Resveratrol for Clear, Glowing Skin

Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Unsplash

I have to say, I’m puzzled why resveratrol isn’t more common in mainstream skincare products because of all the wonder things it can achieve for a number of different skin types and skin concerns. Restervatrol is a wonderful Ingredient in your skincare products if you struggle with a skin concern like acne or rosacea. It’s also an excellent ingredient to help combat the harmful effects of UV sun damage and environmental pollution exposure. Resveratrol also helps with minimizing chronic low grade inflammation in the skin, reducing hyperpigmentation and evening out skin tone. As in, I’m not sure what it doesn’t do. Resveratrol is an expensive ingredient though, which is likely why it’s not as common to see in mainstream skincare products - gotta protect that bottom line (lol). At COLE, we’ve chosen to incorporate resveratrol at a appropriate dose in our “Ground Control” Barrier Repair Cream. Let me explain in more detail why we chose this wonderful powerhouse ingredient.

Resveratrol Helps Minimize The Frequency And Severity of Acne

Did you know that resveratrol has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties? Meaning it’s great for both bacterial and fungal acne. Resveratrol has even been shown to be more effective than benzoyl peroxide over a period of time for helping to manage dysbiosis (bacteria/fungi being over/undergrowing) on the skin and helps to balance the skin’s microbiome. Resveratrol is also less “cytotoxic” than benzoyl peroxide, meaning it’s less damaging or harmful to our cells.

Resveratrol has also been shown to inhibit keratinocyte proliferation, meaning skin cell turnover, which is dysfunctional in those struggling with acne. Acne-prone skin has a symptom called “retentive hyperkeratosis”, meaning there is increased skin cell turnover (and therefore skin sloughing) but it sticks to the skin instead of being sloughed off appropriately. Resveratrol helps with normalizing this skin cell sloughing.

Resveratrol Helps Reduce Inflammation and Speeds Wound Healing

We all know resveratrol to be a potent antioxidant in supplement form. It also happens to be wonderful as a topical antioxidant, which helps mitigate skin inflammation caused from environmental exposures like pollution and UV irradiation. Resveratrol acts on certain inflammatory cascades that occur in our skin and bodies to help minimize these inflammatory responses, while also combatting the negative effective of these environmental insults.

Resveratrol can also help with wound healing (think: a healing acne breakout), counteract excessive scarring and even prevent photo-aging of the skin (which, is a kind of “wound”, if you will). While more studies need to be conducted on resveratrol and wound healing, the results to date are promising for helping with wound healings scarring and photo-aging skin.

Resveratrol Slows Skin Aging

According to a study published in 2017 in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, there are three major pathways associated with cellular skin aging: matrix metalloproteinase- (MMP-) 1-mediated aging; MAPK-AP-1/NF-κB-TNF-α/IL-6, iNOS, and COX-2-mediated inflammation-induced aging; and p53-Bax-cleaved caspase-3-cytochrome C-mediated apoptosis-induced aging. Resveratrol happens to target all three of these pathways, helping to minimize, or slow the process of cellular skin aging. Skin aging is also associated with oxidative stress and an increase in what we call “reactive oxygen species” (ROS) and lipid peroxidation. Combatting oxidative stress, ROS and lipid peroxidation in the skin has popularly been marketed toward the use of vitamin C and vitamin E. Resveratrol surprisingly enough is more potent than both vitamin C and vitamin E in helping to combat the damaging effects of these processes.

Resveratrol Hydrates The Skin And Preserves Collagen

Resveratrol is a small enough molecular weight to be able to pass through the stratum corneum, meaning your skin actually absorbs it instead of having it hang out on the surface of the skin (which, depending on what the ingredient is, is what you want to happen…but most often this isn’t the case). When resveratrol absorbs into the skin, it helps upregulate the production of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), a structure in the skin responsible for enhancing skin hydration. It also has the ability to preserve dermal collagen, not only through its potent antioxidant and inflammation-reducing properties but also due to its ability to bind to estrogen protein receptors and stimulate the production of collagen types I, II and III.

Resveratrol is also an excellent option for those with compromised skin barriers and/or sensitive skin. It’s widely safe for us in most individuals and has a long list of beneficial properties, not just for those struggling with chronic skin conditions but also those wanting to focus on slowing skin aging, reducing fine lines and wrinkles, evening out skin tone, improving skin hydration and overall skin radiance. This is exactly why we chose to incorporate resveratrol into our skincare line.

References:

Igielska-Kalwat, J., Firlej, M., Lewandowska, A., & Biedziak, B. (2019). In vivo studies of resveratrol contained in cosmetic emulsions. Acta biochimica Polonica, 66(3), 371–374. https://doi.org/10.18388/abp.2019_2838

Subedi, L., Lee, T. H., Wahedi, H. M., Baek, S. H., & Kim, S. Y. (2017). Resveratrol-Enriched Rice Attenuates UVB-ROS-Induced Skin Aging via Downregulation of Inflammatory Cascades. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity, 2017, 8379539. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8379539

Taylor, E. J., Yu, Y., Champer, J., & Kim, J. (2014). Resveratrol Demonstrates Antimicrobial Effects Against Propionibacterium acnes In Vitro. Dermatology and therapy, 4(2), 249–257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-014-0063-0

Wen, S., Zhang, J., Yang, B., Elias, P. M., & Man, M. Q. (2020). Role of Resveratrol in Regulating Cutaneous Functions. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2020, 2416837. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/2416837

Wu, Z., Uchi, H., Morino-Koga, S., Shi, W., & Furue, M. (2014). Resveratrol inhibition of human keratinocyte proliferation via SIRT1/ARNT/ERK dependent downregulation of aquaporin 3. Journal of dermatological science, 75(1), 16–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdermsci.2014.03.004