MSM - The ultimate beauty mineral?

Our founder, Marina Engervik, is a regular columnist in the Norwegian beauty business magazine, 'Kosmetikk' (Cosmetics). As a columnist, she shares her personal opinions, interesting information and tips on natural beauty trends and ingredients. Here is an article she recently wrote about MSM:

I would like to tell you about something that surprisingly few have heard of: MSM is a very promising anti-aging ingredient.

Beauty trends are often created by the consumer's needs and desires. We as manufacturers and suppliers want to satisfy and meet consumer's needs, and thats why it is important to be informed and up to date on what is happening in the beauty market right now. The pandemic makes us more concerned about staying healthy and well more than ever before. We also feel a need to take better care of ourselves and our skin.

MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) is a dietary supplement that has been on the market for decades. It effectively relieves joint pain, it's great for recovery of sore muscles after exercise, and can also strengthen mucous membranes in the stomach and intestines. And what I find very exciting here is that more and more people are opening their eyes to MSM in skin care products. I believe and hope that we will see more of MSM, because this ingredient is very special and incredibly useful. I myself have used MSM for many years already, and have experienced the amazing effect.

What is MSM?

MSM is a type of sulfur found in all plants and in skin tissues. In the human body, it acts as the "glue" that holds together the amino acid chains, ie the building blocks of the skin. The natural formation of MSM takes place via the earth's recycling system. When microscopic phytoplankton living in the oceans die, they decompose and decay. The biomass of the plankton emits a gas, dimethyl sulfide (DMS), which is taken up by the atmosphere. Oxygen and sunlight react with DMS. The gas then undergoes a series of oxidation steps which include the formation of methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) and other sulphates. Water droplets in the atmosphere absorb MSM, and when these droplets fall like rain, MSM is taken up by the soil for use by plants. Then the process is repeated.

MSM is claimed to be nature's ultimate beauty mineral

Several studies show that MSM may have a unique ability to restore collagen and keratin in the skin, which is the basis for a healthy and young skin. MSM has an absorption-enhancing ability. This means that the mineral can increase the absorption of other nutritious, active ingredients, and also make these more receptive to the skin. In other words, the skin care product can work more effectively when it contains MSM, which is very beneficial in, for example, an anti-aging cream with many active ingredients. MSM helps against free radicals because it improves the body's ability to use the antioxidants. Because MSM is a type of sulfur, it can also help with acne, and inflammation in the skin. Several studies have also reported that MSM can soothe irritated skin, moisturize dry skin, reduce scar tissue, provide better wound healing and reduce redness in the skin. 

Is MSM synthetictich or natural?

It is not possible to press or extract MSM from plants. Although MSM is a naturally occurring sulfur compound, the microscopic amounts found in food are too small to allow an extraction of MSM. This compound cannot be extracted, isolated or grown from a natural source. MSM is therefore synthetically produced to be used as a nature-identical ingredient in both dietary supplements and cosmetics. MSM is natural, but in order for us to be able to make use of it, it must be produced synthetically. The result, however, is MSM molecules completely identical to those found in nature.

(Sources: ncbi and naturalproductinsider)