March 24, 2020

Electrolytes are moving out of sports drinks and into skincare products.  The latest trend to hit the skincare world is the addition of electrolytes into formulations, to help hydrate and plump up the skin quickly.

“Electrolytes are about to be major players in the skincare realm,” explains Delaney Loane. “Able to aid moisture levels above and below the surface, electrolyte-packed topicals deliver a hydration boost that mere mortal moisturisers could only dream of.”

For formulators, the electrolyte skincare trend offers unique opportunities to target dry or sensitive skin claims and create powerful partner formulations featuring active ingredients like glycolic acid.

How do electrolytes help the skin?

Electrolytes are minerals that produce an electrically conducting solution when dissolved in water. Typically found in sports beverages, the most common electrolytes are sodium, calcium, chloride, phosphate, potassium, and magnesium.

In beverages and powders, electrolytes can help the body retain water and replenish the hydration levels in anyone who is hot, sweaty, and dehydrated. The average person naturally loses up to 2-3 liters of water during the day, and exercise or hot temperatures can increase this daily water loss even more. For the skin, this spells bad news. Loss of hydration increases skin dryness, boosts a tendency for flakes or redness, and magnifies the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Electrolyte-enhanced skincare products promise to fix these common dry skin woes, by replenishing the skin’s hydration and moisture levels fast.

The powers of electrolyte-infused skincare

Electrolyte skincare products promise to provide an extra-charged jolt of hydration and moisture to dry, dehydrated skin, thanks to the minerals’ unique ability to retain water. 

Since water follows electrolytes, electrolyte skincare products help to draw in the maximum amount of water into the cells after application. This increased hydration then helps to improve skin plumpness, smoothness, and produce a more dewy, radiant glow.

For consumers, the idea of a super-charged shot of moisture to the skin is especially appealing, as dry and sensitive skin claims continue to rise.  With 60-70% of women claiming problems with dehydrated skin, and 50–60% of male consumers reporting trouble with dry, itchy, flaking skin, the promise of an “energy drink for your face” is simply irresistible.

A partner for glycolic acid

Additionally, electrolyte skincare formulations are catching on because electrolytes are excellent partner ingredients to other active ingredients, like the master exfoliant, glycolic acid.

“These minerals also work well with the ingredients in your other products, including actives like AHA/BHA acids and retinol. In fact, electrolytes can boost the efficiency of these ingredients,” explains Instyle. “Skin cells are optimized when electrolytes are optimized, and they are able to use other actives if they are optimally functioning,’ dermatologist Dr. Morgan Rabach said.

Glycolic acid is the perfect partner ingredient for an electrolyte charged formulation, as glycolic acid is superb at driving new skin cells to the surface of the skin.  New skin cells are better able to retain other hydrating products – like electrolytes – and will more easily maintain proper moisture levels over time. 

In short? Glycolic acid keeps skin moisturized and healthy, and can become even more powerful when paired with hydrating electrolytes.

The electrifying potential of electrolytes

Manufacturers can join in on the electrolyte skincare craze by offering high-powered, highly moisturizing formulations that highlight beneficial partnerships with ingredients like glycolic acid.  Healthy, hydrated, and plump: the new “buzzwords” for electrolyte skincare!