Superfood Skin-Care Is Having a Moment

Your obsession with green juice is about to get a lot more complex, thanks to a recent crop of superfood skin-care products boasting the good-for-you-ingredients frequently found in your favorite post-workout drink.

Leafy greens, such as kale and spinach, along with açai berries (another smoothie superstar), are popping up in some of the latest creams, serums, and oils this season, with formulas promising to boost skin’s hydration and fight off free radicals.

Newly launched vegan skin-care brand Youth to the People debuted a three-piece collection earlier this year, which features a cleanser, serum, and moisturizer, made of superfood formulas packed with kale, spinach, and alfalfa, as well as hyaluronic acid. And First Aid Beauty, often known for its simple, sensitive skin-safe lineup, is also tapping into the green machine theme with a line of veggie-inspired products set to launch later this year. (Mark your calendars for December!)

“Both kale and spinach are rich in a variety of potent antioxidants that help reduce skin inflammation,” says Joshua Zeichner, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. "By using botanical extracts, you can provide the skin with treatments from their natural states,” says Zeichner. “Superfoods provide our body with the building blocks it needs to function optimally, and now their benefits are being delivered directly to the skin topically.”

Elemis also released a broccoli, cucumber, and rosehip seed oil-infused facial elixir, aptly named Superfood Facial Oil, which is rich in antioxidants and fatty acids that can plump and soothe dull skin, while Valentina’s Naturals’ Superfood Antioxidant Serum (made with acai and pomegranate seed oils) seeps into skin to protect against environmental irritants (smog, smoke, and dirt in the air).

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Find out how to prepare your skin for winter:

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So, what exactly are the benefits of superfood skin-care? “Superfoods have loads of antioxidants, such as vitamins A and C and phytonutrients,” says Elizabeth Tanzi, founder and director of Capital Laser & Skin Care and assistant clinical professor in the department of dermatology at the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. “Antioxidants in skincare have been shown to help reduce inflammation and free-radical damage over time.”

However, there are already plenty of skin-care products on the market (which you may already have in hiding in your medicine cabinet, like ) that are chock full of antioxidants, so you don't need to stock up on a month’s worth of kale in a jar, says Tanzi.

“[This is a] marketing moment,” says Tanzi. “Antioxidants need to be stable to have effect. It isn’t enough to put kale juice on the skin and expect it to work. As long as the antioxidant formulation is stable, it doesn’t really matter what the ‘source’ is—whether it’s from spinach leaves or formulated in the lab.”

Whether or not you’re into the idea of washing your face with your lunchtime salad fixings, there’s no doubt we could all use a little extra incentive to amp up our daily intake of the good stuff.

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