In the world of health and wellness, detox is a familiar term—but what does it mean for skin care? "Just like a nutritional detox, a skin detox allows the skin a fresh start…a clean start,“ explains Park Avenue Plastic Surgeon, Melissa Doft, MD. "By cleansing the skin from impurities and harmful entities (i.e. free radicals and DNA damage), a detox stimulates a healthier environment for your skin, which can foster collagen and elastin development, boost your cell metabolism, increase cell turnover and improve the skin barrier.” So, how exactly do you detox your skin? It’s actually quite simple. You can start by adding certain beauty foods to your daily diet. Dr. Doft suggests blueberries, oats, beets and citrus fruits. But that’s not all. “So many products on the market have detoxifying agents already included,” says Dr. Doft. In fact, you may be incorporating some of these detoxifying ingredients into your daily or weekly regimen already. Popular skin care ingredients like bentonite clay, charcoal and vitamin C are all considered detoxifying agents that can draw out pore-clogging impurities, protect from free radical damage, and promote an overall healthy-looking complexion. Curious to know more? We share how to detox your skin with some of the top detoxing ingredients in skin care, ahead.
1. SkinCeuticals Clarifying Clay Mask (2.4 fl. oz.)
Want to treat your complexion to a detoxifying cleanse? Reach for a facial mask that is enriched with bentonite clay. “Bentonite draws out impurities from the skin,” says Dr. Doft. Incorporating bentonite into your weekly skin care routine can be especially beneficial to those with oily skin and congested pores, as bentonite can control shine and purify the skin.
Find it in: SkinCeuticals Clarifying Clay Masque2. Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque (2.5 fl. oz.)
Another detoxifying ingredient that draws out impurities from the skin? Charcoal, says Dr. Doft. In the face of congested pores, charcoal acts as a magnet and can absorb 100 to 200 times its weight in impurities. For this reason, charcoal can be found in many detoxifying skin care products—from facial masks to cleansers to body polishes and so on—to control oil, purify the skin and tighten the look of pores.
Find it in: Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque (2.5 fl. oz.)3. Eminence Organic Skin Care Hungarian Herbal Mud Treatment 2 fl. oz
In addition to bentonite clay and charcoal, you can also incorporate products with mud into your skin care routine to detoxify your skin, control oil and more. Like its counterparts, mud can draw out impurities from the skin and absorb excess oil for softer, smoother, more clear-looking skin. In addition to detoxifying, mud can also provide the skin with an array of valuable minerals, too!
Find it in: Eminence Organics Hungarian Herbal Mud Treatment4. Obagi Medical Professional-C Serum 15% (1 oz.)
Purifying congested pores isn’t the only way to detox your skin. According to Dr. Doft, vitamin C can, too. Rich in antioxidants, “vitamin C scavenges free radicals,” says Dr. Doft. Free radicals are pesky environmental aggressors that can cause things like fine lines, wrinkles, dull skin and other premature signs of aging to occur on the skin. So, protecting—and detoxifying—the skin from them can be beneficial in the fight against premature skin aging.
Find it in: Obagi Medical Professional-C Serum 15% (1 fl. oz.) 
