A new gold accessory? Always. Gold-infused skincare? We’ll tell you more. The rarefied ingredient, used for generations, is rising again. Aside from diffusing skin with momentary glow, 24-Karat beauty can offer real benefits for your complexion.
Gold is a chemical element and precious metal that can come in two main mediums in skincare products: colloidal gold and pure 24-karat gold powder.
Colloidal gold, also known as “nanogold” or “gold nanoparticles,” is considered highly stable and can easily travel into the target cell due to their small size and large surface area, shape, and crystallinity, Essentially, gold nanoparticles could increase the effectiveness of gold’s benefits, since they can penetrate deeper into the skin. It’s important to note that there's still not enough data to know for sure if gold nanoparticles are entirely effective, but some dermatologists remain optimistic about their potential benefits.
Lately, gold-infused skincare is gaining popularity for all the right reasons, and it’s an ultimate indulgence that’s truly beneficial to the skin. Ever since Instagram confirmed gold-infused masks were the backstage secret to the runway glow of Victoria’s Secret models, gold skin care has been trending again.
It has always been a miracle anti-aging ingredient loved by beauty editors across the world, beauty brands are embracing the opportunity to bring gold beauty products into our beauty arsenal. Developed specifically for skin care, the process breaks down the metal into particles small enough to be easily absorbed into the skin. While the inclusion of gold might seem like a fancy gesture, its antioxidant powers go beyond the purely cosmetic. That said, the opulent nature of these products remains a draw card too: you feel good about using them and look forward to the indulgence, which is never a bad thing. There are a lot of multiple skincare benefits that make colloidal gold one of the most coveted beauty ingredients in the industry.
Skincare Benefits of Gold
Defense Against Environmental Aggressors
Helping to reinforce the skin’s natural barrier, consistent use of colloidal gold products will aid the skin’s defense against environmental aggressors. Gold particles have been shown to have antioxidant properties and therefore could be helpful for protecting the skin’s surface from damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are highly unstable molecules that can be formed by environmental aggressors, such as UV rays, smoke and pollution and lead to premature signs of aging. Whether you live in a city or a suburb, daily pollutants exacerbate environmental skin aging and damage overall skin health.
Anti Aging Benefits
As mentioned above, colloidal gold helps to protect the skin from environmental pollutants and chronic sun damage, both of which can accelerate the appearance of aging. And as we get older, our collagen and elastin production tends to slow down. For some, this can be concerning because it can lead to more visible signs of aging like fine lines and wrinkles. Colloidal gold improves skin elasticity, giving it a firming effect and helps delay the aging process of the skin while combating environmental aggressors and daily pollutants.
Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Colloidal gold is reported to have anti-inflammatory properties, making it an ideal healing treatment for those dealing with sensitive, sun-damaged, hyper-pigmented and acne-scarred skin. It can accelerate wound healing mechanisms through several mechanisms, such as antioxidant activity. It also increases blood circulation and provides antiseptic properties.
Radiance-Boosting Qualities
Colloidal gold is also known to create a brightening effect, this is because gold particles can reflect light and therefore make the skin appear luminous. There’s the immediacy of what a golden hue can do for iridescent, highlighted and healthy skin. The small particles of gold get absorbed into the skin giving it glow and radiance.
Regenerates and Stimulates the Skin Cells
Colloidal gold can restore broken connections within the cells of the skin and encourage their regeneration.
The ions present in gold help in stimulating the cells, nerves, and veins in your body, increasing blood circulation. This will increase the metabolism of skin cells and secretion of the waste.
Enhancing Other Skincare Ingredients
Gold can help other skincare ingredients pack a bigger punch when it comes to effectiveness. It acts as a carrier to help penetration of other actives in your skincare product.
Who Should Use it: While gold is a promising ingredient to some dermatologists, others are hesitant to claim it as a hero ingredient due to limited data and studies about metal being used in skincare. Like many other skincare ingredients, gold has the potential to be irritating for some. If you have a known allergy to gold or suspect you do, experiencing rashes on your skin whenever you wear gold pieces is a sign—you might wanna skip this skincare trend. It is advised to patch-test gold products on small areas of the skin and monitor it for a couple of days, observing the skin for any signs of irritation to see if your skin can tolerate it or not.
How Often Can You Use it: Gold can be found in a variety of skincare products that each call for a different set of instructions. Because of this, you should follow the brand’s directions as best practice. While the product is an antioxidant that is meant to soothe irritated skin, too much of a good thing can have some less-than-desired effects. Using too much can cause other problems like a product overload, where the product is sitting on the surface of your skin, making no impact and even clogging your pores.
Works Well With: Gold nanoparticles are thought to potentially help other ingredients penetrate deeper into the skin, potentially enhancing the product. Antioxidants and peptides should be very safe (and even beneficial) to use in conjunction with gold considering they are great ingredients to begin with. Antioxidants are so important—that is the main way to address, prevent, and even sometimes correct free radical damage. As for peptides, they are an amazing family of ingredients that have so much diversity to them.
Don't Use With: Across the board, dermatologists recommend skipping gold if you’re using retinol in the same routine. Alternating your retinol and gold usage at night is suggested to avoid potential irritation. Since AHAs have an exfoliating effect, you may not want to combine an AHA product in the same routine as your gold product.
Fun Fact: As we recollect history, it was rumored that one of the beauty regimes that Cleopatra followed was the use of gold. Cleopatra covered her face in pure gold every night to enhance her complexion and keep her skin youthful, glowing and beautiful.