Skin Luxury: Gold

For the past few years, skin care products with gold particles have been growing in number. The shiny flecks attract customers not only because of its claim of having good effects on skin but also because of idea that the more expensive and glamorous a product, the better.

But can gold in your facial serum or cream clog your pores? Can it stain your skin? Well, gold in most skin care products have been made smaller (nano) so it gets absorbed in the skin easily rather than just coat it; so it doesn’t really block the pores. There are also no reports that it has stained the skin.

What gold does is give you the glow, both directly and/or indirectly. Directly, because while it stays on the skin, it lends its natural shine and indirectly because it is an antioxidant after it gets absorbed. Studies have shown its antioxidant properties although I am not sure if this property was actually tested on human skin or just in vitro (in laboratories using chemicals as simulation only). Gold is also good for rheumatoid arthritis; its anti-inflammatory property helps decrease the symptoms of pain. But we’re talking about skin here and unless its anti-inflammatory property applies to acne, then it’s no good.

I personally haven’t used a product with gold but people who have report experiencing a tighter, firmer skin with less wrinkles; they say it’s because it increases collagen production and helps it retain moisture. It is also said that it warms the skin, allowing other ingredients in the product (like vitamins) to penetrate. However, there are actually not enough scientific studies to back up its firming anti-wrinkle effect. You can look it up yourself in online journals.  In truth, gold has a lot of better things to be in…such as in treatments for arthritis and cancer and such.  It can act as a vector to direct chemotherapy to cancer cells without involving the healthy ones. It has its use in the lab as well to identify thickness of membranes as used in a study for asymmetric ultra-filtration membranes.

I’ve only tested one brand of face cream with gold once and I rubbed it on the back of my hands. It was nice to have the subtle shiny glow; it was like putting very fine glitter dust on. However, the cream didn’t smell nice so I didn’t like it that much plus the shine disappeared within a few minutes and I think there are better products to buy if you just want to get the healthy shiny glow look. As for the claims of firmer skin, I unfortunately haven’t used it long enough to see the effects.  If you’re thinking of buying it, try the smallest bottle if available just to be sure.  Also, use the tester first to see if you have allergies to it. You could try experimenting by putting the cream on one side of your body and none on the opposite, then see for yourself after a few weeks if this product is worth it 🙂

 

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