not only prevents the growth of harmful microbes, but also changes their nutritional properties.

You are probably more familiar with fermentation as part of the food preparation and preservation process; buttermilk, yogurt, and of course kimchi come to mind first.

However, fermentation also has a very long tradition in manufacturing of Korean hanbang cosmetics. Many Korean skin care products contain fermented ingredients such as green tea, rice and Ginseng.

Benefits of fermented ingredients in cosmetics:

• Help to balance the pH balance of the skin.
• Fermentation increases the concentration of the active ingredients of the raw material and reduces the molecular structure, which facilitates their absorption into the skin.
• Soothes inflammation and skin irritation.
• Support collagen production.
• They protect the skin from free radicals (e.g. sun rays).

Our skin has its own natural microbiome, which consists of a bacterial strain that lives on the surface of the skin, which helps the skin protect itself from external stimuli. Probiotics and postbiotics (peptides, acids and enzymes) produced during fermentation nourish and care for the skin's microbiome, which in turn supports the function of the skin's protective wall and reduces skin inflammation and sensitivity, leading to healthier skin.

According to research, fermented barley and soybeans enhance moisturizing effect on skin. The health benefits of fermentation in skin care have still been studied relatively little, but the history of the method in Korean cosmetics (and many other cultures in the East) goes back a long way.

For example, [Mixsoon] Panax Ginseng Root Essence utilizes red ginseng and contains plenty of antioxidants, promotes collagen production and stimulates skin regeneration.

[I'm From] Ginseng Eye Cream is a highly nourishing anti-aging eye cream that contains three different ginseng extracts. [Beauty of Joseon] Ginseng Cleansing Oil is a moisturizing cleansing oil (and one of the favorites of the Yeppo team) that contains e.g. soybean oil and ginseng seed oil.

Sources [1]