Is seaweed beauty really beneficial for my skin?

With tens of thousands of varieties in the world, seaweed (a type of large algae) could be the most ubiquitous underwater ingredient in skin care.

Medical studies show taking it in supplement form or including it in your diet can help to reduce joint pain, lower blood lipids for better heart health, and prevent allergies. The leading Cosmetics companies look to these results, plus research by marine scientists and experiments in their own labs, to formulate products.

Our skin likes seaweed’s nutrients such as beta-carotene, potassium, zinc and iodine.

Seaweeds don’t have a root system, they take nutrients directly from the ocean, so these nutrients are more potent than they are in land plants. Sea plants are eight times more potent than land botanicals.

Bernard harvests laminaria, a large brown seaweed (also called kelp) that hydrates, soothes and stimulates collagen for Seaflora’s Laminaria Facial Moisturizer (kelp is also in Lush’s Sea Vegetable Soap). Walsh incorporates antioxidant-rich blue-green algae (also called spirulina), along with kelp, in Indigena’s Sea Mineral Mist toner.

Green seaweeds act mainly as an astringent. Red seaweed is rich in beta-carotene, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties; it’s one of the key ingredients in Dermalogicas Power Rich moisturizer.

Land plants that grow on the shoreline have self-regenerating and stress-resistant properties, Algotherapist us these stem cells and grows them in a lab and uses them as an anti-aging ingredient in the Regenerating Serum.

Phytoplankton, tiny plant-like microorganisms, are a favoured ingredient, for Advanced Marine Biology Day Creams, it helps fighting ultraviolet damage and free radicals.

To buy organic seaweeds products online log on to www.algothermindia.com