Superfoods for the Skin

Farm-to-table? Kit Chua investigates the new product that makes that farm-to-beauty counter.Nutritional powerhouses aren’t just found in superfood smoothie recipes – don’t be surprised if they come in your beauty bottles too.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel
Farm-to-table? Kit Chua investigates the new product that makes that farm-to-beauty counter.Nutritional powerhouses aren’t just found in superfood smoothie recipes – don’t be surprised if they come in your beauty bottles too.
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“You are what you eat.” It may be a tired old cliche, but beauty and health experts constantly tell us it’s true and, if I’m honest (and, you know, not contemplating a plate of nasi padang), I’d have to agree.

Still, I’m not sure if I’m prepared for how the next phase of skincare flips the whole “beauty from the inside out” paradigm, well… outside in. As if I wasn’t already struggling to keep up with all the ways that superfoods can make my life better, now we can also superfood our skincare routine.

The culprit this time is Kiehl’s, who’s offering the first facial skincare product that uses quinoa husk extract (quinoa seed extract, on the other hand, is regularly found in beauty formulas, especially hair products). The skincare brand has found a way to turn the husk – normally considered a waste product – into a bona fide beauty bonus by formulating it into its new Nightly Refining Micro-Peel Concentrate.

“As quinoa seeds were being rinsed, it was noticed that the plant’s discarded outer husks had begun to bubble,” shares Roberta Weiss, who heads Kiehl’s Product Innovation team. “This activity led to the finding that quinoa husks have exemplary skin exfoliation benefits.”

Diving a little deeper into the world of exfoliants reveals that using food-based active ingredients in at-home peels isn’t exactly new – one of the most widely used exfoliating ingredients is a group of acids called Alpha Hydroxy Acids (or AHA). And the most common AHA ingredients are lactic acid (from milk), glycolic acid (from sugar cane), citric acid (from citrus fruits) and malic acid (from apples).

So it turns out there’s already a veritable salad bowl in our skincare. But Kiehl’s’ research suggests there’s a lot to be gained by adding a superfood to the mix – particularly by sensitive-skinned folk. According to one clinical test, Kiehl’s reports that the formula “demonstrated equal or greater efficacy on sensitive skin subjects, with significant decrease in skin dryness.”

Ever dubious, I conducted my own totally subjective and not-terribly-scientific at-home trial, after a beach holiday that involved a little too much sun. Verdict: no itching or redness, and my sun-roughened skin felt smoother and softer the next day. Quinoa husk in my skincare? OK, I’ll swallow that*. 

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Skincare superstars

Nutritional powerhouses aren’t just found in superfood smoothie recipes – don’t be surprised if they come in your beauty bottles too.
Goji berries
Source of: Amino acids, vitamin C and antioxidants
Acai berries
Source of: Antioxidants and vitamin C
Chia seeds
Source of:  Antioxidants and omega-3 oil