Virtually day-after-day, I scroll via Olive Younger’s Korean web site prefer it’s TikTok. I’m at all times on the hunt for rising Okay-beauty traits, and the best-selling merchandise and components on the South Korean mega-retailer are inclined to affect magnificence cabinets right here within the US months later.
In February, I began noticing an onslaught of sky-blue formulation designed for delicate pores and skin hitting Olive Younger’s digital cabinets. All of them touted the identical ingredient: azulene. (You would possibly see it listed on product labels as guaiazulene, the stabilized kind mostly utilized in skincare, says Kunal Malik, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York Metropolis.)
Intrigued, I reached out to Hee Jin Kim, MD, one half of a sister duo that runs PureenMD Pores and skin and Effectively-Getting older Middle, with areas in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and Seoul, to search out out whether or not azulene is poised to be Okay-beauty’s subsequent fashionable ingredient primarily based on what she’s seeing in her South Korea workplace.
“Sure, very a lot so,” confirmed Dr. Kim. “Many Korean magnificence [content creators] have been actively reviewing azulene-containing merchandise lately, notably these centered on calming and post-procedure care.” One creator specifically, Inssi, is commonly credited for sparking the rising reputation of azulene. She has posted a number of movies over the previous 12 months highlighting the ingredient’s skin-cooling and blemish-soothing powers.
I marveled at how shortly the merchandise visibly calmed her redness. Very similar to a canine that barks at each little noise and passerby, my pores and skin is reactive. The wind, temperature modifications, and even a light-weight contact can set off redness and sensitivity. I’m additionally susceptible to painful hormonal breakouts, so my pores and skin is the last word litmus take a look at for any new calming ingredient, and I instantly knew my routine wanted some azulene.
One downside: Lots of Korea’s buzziest azulene formulation aren’t out there simply but stateside, however there are a couple of choices out there to US shoppers. I received my palms on the Dr. Althea Aqua Marine Deep Serum. My pores and skin cherished the cobalt-blue method a lot that I advisable it to my sister, whose pores and skin is much more reactive than mine. She went via a complete bottle in lower than a month as a result of she was reaching for it each morning, evening, and after understanding.
Forward, consultants clarify precisely what azulene is and the way it works to assuage pores and skin.
What’s azulene, and what are its advantages?
Azulene is a naturally occurring, deep-blue hydrocarbon mostly extracted from chamomile, says Y. Claire Chang, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in New York Metropolis. Although chamomile blooms with little white flowers and turns water golden when steeped as tea, it incorporates this particular compound that tints skin-care merchandise various shades of blue, relying on how a lot is used within the formulation.
