In this article:
What is fermentation in skin care?
Does fermented skin care work?
Benefits of fermented skin care
Is fermented skin care good for blemishes?
What are the best fermented ingredients in skin care?
Best fermented skin care products
With the fermentation of skin care ingredients, the beauty world is reaching into the past to change the future of healthy skin. This biotechnology process has been around for many years; however, recent research has revealed the truth about fermented skin care and its impact on skin, and it's quite exciting.
Korea, with its long history of fermented foods, popularised fermentation in skin care with innovative K-beauty formulations (1). In fact, the research behind Korean fermented skin care products has done much to explain what hundreds of ferments can do for skin. Today, you’ll find various gentle ferments in a wide range of skin care products from brands all over the world promising enhanced hydration and a long-lasting glow.
Below, we get into how fermentation breaks down skin care ingredients for maximum results and increased benefits.
What is fermentation in skin care?
Fermenting cosmetics can sound modern and high-tech, but it’s actually a process created tens of thousands of years ago; think of how far back fermented goods like beer and yogurt were created.
Fermentation in skin care involves adding microorganisms, like lactic acid-derived bacteria or yeasts, to ingredients (usually plant extracts) in a process which changes or enhances the original ingredient. The microorganisms release enzymes that break down the starter ingredient, ultimately leading to amplified benefits or the creation of entirely new substances that benefit your skin (2,3). For example, fermenting can lead to skin barrier protecting postbiotics, increased ingredient gentleness or even an increase in a plant extract’s soothing potential.
Another plus? Fermentation breaks down helpful substances, reducing their size and allowing them to better penetrate skin. Although not every skin care ingredient needs to penetrate skin deeply, making important ingredients like antioxidants more bioavailable to skin means better multi-level protection from damage (2,4).
But it doesn’t stop there. Fermentation is also wonderfully sustainable (5). That’s because its plant waste can be upcycled, less energy is used for fermentation vs. chemical extraction and fermented ingredients become more biodegradable.
Does fermented skin care work?
Fermented skin care works in the same basic ways as standard cosmetic ingredients, however, they’re usually more gentle, potent and hydrating than their non-fermented counterparts.
This age-old process can create or enhance emollients, humectants, antioxidants, surfactants, preservatives and a host of prebiotics and postbiotics (5).
So, depending on the goals, fermented skin care can do most of what regular skin care does, such as moisturising, softening, soothing, cleansing, improving skin’s barrier and helping defend skin from external aggressors. Some ferments, such as leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrate, can even provide natural preservation to bio-active ingredients in cosmetics. This means formulators need lower amounts of conventional preservatives, reducing the risk of a sensitised response.
Overall, how a fermented ingredient works on skin depends on the type of ingredient that was fermented and what type of ingredient compounds result.
Important note: to date, fermented ingredients have not been shown to provide sun protection on par with approved UV filters. What they can do is help the UV filters work better and protect skin from the harmful compounds UV exposure generates (6).
Benefits of fermented skin care
The benefits of fermented skin care are numerous, depending on the type of ingredient created and which additional substances the fermentation process generates.
We know that fermentation makes the good stuff found in most plant ingredients more bioavailable; but fermented skin care’s other benefits include (7):
- Potential for increased potency
- Potential for better biocompatibility with skin
- Improved penetration due to smaller molecular size
- Helping to prevent disruptions to skin’s microbiome
- Potential for reduced signs and sensations of sensitivity
Is fermented skin care good for blemishes?
Fermented skin care for blemisnes can be helpful in terms of supporting the microbiome—which is often disrupted on blemish-prone skin—and enhancing the benefits (and perhaps the tolerability) of gold standard over-the-counter clog fighters such as salicylic acid (BHA) and benzoyl peroxide.
Applying fermented skin care to blemish-prone skin can also have a balancing effect on the populations of blemish-causing bacteria, known as C. acnes. When these “bad actors” dominate, the stage is set for blemishes to flourish. Add the heightened soothing benefits fermented ingredients deliver and you have a powerful way to visibly reduce the inflammation that fans the flames of blemishes (8).
What about the role of fermented ingredients in fungal-realted blemishes (AKA Pityrosporum folliculitis or Malassezia folliculitis)? The general advice is to avoid such ingredients because of the fatty acids fermentation generates plus the yeast strains that enable fermentation. But why? Although no solid evidence supports this recommendation, we know that fungal blemishes (inflammation of the hair follicle that results in flesh-toned, itchy bumps) rely on yeast and certain fatty acids for proliferation (9). So, it’s reasonable to assume that avoiding fermented ingredients is best here.
What are the best fermented ingredients in skin care?
The best fermented ingredients in skin care deliver a good mix of benefits. These benefits include soothing skin, enhancing antioxidants, helping to protect healthy collagen levels, thwarting sun damage and delivering prebiotics, postbiotics and, possibly, probiotics (less likely due to their fragile nature) to help maintain skin’s microbiome.
Some of the best fermented skin care ingredients include:
- Saccharomyces ferment filtrate
- Lactobacillus/rice ferment filtrate
- Bifida ferment lysate
- Lactobacillus ferment
- Bacillus ferment
- Thermus thermophillus ferment
- Ferments made from potent antioxidants like soy, green tea, pomegranate, licorice and various algae
Also keep your eye out for rice ferment filtrates. They’re a rich source of antioxidants, hydrating beta-glucans and peptides that can help inhibit environmental damage (10). Both rice and bacillus-fermented soy can also improve skin tone and help fade discolourations (11). This makes them truly complementary to long-proven problem-solvers like niacinamide, azelaic acid and vitamin C.
Polyglutamic acid for skin is another ferment-made winner whose water-attracting hydration benefits are on par with superstar hydrator hyaluronic acid. Find it in our C5 Super Boost Moisturizer, where it keeps skin looking dewy and fresh.
Best fermented skin care products
The best fermented skin care products contain a mix of beneficial ingredients suitable for your skin type and concerns. Your skin needs more than ferments to thrive (just like it needs more than antioxidants or humectants to thrive), so seeking out products than contain ferments as well as sun protection actives, exfoliating acids, collagen-preserving peptides and ingredients that protect skin’s barrier and enhance hydration is the way to go for healthy, refreshed and restored skin.
What else? Only use fragrance-free fermented products that omit proven irritants such as denatured alcohol, menthol and essential oils. Ferments and their helpful byproducts can be delicate, so avoid fermented skin care in jar packaging, which can expose these ingredients to light and air, making them less effective over time.
A fermented product that’s wrong for your skin type or contains problematic components is only going to make matters worse, and we want you to experience the best results from this fascinating group of ingredients!
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References for this information:
- Frontiers in Microbiology, September 2016, pages 1-15
- Pharmaceutics, December 2023, pages 1-16
- Frontiers in Pharmacology, August 2024, pages 1-17
- Antioxidants, July 2023, pages 1-21
- Fermentation, May 2023, pages 1-34
- Molecules, December 2020, pages 1-15
- Molecules, July 2022, pages 1-14
- Journal of Clinical Medicine, July 2019, pages 1-25
- Archives of Dermatological Research, July 2022, ePublication
- Antioxidants, November 2022, pages 1-22
- Antioxidants, December 2020, pages 1-14
