5 Anti-Pollution Beauty Products That Will Stop Your Skin Aging Prematurely

We’ve always known pollution is bad for us, but more and more we realise just how ageing that city smog is for our skin. As if just being stressed, not getting nearly enough sleep and eating terribly weren’t wrinkle-inducing enough, now there’s pollution (namely a fine particulate matter known as PM 2.5) waiting at the sidelines to age us prematurely too.

Happily, there have been big advances in anti-pollution skincare of late. Regarding the raw, chemical ingredients that have been developed, there are three new stars in town.

First up is Depolluphane, an active ingredient from Swiss company Mibelle Biochemistry that acts as an invisibility cloak on the skin, stopping anything harmful from sticking to it. So in theory, once you’ve rinsed your face at the end of the day, the pollutants will just wash away.

Our French friends are at it too, with cosmetic chemist Prod’hyg releasing Urban Shield, a serum that acts as a shield against UVB, oxidative stress, photoaging and free radicals.

Finally, US silicone developer Dow Corning has come up with the snappily named FA 4103 Silicone Acrylate Emulsion which too, when sprayed onto the skin acts as an impenetrable force-field that doesn’t crack with movement. Yes and yes, sign us up, put this in all the beauty products, please.

Geeky stuff aside, us non-chemist mortals can get our hands on pollution-fighting beauty too, in the form of serums, gels, moisturisers, you name it. But to easily incorporate it into your pre-existing routine, just go for a mist. Scroll through for five of our favourites, for sure to grace all the Instagram shelfies soon. Brit brand Oskia has launched an entire anti-pollution range for city-folk, and this mist – instead of forming a protective film – bonds with the polluting particles to stop them penetrating the skin