Ceramides and their importance to skin health

Mar 06, 2020

Lipids are essential for our skin to build up a protective barrier and retain water. Hydrated, protected skin looks and acts more supple, ages more slowly, and gives you that coveted, natural glow. A family of nine ceramides is present in human skin and they account for 50% of its lipid weight.

Because the positive skincare effects that come from healthy levels of ceramides are in high demand, companies have found ways to create manufactured pseudo-ceramides. Having increased levels of manufactured ceramides inside the body can signal oxidative stressors and lead to increased cell death! These pseduo-ceramides diverge substantially in molecular structure from what is naturally occurring.

Natural ceramides found in a variety of plants and herbs are far more similar to what’s already present in our skin. When natural ceramides enter the body, it’s much less likely they will hurt healthy skin cells. This is due to the fact that they are nearly cell-impermeant, which simply means unable to pass through the cell membrane. Natural ceramides provide all of the external benefits of enhancing our protective skin barrier, without the threat of adverse cellular damage.

Calendula (for example) is scientifically proven to increase sphingomyelinase levels in skin. Sphingomyelinase is an enzyme that’s responsible for catalyzing the breakdown of sphingomyelin to ceramide and phosphorylcholine. More sphingomyelinase means more ceramides, which means a stronger, healthier protective barrier for the skin. In one of our other blogs about Calendula, here, we dig deep into all of the skin benefits made possible by this super plant. The promotion of blood flow, reduction of inflammation, antioxidant protection, protection against UV rays, and increased hydration are just a few ways that natural ceramides work wonders for our skin.

Harmful chemicals damage skin and create bad long-term skin health implications on a cellular level. At Ora’s Amazing Herbal, we believe that natural ingredients are underused in the skincare industry. We continuously strive to educate consumers as to the healing & harming ingredients in products they buy.

Our skincare products are all natural, all herbal, all amazing products that keep your skin functioning at its best potential. Click here to see our products containing Calendula that provide naturally occurring ceramides.