Want to streamline your beauty regimen and save space and money at the same time? Who among us does not? That is why a new type of product called BB cream has become one of the cosmetic industry’s biggest trends. But What Are BB Creams?
This multipurpose skincare/makeup hybrid is designed to replace five or six separate jars and tubes: moisturizer, primer, sunscreen, skin treatment, concealer, and foundation.
“The concept behind a well-formulated BB cream is that it should be the only product you need after washing your face,” explains Ni’Kita Wilson, a cosmetic scientist at Englewood Lab in New Jersey.
How BB Creams Began
The term BB cream refers to beauty balms or blemish balms. They were created in Germany by a doctor who desired a single cream that protected the skin and provided covering following laser treatments.
The all-in-one formulation quickly gained popularity in South Korea and subsequently across Asia.
“The average Asian woman takes seven steps to care for her skin,” explains Jessica Wu, MD, a dermatologist in Santa Monica, Calif., and author of Feed Your Face: Younger, Smoother Skin and a Beautiful Body in 28 Delicious Days. “When I was in Hong Kong, every lady I met with was using a BB cream to streamline her routine.”
The BB Boom
BB creams were available in the United States in the spring of 2011. Today, virtually every major cosmetics business offers a BB cream, ranging in price from under $10 for drugstore brands to $100 or more for high-end department store lines, as well as lines offered only at spas and physicians’ offices. Additional items are on their way.
Although just 2% of beauty customers have purchased a BB cream, nearly 4 in 5 of those have said they will purchase the product again.
What BB Creams Do
Can one beauty product really do it all? Maybe.
Numerous BB creams provide good sun protection, with broad-spectrum SPF 30 or more, the level recommended for daily use by the American Academy of Dermatology. Additionally, BB creams typically contain zinc oxide or titanium oxide, which are physical sunblocks with built-in water resistance, Wu explains.
When it comes to skin treatment, you can find BB creams that contain:
- Anti-aging components, including peptides and antioxidants such as vitamins A, E, and C
- Moisturizing workhorses like hyaluronic acid and glycerin
- Ingredients such as licorice and arbutin that help even out skin tone
- Light-reflecting mica to give skin a luminous finish
- Silicone-based ingredients, such as dimethicone, that help smooth the skin, acting much like a foundation primer does
The Limitations
Despite its numerous benefits, you may be disappointed if you anticipate a BB cream to be a miracle in a tube.
“I prefer to think of BB creams as jack-of-all-trades products that are masters of none,” Wilson adds. “They give excellent SPF protection and frequently [provide] enough color coverage, but they are not as efficient at hydrating. Additionally, it’s quite difficult to include all of that functions into a single product while maintaining a light texture. Women will notice that BB creams are typically a little thicker than tinted moisturizers.”
Finding a BB cream that precisely matches the hue of your skin may also be difficult. BB creams are often available in a limited shade range – typically three to five fair to medium-dark colors – or in a single shade that mixes with all skin tones.
Certain ladies may find these hues too pale. “The deepest hues in a BB cream are comparable to the mid-tones in the majority of our foundation ranges,” Wilson explains.
Another restriction is the absence of acne-fighting chemicals in BB creams – or, for that matter, tinted sunscreens. “FDA laws prohibit the combination of acne ingredients and SPF in a single product,” Wilson explains. “If you have skincare concerns that require a specialized treatment solution, you cannot expect to achieve the same results with a BB cream.”
Wilson recommends BB creams for those with normal to the oily complexion and a light to medium skin tone who do not require strong moisturizers or anti-acne treatments.
BB Creams and Your Beauty Regimen
While BB creams will not be able to replace all of the items in your skincare regimen, they can assist those products in performing more efficiently.
“I adore BB creams,” Wu adds, adding that she wears one underneath her lightweight makeup to cover acne scars.
“”I’m committed to my foundation,” she adds, “and there are many ladies out there like me who would never consider giving up a foundation that works flawlessly for their skin.” A BB cream can help you attain greater coverage without resorting to a thicker, mask-like foundation.”
A pea-sized dab of BB cream (that’s all you need) can offer the ideal amount of coverage for a casual day. “We’re always pressed for time, and BB creams are wonderful time-savers,” says aesthetician Veronica Barton-Schwartz of Malibu, Calif., who counts locals Olivia Newton-John, Suzanne Somers, and Cher among her customers. “The formulas continue to improve.”
If you’re going for a natural appearance, one BB cream may be all you need to carry for skincare and cosmetic requirements. It’s also an excellent option for “someone who is extremely natural and dislikes the notion of wearing makeup but wants to preserve her or his skin and conceal certain flaws,” Wu explains. Men may now get BB creams that are particularly formulated for them.
What’s next after these multitasking BB creams? Prepare yourself for CC creams. These “color-control” creams are supposed to offer a lighter texture, more coverage, and a higher level of hydration than their BB counterparts.