Ectoin is the Trendy New Skincare Ingredient You Need to Know About
It's a new year, meaning new skincare ingredients generate all the buzz. And one that's having a major moment is ectoin. Although ecotin may seem like it is brand new, truth be told, the molecule is about 30 years old and has major skin-regenerating powers, but it has only recently received the recognition it deserves. Using multitasking ectoin for skin benefits can dramatically improve the skin if you know how to use the ingredient correctly.
Meet the Expert
Dr. Ashley Magovern - Board-certified Dermatologist and member of Dermstore's Medical Advisory Board
In this Article
- What is Ectoin?
- What Does Ectoin Do for You Skin?
- Benefits of Ectoin for Skin
- Ingredients to Pair with Ectoin
- How to Use Ectoin in Your Skincare Routine
- Can You Use Ectoin and Retinol Together
- Potential Side Effects
- Shop the Best Ectoin Skin Care
- FAQs
- The Bottom Line
What is Ectoin?
Ectoin is a molecule used in skincare products that protects the skin from damaging environmental stressors like pollution, blue light, and even free radicals. "It is a fascinating, multi-functional skincare ingredient that is classified as a "stress-protection molecule," explains Dr. Ashley Magovern, M.D. "It's neither a typical antioxidant nor an amino acid but rather a naturally occurring molecule produced by extremophilic microorganisms to survive in harsh environments like deserts and salt lakes. In skincare, it serves as a powerful hydrator and protector, mimicking its role in nature to shield your skin from environmental stressors." Since ectoin binds with water, it can form a protective and hydrating defense shield around delicate skin cells to protect them against damage, oxidative stress, and inflammation.
What Does Ectoin Do for Your Skin?
Ectoin binds with water, making it beneficial to the skin in more ways than one. Ectoin can protect the skin from various stressors that can damage the skin. But its most notable benefit is its ability to strengthen the skin's moisture barrier and repair any damage done to it, helping to hydrate the skin and reduce dryness, dehydration, water loss, and roughness while giving a plumping effect. It is also known to improve elasticity levels within the skin, making it more resilient, and even makes for a skin-safe treatment for eczema-prone skin while aiding in wound healing.
Benefits of Ectoin for Skin
Since ectoin can benefit the skin in a multitude of different ways, its benefits run the gamut from acting as a protective molecule to a hydration one and beyond. Some of the more notable skin benefits of ectoin include:
- Providing a protective shield to the skin
- Defending it against damaging stressors like blue light, pollution and stress. “Ecotin acts like a mini force field to protect the skin from pollution, UV radiation and blue light,” Dr. Magovern says. “This shields the skin from oxidative stress and premature aging.”
- Improves skin barrier function
- Reduces inflammation to help calm redness and soothe irritation, "making it perfect for sensitive or acne-prone skin," Dr. Magovern shares.
- Enhances skin elasticity
- Acts as a moisture binder helping to smooth rough, dry skin
Reduces inflammation to help calms redness and soothes irritation, “making it perfect for sensitive or acne-prone skin,” Dr. Magovern shares. Helps smooth out fine lines and wrinkles. Since ecotin also reduces oxidative stress and improves skin barrier function, Dr. Magovern says it helps minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, keeping your skin looking youthful.
Ingredients to Pair with Ectoin
Like other popular skincare ingredients, ectoin plays well with numerous skincare ingredients, making mixing and matching your favorite products easy. “It doesn’t have known incompatibilities, but it’s always good practice to introduce new combinations slowly to monitor your skin’s reaction,” Dr. Magovern says.
Dr. Magovern says to pair its hydrating effects with ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, antioxidants, niacinamide, and retinol to enhance its hydrating effects. Since ecotin can also limit the unwanted side effects of active ingredients that can be harsh on the skin, like exfoliating acids, salicylic acid and retinol, using it in tandem with these types of ingredients can help reduce inflammation and redness while keeping the barrier function strong while supporting the skin's natural renewal process. When paired with antioxidants, ectoin protects against environmental aggressors and free radicals, protecting the skin against pollution and UV damage better than using an antioxidant alone.
How to Use Ectoin in Your Skincare Routine
Adding ectoin, typically found in serums, moisturizers, or sunscreens, to your current skincare routine is easy. The key is to look for products with the ingredient and stick to formulas like water-based serums and moisturizers, making it easier for action to be delivered appropriately to the skin. "You can add it after you cleanse morning or night," Dr. Magovern says. Just make sure to apply skincare products with ectoin after cleansing but before moisturizers and sunscreen (during the day).
