Skincare ingredients to look out for in 2021

By Prudence Wade

If you’re the kind of person who practises self-care through skincare, there are plenty of buzzy new ingredients to get excited about.

Whether you’re looking for products to boost your glow, minimise the look of fine lines or fight acne, there are a whole host of ingredients set to make a splash.

“At the heart of 2021 will be skin integrity and the resurgence of the importance of skin health,” predicts facialist Fiona Brackenbury. “The skin is vulnerable to many factors: this could be emotional stress, environmental trauma like central heating, extreme temperature changes or overuse of skincare actives that will all leave their mark on the skin.”

The coolest new ingredients of the year will help address these issues…

1. Mushrooms

Mushrooms aren’t just for risottos, so don’t rule out this secret skincare powerhouse. According to Brandy Hoffman, co-founder of beauty brand Volition (available on Cult Beauty), mushrooms are an “undiscovered hero for skin hydration”. She says: “The snow mushroom (tremella fuciformis) is nature’s moisture magnet and can hold 500 times its weight in water.

“Some consumers have already begun to hear about mushrooms like reishi and lion’s mane in beauty formulas, but soon skincare enthusiasts in 2021 will appreciate why the snow mushroom is the new star in the skincare ingredient firmament.”

Volition Snow Mushroom Water Serum, £52, Cult Beauty

Dr Andrew Weil For Origins Mega-Mushroom Relief & Resilience Fortifying Emulsion, £32, Origins

2. Olive oil

After a series of teasers, in 2021 Jennifer Lopez is finally blessing the world with a skincare collection. After all, who wouldn’t want to get that JLo glow?

Her secret ingredient is an old school one: olive oil. She told Vogue: “My mum used to say that olive oil was the cure-all for everything”, and made it the central ingredient of her JLo Beauty Olive Complex product. JLo Beauty launched in the US on January 1, and the collection available to buy on Amazon from January 14.

Where Lopez goes, everyone else will follow – so expect to see products laden with olive oil this year. It’s packed with antioxidants and is an all-natural way to moisturise your skin; what’s not to love?

DHC Olive Concentrated Cleansing Oil, £25, LookFantastic

BeautyPro Nourishing Collagen Sheet Mask with Olive Extract, £4.95

3. Tranexamic acid

If you’ve mastered everything from niacinamide to hyaluronic acid, it’s time to look to the next science-y skincare ingredient set to take over: tranexamic acid.

This was “originally a medication used to treat blood loss in patients, but due to the fantastic impact it can have on the skin, it can also be used topically”, explains Dr Preema Vig, medical director of the Dr Preema London Clinic.

“Tranexamic acid reduces skin discolouration and evens pigmentation, it also targets photo damage, brightens the skin and improves fine lines and wrinkles. This ingredient is fantastic for people who suffer with hyperpigmentation.”

While it can be used on its own, you’ll likely see products incorporating it alongside other ingredients like vitamin C, which Vig says helps “give your skin a brightening boost”. She recommends using it “once a day at first, and then increase to twice a day”.

Algenist Blue Algae Vitamin C Dark Spot Correcting Peel, £80, Cult Beauty

Scientia Peach & Glow Hydra Skin Tonic, £24

4. Wheatgrass

“Night-time will always be the easiest way to press pause and reset the skin,” says Brackenbury. “Inflammation builds up in the day, the skin becomes dehydrated, the skin becomes stressed.” We’re always looking for new ways to soothe the skin and boost moisture, and this year, Brackenbury thinks the hero ingredient will be wheatgrass.

“Wheatgrass is a skin rescuer – its antibacterial properties make it perfect for breakouts,” she explains. “It’s also an anti-inflammatory champion, so perfect for even the most sensitive skins.”

Elemis Superfood Vital Veggie Mask, £30, LookFantastic

Lush Skin’s Shangri La, £38

5. 

   Immortelle

Brackenbury loves immortelle extract for its “powerful” anti-ageing benefits: “Thanks to the collagen and elastin-boosting properties, immortelle delivers visible results on slackness, lines, and wrinkles.”

The pandemic has caused many of us to shift our beauty routines away from make-up and more into skincare, so anything that can give us a natural, healthy glow will likely be big in 2021.

L’Occitane Overnight Reset Eye Serum, £45

Typology Firming Night Serum Botanical Blend With Nopal, £24