With it's soothing and hydrating properties, ectoin is one of our favourite multi-tasking ingredients for sensitive and problem skin. Read on to learn more about it and in which products we use it.
Ectoin is a powerful, small, multi-tasking and natural stress-protection molecule, a so-called extremolyte. From a chemical point of view, it's a cyclic amino acid derivate. Ectoin was discovered in 1985, when a German scientist studied microorganisms in a salt lake in the Egypitan Wadi El Natrun desert.
Extremolytes protect extremophilic microorganisms and plants from the extreme conditions of their habitats like salt lakes, hot springs, permanent ice or deserts.
Ectoin is ideal for treating all types of sensitive skin and different skin conditions. Ectoin's benefits for skin have been proven by various in-vivo (studies on human skin): they include long-term moisturisation, diminished skin roughness, skin barrier repair and anti-inflammatory and anti-irritant properties, along with protection against pollution. In addition, some studies show that ectoin performs as well as hydrocortisone in reducing redness in inflamed and atopic skin, but without the side effect of thinning skin.
We get our ectoin from a company in Germany, where it is produced through biotechnological fermentation from a specific, non-GMO strain of the halophilic bacteria Halomonas elongata.
We use ectoin in our hydrating and balancing Balancing Essence and in our Calming and Purifying Serum.
