Custard apple is more than just a tasty fruit; it's a skin-loving superfood. From giving your skin a boost of hydration to supporting the skin’s elasticity, custard apple can be a valuable addition to your skincare routine. 

What is custard apple?

Custard apple, also known as cherimoya or Annona cherimola, is a tropical fruit that is native to South America – particularly the Andes mountains of Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia. It belongs to the Annonaceae family and is widely cultivated in regions with warm, frost-free climates around the world, including Spain, Italy, New Zealand, and California.

Identifying the custard apple

There are several distinct characteristics of the custard apple, including its appearance, taste and texture. The fruit has a uniquely bumpy, and greenish-brown exterior that resembles a pine cone. The thin but tough skin of the fruit is covered with small, knobby segments resembling finger imprints.

Inspiring the name ‘custard apple’, the inside of the fruit is soft and creamy with a custard-like texture. The pulp inside is segmented, with each segment containing a dark seed, which is inedible.

The edible pulp of the custard apple is sweet and rich, combining flavour profiles of banana, pineapple, and pear with a hint of vanilla. It’s no surprise why this makes for a popular fruit for desserts, smoothies, and other sweet dishes!

Benefits of custard apple for skin

Beyond tasting incredible, custard apple is also a wonderful ingredient to incorporate into your skincare routine for hydrated, glowing skin.

1. Helps fight free radicals

Custard apple is packed with antioxidants like vitamin C, which play a crucial role in combating oxidative stress and neutralising free radicals which can cause premature ageing.

Free radicals are atoms without an electron pairing on its outer shell that are produced naturally in the body. However, an excess of free radicals can lead to oxidative stress and cause cell damage. This is because free radicals ‘steal’ an electron from a healthy molecule to form their missing pairing, which subsequently damages the healthy cell.

Antioxidants combat free radicals, helping to prevent skin damage. It’s important to keep replenishing the antioxidants in your body because while fighting free radicals, the antioxidant itself becomes oxidised.

2. Moisturises the skin

The fruit is rich in natural hydrating agents, making it an excellent moisturiser for dry and flaky skin. The high water content of the fruit helps keep your skin hydrated, soft, and supple.

Additionally, custard apple contains essential fatty acids that form a protective barrier on the skin, locking in moisture and preventing dehydration.

3. Encourages collagen production

Vitamin C is found abundantly in custard apple and is a vital component in the synthesis of collagen, a protein that maintains the skin's elasticity, firmness, and protects the skin barrier.

The body does produce its own collagen, but it gradually makes less collagen as we age. Collagen production can also drop due to excess sun exposure and sun damage, smoking, excess alcohol, and a lack of sleep and exercise.

4. Fights acne and blemishes

Custard apple has natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that can help in managing acne and reducing blemishes. Calming uncomfortable breakouts while combating acne-causing bacteria on the skin, this ingredient can support acne-prone skin.

5. Helps to even skin tone

The nutrients in custard apple, including vitamin C, potassium, and magnesium, work together to improve blood circulation and enhance the skin's natural radiance. This can help to fade dark spots, pigmentation, and uneven skin tone, giving you a brighter and more even complexion.

6. Soothes irritated skin

Custard apple's anti-inflammatory properties make it a great ingredient for soothing skin irritation, redness, and swelling.

Upcycling custard apple into skincare

Adding to our ever-growing list of upcycled ingredients, custard apple is incorporated into the formulation of our new peptide serum, launching in September.

Our peptide serum features upcycled custard apple, a skincare powerhouse that promotes a harmonious balance for the skin. Acting as a natural adaptogen, this ingredient supports two vital biological systems by activating the CB2 receptor in the skin's endocannabinoid system. It helps to reduce inflammation in the skin and enhance your skin's resilience.

Adaptogens are herbs, roots and other plant substances used primarily in herbal medicinal practices to help to manage the effects of stress on the body. They are thought to be able to help restore the body to its natural balance by working in sync with the body's natural mechanisms, and adaptogenic skincare is used to help repair the skin barrier and maintain skin homeostasis. 

Peptide water-based serum

Featuring a groundbreaking formulation that combines both the power of a tripeptide complex with the sustainability-driven goodness of two upcycled ingredients – this serum truly is UpCircle’s most innovative formula yet.

Small yet mighty molecules, peptides help to aid the production of collagen, promoting skin elasticity, and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Along with upcycling custard apple, this formulation also upcycles blood orange water. Adding another fruit water to our catalogue of upcycled ingredients, blood orange water helps to protect against photoaging and is highly antioxidant. Blood orange water also provides a hit of hydration and works to brighten the skin, leaving the skin looking refreshed and revitalised.

We choose to use fruit water in some of our products as it has been shown to be closer to your skin cell’s natural physiology, making it easier to absorb. Fruit water helps your skin to withstand environmental stressors more effectively than non-fruit water, and the same is true for the modulation of inflammation.

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