Beauty trends often come and go, but the current obsession with all things aquatic has been popular for centuries. Deeply therapeutic deep-see cleansers, anti-agers and total-body detoxifiers; marine ingredients (nature’s wonder) are also known to have anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties.
If there’s one beauty treatment worth utilising for an intense marine experience, it’s got to be a face mask. Never have they been so popular with the promise to transform your skin…
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Get Muddy
Smooth an even layer of Alma K Dead SeaMinerals Purifying Mud Mask, R399,99 for 100ml, over a cleansed complexion and watch as nutrient-rich seaweed, borage oil and soothing cucumber extract work to leave oily and combination skins feeling silky smooth and deeply detoxed in just 10-minutes.
Enhance Your Glow
Is your skin feeling dull, drab or a bit dehydrated after the festive season? Don’t worry, as these moisture-boosters have got you covered. Skoon. Ruby Marine Overnight Hydrating Mask, R489 for 30ml, is a dreamy leave-on mask with a melty texture that brims with softening beeswax and features vitamin K-rich wakame seaweed extract to improve blood circulation in the skin.
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Peel It Off
If you want to firm-up and smooth your skin, then Ahava Dunaliella Algae Refresh & Smooth Peel-Off Mask, R120 for a single-use sachet, is perfect for you. Smooth over skin and wait as the charcoal and dead sea algae-extract in this slick, gel-textured mask begin to tighten and set. Once set, smile to crack the mask open and then start to peel it off gently as you reveal smoother skin.
Fast Refresh
The Body Shop Seaweed Balance Sheet Mask, R95 for one, is such value for money as it’s jam-packed with loads of toner-like serum that helps rejuvenate skin with aloe, cucumber and Irish seaweed. What’s even better is that the sheet mask is completely biodegradable, so you can use it guilt-free!
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Know Your Algae…
Seaweed is not a plant, but different species of macroscopic marine algae. It only lives in saltwater and grows by the coast. Most algae are multicellular, hence our body responds naturally to them, creating synergy.
Red Algae: Found deeper in the ocean than other algae: beauty brands love jania rubens to boost hydration; porphyridium, rich in age-defying antioxidant vitamins and amino acids; and lithothanium, which is used in cellulite products to encourage the breakdown and elimination of fat.
Brown Algae: Generally the largest, fastest-growing seaweed, such as kelp, is popular for total-body detoxification; and the small fan-shaped padina pavonia mimics the skin’s cell renewal, making it great for anti-ageing.
Blue-green Algae: Namely spirulina and chlorella, this type of seaweed is packed with amino acids that help boost collagen and elastin to fight off wrinkles and signs of puffiness.
Words: Jo Glanville-Blackburn. Additional words: Martinique Stevens
