It turns out that ginger is essential for your teas, juices, and smoothies, but it also has a place in your beauty regimen. Nowadays, skincare aficionados are using the substance more and more; it has been a part of product formulas for decades (and in traditional medicine for millennia).
Ginger may help your skin, regardless of your skin type or issue, says Dr. Elizabeth Mullans, a board-certified dermatologist at Uptown Dermatology in Houston, Texas.
“Ginger has many benefits for the skin and is a rejuvenator that helps reduce signs of aging, flushes out toxins, evens out skin tones, promotes hair growth, and leads to more blood circulation,” she explains. “It also contains antioxidants that can reduce scars and protects the skin from UV rays.”
Dr. Snehal Amin, a board-certified dermatologist in New York and co-founder of MDCS Dermatology, emphasizes the potential of ginger to reduce apparent scarring. “[It] has been used in traditional medicine for millennia, and extensive research has shown anti-inflammatory and antioxidative benefits for a range of conditions,” according to him. Thus, he says, it enhances the look of scars by stimulating melanocytes, which increases the skin’s synthesis of melanin. He proposes putting a piece of ginger to the treatment area if you have a mild scar. “It also leverages antioxidant properties to enhance blood flow, which helps scar tissue blend better into the skin,” he says.
Ginger may help with noticeable skin advantages other than scarring, such increased tone and suppleness. Additionally, it might lessen undesirable skin-type-related symptoms. Take it from Dr. Mullans: adding ginger to your skincare regimen will help your skin seem “bright and glowing” if it is dry and/or aged. On the other hand, ginger may “tighten and smooth” the look of your skin if you have oily or acne-prone skin.
Not just that, however. The creator of Skin Science Dermatology and board-certified dermatologist Dr. Geeta Yadav claims that this substance has antiseptic qualities that help destroy microorganisms, particularly those that cause breakouts. “Components of ginger also show the ability to improve hyperpigmentation by inhibiting the production of tyrosinase, the enzyme responsible for triggering melanin production,” according to her
Additionally, it provides the skin with strong antioxidant properties, which reduce damage and aging indications. “Ginger is an impressive superfood — [the antioxidants] help stave off free radical damage caused by environmental factors like pollution, UVA/UVB rays, and smoke, which can cause premature aging,” adds Dr. Yadav.
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Ginger, despite its seemingly miraculous name, is a multipurpose skincare ingredient that works well for all skin types. Still, like with any new product or chemical you haven’t used before, our experts advise moving cautiously. Dr. Yadav warns, “I always recommend patch testing before regular use of a new product.”
Dr. Yadav further cautions that if the ginger in your product is derived from essential oils, it might irritate more sensitive skin types or trigger allergic forms of eczema. Look for skincare products with ginger as a primary component, like the Sweet Chef Ginger + Vitamin C Serum, which she suggests for brightening and shielding the skin from damage caused by free radicals, just to be safe. Read more
