Dr Tanya's Go-To Anti-Ageing Skincare Ingredients

We bet you didn’t see this one coming. While many still fail to recognise sunscreen as a non-negotiable part of their daily skincare ritual, it is arguably the most crucial step in your AM protocol. Believe it or not, sun exposure is responsible for up to 80% of the visible signs of facial ageing. 

When focusing on anti-ageing skincare ingredients, it’s best to focus on prevention over cure. As such, start incorporating a quality broad-spectrum SPF50+ into your daily ritual…we promise your skin will thank you for it! 

The quick facts:

• Sunscreen reduces UV light exposure from damaging your other skincare products (i.e., impacting their efficacy).  
• Sunscreen protects your skin from UV damage. 
• Sunscreen supports cell regeneration, which reduces the onset of wrinkles and pigmentation. 

Cacay oil is gaining popularity as a potent anti-ageing ingredient, and for good reason. This lightweight, fast-absorbing oil is packed with naturally-occurring Retinol (Vitamin A) and Vitamin E, two nutrients that are essential for reducing signs of ageing. 

Retinol stimulates collagen production, speeding up cell turnover to help reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and pigmentation. Cacay oil has been shown to contain up to 3x more Retinol than rosehip oil, making it a powerful alternative.

Vitamin E, on the other hand, boosts elasticity while shielding the skin from free radicals, which are responsible for premature ageing. The combination of these two vitamins means cacay oil not only helps restore a youthful glow but also works to protect and strengthen the skin's barrier over time.

Unlike some forms of Retinol that can be harsh, cacay oil’s naturally derived Vitamin A is more stable and gentle, making it an ideal choice for all skin types—including sensitive skin. 

The oil is also rich in linoleic acid, which promotes hydration, and Omega 6 fatty acids, helping to repair the skin and maintain its suppleness.

Cacay oil’s ability to lock in moisture without clogging pores adds an additional benefit, as it works well for those with combination or oily skin types too, offering anti-ageing effects without the risk of congestion.

Our Top Pick: Dr Tanya's bestselling Holy Basil Face Serum is brimful of cacay oil and all its anti-ageing goodness.

Niacinamide is a topical form of Vitamin B3 widely known for its skin brightening, hydrating, and anti-ageing properties. Let’s take a closer look at its benefits:

• It improves skin hydration by reducing moisture loss from the skin. 
• It’s a natural anti-inflammatory, meaning it’s great for calming sensitive or easily irritated skin. 
• It helps to prevent the physical signs of ageing by increasing collagen production.

In fact, multiple clinical studies have found topical niacinamide is one of the more highly beneficial anti-ageing skincare ingredients — including a reduction in the appearance of hyperpigmented spots, red blotches, skin sallowness, and fine lines and wrinkles and an improvement in skin elasticity. 

Our Top Picks:

• Miracle Cream Cleanser to target fine lines and improve overall skin tone.
• Radiant Day Cream to hydrate and support skin renewal. 
• Night Repair Serum to stimulate cell renewal and combat the signs of ageing while you sleep. 
• Eye Life Tightening Serum to brighten and illuminate the eye area. 
• Advanced Retinol Serum to improve skin complexion and intensely hydrate your skin for plumper, younger-looking skin. 

If you’ve been researching anti-ageing skincare ingredients for some time, you’ve no doubt heard about Vitamin C’s undeniable benefits — the potent antioxidant warrior working hard to help protect your skin from UV and free radical damage, while supporting collagen production.

Let’s take a closer look at how and why this game-changing ingredient deserves a spot in your anti-ageing skincare regime:

• As an antioxidant, Vitamin C plays an important role in reducing oxidative stress by helping to neutralise free radicals in the body. Oxidative stress often leads to premature skin ageing and is characterised by dull-looking skin.
  
  
• Vitamin C is an essential component of collagen production in skin cells. With age, our body’s natural production of collagen declines, which is often closely followed by the physical signs of ageing as collagen is responsible for giving our skin elasticity and firmness.
  
  As such, adequate collagen plays an important role in reducing the onset of lines and wrinkles and maintaining skin volume and elasticity.
  
  The antioxidant properties in Vitamin C also help protect your skin from free radicals, which are known to wreak havoc on the cells responsible for producing essential skin components like collagen.

Our Top Pick: Dr Tanya’s Super C Serum, designed to deliver concentrated antioxidant protection to support collagen synthesis, skin tone and brightening, and reduce fine lines and wrinkles.

[Related: Vitamin C Serum for Your Face: How, Why, When and What For?]

You may know of hyaluronic acid owing to its potent skin-hydrating benefits. However, you may not know that it is also one of the most effective anti-ageing benefits. 

Let’s take a closer look at how hyaluronic acid can help slow down the clock:

• It increases skin hydration, delivering an immediate plumping effect that creates smoothness and volume. A 2014 study found that topical hyaluronic acid increased skin hydration by up to 96% after an 8-week trial period. 
• It is suggested to decrease wrinkle depth and improve skin firmness and elasticity. The same study reported a 40% decrease in the depth of wrinkles and up to 55% increase in skin firmness and elasticity for participants who used hyaluronic acid topically twice daily for eight weeks.

Our Top Pick: Dr Tanya’s Hyaluronic Acid Serum to help you achieve optimal skin hydration, plumpness, and smoothness. 

Fun fact — Our Hyaluronic Acid Serum contains the incredible ingredient, Hylamesh 4D, renowned for its unique four-dimensional hyaluronic delivery network. 

Characterised as a medium to high-viscosity liquid, Hylamesh 4D combines the lightweight and easily penetrable nature of hyaluronic acid with the remarkable water-binding capacity of high molecular polymer to deeply nourish and moisturise the skin.