Although the trend may have peaked a couple years ago, gold has remained a widespread and much hyped ingredient in cosmetics and skincare products. The benefits of gold for your skin are seemingly endless, and there are a thousand blog posts out there about how great it is. It’s something you want to be true because of how cool the sheet mask snaps and instas turn out, but is it as good for your skin as it looks?

As it so happens, the only proven thing gold will do for your skin is make you look cool while you’re wearing it. This was quite disappointing to find out considering it’s been trendy for several years, and it’s the reason many products are able to sell for the price they do. The kind of gold that would be most likely to absorb into the skin and provide real benefits does not look like cool or even gold. Colloidal Gold refers to nanoparticles of gold suspended in fluid and is often used in medical experiments or vaccine developments. Nevertheless, there’s no direct proof that colloidal gold has any topical benefits either.

24K Gold Peel Off Mask

Using a face mask or powder with 24k gold will give you a temporary glow and a blurring effect that mutes blemishes, so the best use of gold remains cosmetic. The temporary glow might be worth an extra dollar or two as long as the product has other ingredients that we know skin craves. They still make fun gifts, and sometimes you just need to look glam and chill for an hour. Gold is pretty amazing but be realistic when it comes to what it can do for your skin long term.