Fermented skincare

Fermentation is a traditional and ancient way to preserve ingredients using their own microbes. Through fermentation, the raw materials become more acidic, which not only prevents the growth of harmful microbes but also alters their nutritional properties.

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

Fermentation, however, has a very long tradition as part of the Korean culture of making Hanbang skin care. Many Korean skincare products contain fermented ingredients such as green tea, rice, and ginseng.

Benefits of fermented ingredients in beauty:

• Help to balance the skin's pH balance.
• Fermentation increases the concentration of the active ingredients in the raw material and reduces the molecular structure, which facilitates their absorption into the skin.
• Relieves inflammation and 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, helping the skin to protect itself against external stimuli. Probiotics (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 barrier and reduces skin inflammation and sensitivity, leading to healthier skin.

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

[I'm From] Ginseng Eyecream 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 Yeppo team's favorites) that contains, for example, soybean oil and ginseng seed oil.

Sources [1]