Let's Talk Lipids: How Ceramides, Cholesterol, and Fatty Acids Protect Your Skin

When scouring for products to improve your skin’s moisture barrier, keep an eye out for three ingredients: ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids. These lipids “make up the essential components of the skin’s lipid layer,” says board-certified dermatologist, and Skincare.com expert, Dr. Dendy Engelman. A quick primer: “This layer serves as a protective barrier for your skin against bacteria, pollution, and other harmful environmental assaults,” she says. “It’s essentially your first line of defense.” According to Engelman, adding ceramides to products—and using them, of course—can help improve skin barrier function. Throw fatty acids and cholesterol into the mix and you’ve just created an anti-aging force to be reckoned with. Our favorite lipid-rich cocktail (aka the good stuff) is one formulated by SkinCeuticals. So without further ado, meet SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2.

SKINCEUTICALS TRIPLE LIPID RESTORE 2:4:2 

As skin ages, it becomes more susceptible to losing lipids—read: ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids—which are the natural compounds found on the skin’s surface. Lipid loss can compromise the skin’s moisture barrier and result in visible signs of premature aging, like skin roughness, tightness, and dullness. Adding these cellular lipids back onto the surface can help restore a declining barrier. Plus, they may help skin appear more radiant and even-toned. (Remember how we told you to search for these lipids on your product labels? Now you know why.) That’s where SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 comes in. Be warned: Lipids don’t take the backseat in this powerful anti-aging treatment. Formulated with 2 percent pure ceramides, 4 percent cholesterol and 2 percent fatty acids, the airy cream helps restore the skin’s barrier and support natural self-repair, all while nourishing skin and helping improve skin smoothness, laxity, and texture. Convinced yet? We thought so! To use, place a small amount of the formula between your fingertips. Use circular motions to warm and melt the cream. Then, gently apply it onto your face, neck, and chest twice daily.

To take your anti-aging regimen a step further, pair SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 with their cult-favorite vitamin C serum C E Ferulic in the morning—read our love story with this product, here—as well as the brand’s Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50, which offers broad-spectrum UV protection, enhances natural skin tone and boosts radiance. 

SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2, $125