From algae to mushroom, these skincare ingredients are all about soft power.

Ingredients like glycolic acid, azelaic acid and salicylic acid&nbsp;were once the headliners for their exfoliating prowess and&nbsp;transformative effect on the complexion. However, their time&nbsp;in the limelight has paved the way for a new generation of&nbsp;rising ingredients, ones that prioritise the resilience of the skin&nbsp;with restoring and revitalising properties. These ingredients,&nbsp;with their gentle yet profound action, strengthen the skin&rsquo;s&nbsp;barrier and promote enduring health like a cosy blanket. Of&nbsp;course, it doesn&rsquo;t mean we have fallen out of love with our&nbsp;exfoliating heroes, but rather, we are embracing a more holistic&nbsp;and balanced approach to taking care of our skin.

ALGAE
Algae is never a stranger to skincare aficionados &mdash; it is at the&nbsp;heart of La Mer&rsquo;s Miracle Broth&trade;, and Biossance&rsquo;s best-selling&nbsp;eye cream boasts a generous dose of it. Yet, its prominence is&nbsp;only on the rise. An umbrella term covering a group of aquatic&nbsp;organisms, algae, whether red, brown or green, is brimming&nbsp;with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Highly valued for&nbsp;its moisturising and soothing abilities, algae often serves as a&nbsp;water-binding agent in products with a rich, creamy texture&nbsp;to lock in moisture. Lately, this marine wonder has been&nbsp;unveiling more potential as the world of skincare looks beyond&nbsp;its hydrating quality and sets eyes on its anti-inflammatory,&nbsp;UV-resistant and skin-brightening properties.

MUSHROOM
Like algae, the mushroom has an intricate universe of its&nbsp;own. And when it comes to the mushrooms in skincare, we&nbsp;are talking about a hydrating line-up that sensitive skin prone&nbsp;to dryness, irritation, redness and pigmentation would adore.&nbsp;Think anti-inflammatory reishi that is rich in soothing betaglucan;&nbsp;moisture-retaining, healing tremella; antioxidant&nbsp;cordyceps that provide overall rejuvenation; shiitake loaded&nbsp;with kojic acid that evens out skin tone; and anti-inflammatory&nbsp;fermented chaga that calms and soothes. It would be remiss not&nbsp;to mention the Origins&rsquo; Mega-Mushroom line by Dr Andrew&nbsp;Weil, launched in 2005. Approaching its two-decade mark,&nbsp;the line&rsquo;s latest addition is the Relief &amp; Resilience Fortifying&nbsp;Emulsion, which marries reishi and fermented chaga to quell&nbsp;redness and strengthen skin resilience.

RICE
As Asians, our love for rice goes far beyond the dining table&nbsp;and finds its place in our skincare ritual as well. Incorporating&nbsp;rice into skincare is a time-honoured wisdom passed down&nbsp;through generations in the Asian community that is now&nbsp;elevated by science. Today, rice extract is a trusted go-to&nbsp;for softer, smoother and brighter skin, all thanks to the&nbsp;replenishing polysaccharides, antioxidant vitamin E and&nbsp;ferulic acid it contains. Together, this trio works in synergy&nbsp;to retain skin&rsquo;s hydration. I&rsquo;m From uses an impressive 77.78&nbsp;per cent rice extract in its Rice Toner to restore skin balance,&nbsp;whilst Beauty of Joseon enriches its sunscreen with rice extract&nbsp;for added hydration. When the skin is plump and the barrier&nbsp;is happy, it simply looks and feels its best.

LINOLEIC ACID
The F in vitamin F quite literally stands for fat, and in skincare, it&nbsp;refers to linoleic acid. It is a fatty acid that cannot be synthesised&nbsp;by the body, yet plays a vital role in forming a lipid duo of&nbsp;ceramides and prostaglandins that support a healthy epidermal&nbsp;barrier, retaining hydration and defending against inflammatory&nbsp;stressors. Whilst our diet ensures an adequate supply of linoleic&nbsp;acid, slathering it on directly has some skin-saving perks. A&nbsp;study in 1998 revealed that the topical application of linoleic&nbsp;acid was able to reduce the pustule size by 25 per cent over a&nbsp;month. Once under the radar, linoleic acid has become a staple&nbsp;for rebalancing sebum production and relieving inflammation.&nbsp;It&rsquo;s most commonly found in oils such as rosehip, hemp, chia,&nbsp;sunflower seed and rosa rubiginosa seed.

ARGIRELINE
Argireline might not ring a bell, as this peptide often goes&nbsp;by the names acetyl hexapeptide-3 and acetyl hexapeptide-8,&nbsp;which are usually spotted on products that &ldquo;work like Botox&nbsp;in a bottle&rdquo;. Peptides are chains of amino acids that form&nbsp;proteins like collagen and elastin, the essential components&nbsp;responsible for soft, firm and bouncy skin. Argireline is a&nbsp;potent humectant, barrier restorer and collagen booster, but&nbsp;what truly sets it apart is how it affects the communication&nbsp;between nerve and muscle, thereby preventing the deepening&nbsp;of expression lines. When we say it&rsquo;s the closest we can get to&nbsp;Botox, we are all about its ability to simultaneously safeguard&nbsp;the skin barrier and slow down the traces of time.

5 skincare ingredients you skin barrier loves

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