Can You Use Ectoin and Retinol Together?
According to Dr. Magovern, ectoin and retinol serve different purposes. “Retinol promotes cell turnover and collagen production, making it ideal for anti-aging and acne treatment. Ectoin, on the other hand, focuses on hydration and protection.” Ectoin pairs well with retinol and retinoids since it helps to discourage the skin from becoming red, dry, flaky, or irritated from the retinol. Even if you use ectoin and retinol together, it’s important to continue to use a good moisturizer to help instill hydration into the skin.
Potential Side Effects
Unlike some active ingredients used in skincare products that come with the potential for side effects and risks, ectoin is considered safe and doesn’t pose any threat to the skin. Since it’s a gentle defensive ingredient that helps heal the skin, there are no side effects to worry about when using it. Still, Dr. Magovern recommends that as with any skincare ingredient, it’s always smart to do a patch test if you have highly sensitive skin.
Shop the Best Ectoin Skin Care
1. Allies of Skin Copper Tripeptide & Ectoin Advanced Repair Serum
6 reviews
$199.00
This super reparative formula features a powerful mix of ecotin and peptides to help aid in skin recovery. Perfect for all skin types, it leaves skin looking healthy, soother, and more radiant, helping to reduce common signs of aging.
Key Ingredients: Ecotin, amino acids, peptides
Skin Type: All Skin Types
Skin Benefits: Soothes irritation, reduces redness, helps reverse signs of aging for stronger, more resilient skin
Beauty Insider Tip: Even though the serum is blue, it absorbs quickly into the skin and doesn't show though under makeup.
2. Augustinus Bader The Retinol Serum
3 reviews
$380.00
Some retinol-based skincare serums can leave the skin red, raw and flaky, but not this one. Instead, the lightweight hydrating serum, which is packed with ecotin, helps soften the look of wrinkles, lines, breakouts and pigmentation sans any irritations or redness. All that’s left behind is clear, healthy, beautiful skin.
Key Ingredients: TFC8®, retinol, zinc, microbiome blend, marine ecotin
Skin Type: Acne-prone, mature
Skin Benefits: Leaves skin healthy and rejuvenated, reduces the appearance of deep lines and wrinkles, purifies pores, targets blemishes, optimizes the skin microbiome, reduces the appearance of acne scars and hyperpigmentation, locks in moisture
Beauty Insider Tip: Apply the serum to clean dry skin by smoothing it along the face, neck, and décolleté. Make sure to layer it well onto the jawline using upward sweeping motions.
3. Indie Lee Restorative Eye Cream
2 reviews
$68.00
This power-packed eye cream works on contact to help strengthen, protect and diminish the visible signs of aging for brighter, more youthful-looking skin. Use it preventatively to diminish the common effects of age-related aging on the eyes or as a corrective measure to improve the look of aging eyes.
Key Ingredients: Ectoin, centella, paracress, hyaluronic acid
Skin Type: All Skin Types
Skin Benefits: Reduces the appearance of crow’s feet, fine lines and wrinkles, improves under-eye discoloration and skin elasticity, provides an immediate boost of moisture and continuous hydration
Beauty Insider Tip: Since the product uses an airless pump, you may need to press down on it several times to dispense the product properly.
4. Sarah Chapman R&R Glow Recovery Cream
$126.35
Renew and repair compromised and desensitized skin with an impaired barrier function, offering immediate relief to calm and heal the skin. By restoring the skin to a healthy state and restrengthening the barrier, the skin is better equipped to protect itself from environmental aggressors and damaging irritants, putting it on the path to healthy once again.
Key Ingredients: pidermal growth factors, diosmin, ceramides, ectoin
Skin Type: All Skin Types
Skin Benefits: Reduces redness quickly, boosts skin hydration, reduces irritation, improves skin barrier, reduces signs of dehydration
Beauty Insider Tip: Use the serum after intense skin treatments, such as chemical peels, lasers or microneedling sessions, for immediate relief.
5. Replenix Antioxidant Hydrating Sunscreen SPF 50+
12 reviews
$49.00
Sunscreen is a non-negotiable daily skincare essential, and this hydrating tinted one, which features antioxidants, is a must for safeguarding the skin. Thanks to a blend of botanical extracts plus squalene, it helps to nourish the skin while reducing sun damage and other damagers that can wreak havoc on the skin and its health.
Key Ingredients: Bisabolol, squalane, caffeine, zinc, ectoin, green tea polyphenols
Skin Type: All Skin Types
Skin Benefits: Fights free radical damage, hydrates, plumps, delivers anti-aging benefits
Beauty Insider Tip: Tinted sunscreens offer the added bonus of evening out red tones in the skin, helping to act like a concealer of sorts.
6. Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare DermInfusions Plump + Repair Lip Treatment
$45.00
If you want smoother, fuller, more youthful-looking lips, then this lip volumizing treatment is an absolute must. Perfect for adding immediate definition and plumpness to limp lips, the hyaluronic acid-based plumper restores moisture to the lips, leaving them looking hydrated and younger.
Key Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, peptides, ectoin, bisabolol
Skin Type: All Skin Types
Skin Benefits: Improves lip color, contour, and definition, plumps, leaves lips hydrated, heals chapped lips
Beauty Insider Tip: Wear the lip plumper on bare lips or over your favorite lip color for the perfect amount of volume and fullness.
7. PCA SKIN Daily Defense Broad Spectrum SPF 50+
15 reviews
$48.00
A moisturizing sunscreen that protects while shielding the skin against aging pollutants sounds like the perfect SPF to us. This creamy formula not only absorbs UV rays but also defends the skin from environmental pollutants and damage that contribute to aging and cellular damage.
Key Ingredients: Zinc oxide, ectoin, sylmarin
Skin Type: All Skin Types
Skin Benefits: Provides sun protection, creates a smooth finish on the skin, offers environmental protection, defends against aging pollutants
Beauty Insider Tip: For the best results and optimal sun protection, apply the sunscreen at least 15 minutes before exposure to allow the active ingredients to penetrate the skin.
8. U Beauty The SCULPT Neck + Décolleté Concentrate
$138.00
Designed to address a handful of age-related skin changes, this multi-level formula visibly lifts, tightens, and contours the skin on the neck, jawline and décolleté to reduce wrinkles. Plus, it blurs the look of skin imperfections so that the skin looks healthier and more youthful.
Key Ingredients: Ectoin, hyaluronic acid, hexapeptide, plant extracts, Aesculus Hippocastanum bark extract, superoxide dismutase
Skin Type: All Skin Types
Skin Benefits: Visibly lifts, optimizes natural collagen and elastin expression, reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, improves skin texture
Beauty Insider Tip: Expect noticeable effects to the skin after just one application and with continued use, firmer-looking skin that is lifted and noticeably contoured.
FAQs
Is Ectoin Safe for All Skin Types?
Ectoin works well for all skin types, even sensitive, reactive, and acneic skin and those prone to eczema and redness. Those with dry or dehydrated skin often reap the benefits of ectoin the most. It’s also quickly becoming a staple ingredient in skincare routines for mature skin and those concerned with aging.
Does Ectoin Help With Anti-Aging?
Ectoin can help protect the skin and ward off certain types of damage, like that caused by free radicals, blue light, pollution, and the sun, helping to limit premature aging for more youthful-looking skin. To reap the benefits of ectoin to its fullest, it's best to use it with your favorite anti-aging ingredients and sunscreen.
Is Ectoin Safe to Use Daily?
Thanks to ectoin's skin defending, hydrating and protective benefits, it is safe to use every day. Dr. Magovern adds that its mild nature makes it an excellent choice for frequent application without causing irritation or sensitivity. "In fact, daily use helps your skin build resilience to environmental stressors over time."
Is Ectoin Better than Hyaluronic Acid?
It’s not that ectoin is better than hyaluronic acid, but somewhat different. “Hyaluronic acid is a superstar hydrator, while ectoin is more of a multitasker, offering hydration along with protection and soothing benefits,” says Dr. Magovern. “They’re complementary rather than competitive.” Ectoin can be used with hyaluronic acid for intense hydration and environmental defense.
The Bottom Line
If you want to up the ante of your current skincare routine and make sure that your skin is well protected, it may be time to incorporate a product with ectoin to improve the health of your skin. Since ecotin skin products are compatible with all skin types and work to hydrate, strengthen and nourish the skin, any serum or cream with the amino acid will benefit and ultimately give your skin the added defense layer needed to look and feel healthy and youthful.
Elise Minton Tabin is an award-winning beauty journalist, editor, and beauty expert with more than 16 years of experience. She previously held the title of Executive Beauty Editor at NewBeauty magazine, where she reported on beauty, plastic surgery, anti-aging, health and wellness. She was also instrumental in the launch of the beauty supplement brand Hush & Hush. A self-professed beauty junkie and retinol and sunscreen pusher, Elise knows what’s new, what works and who’s the best to go for every procedure under the sun. Follow Elise on Facebook, Instagram, and on her beauty blog, elisetabin.com
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