Bromelain, The Renewing Skincare Ingredient You Need In Your Routine

Brom-e-what? We get so excited about bromelain that sometimes we forget it’s not common knowledge!

This ingredient spotlight goes out to the potent pineapple enzyme! Bromelain is a game changer for your skin. You know that tingly feeling you get on your tongue after eating pineapple? Part of that is coming from a high dose of bromelain. Don’t worry — we have none of the acids and lowered the dosage — you won’t feel any tingling. BUT, this is a powerful active ingredient that will resurface your face, gently and naturally.

Bromelain is a proteolytic enzyme, which is a class of enzymes that breaks down proteins into smaller peptides or single amino acids. Proteases are responsible for many of your body's natural functions, including digesting food and cell signaling. In this case it breaks up the molecules tethering your dead skin cells in place. Once those chemical bonds are broken, the dead skin can be gently rinsed away. Unlike acid exfoliation, which blindly targets many chemical bonds, enzymes are targeted to only the protein necessary, therefore causing no irritating side effects.

This enzyme is not found in liquid products as it breaks down quickly in water. Stored in solution at room temperature the enzyme remains active for only a week and goes to zero sooner with any temperature swings. Some liquid formulations claim to contain fruit enzymes; these either have no efficacy from the enzyme (most likely) or contain many preservatives to try and sustain its shelf life. In a powder formula the enzyme is as fresh as the day it's harvested, creating instantly visible results when used in skincare. 

While bromelain can be found all parts of the pineapple, commercially available bromelain is usually extracted from the stems, peels, leaves, etc. These are byproducts of the fruit and juice production markets, minimizing this ingredient's upstream impact on sustainability. 

We use a small dose of bromelain in our standard Powder Cleanser. It’s one of the reasons your skin feels so soft after using it! In our Foaming Rice Polish it’s paired with tiny rice granules that help buff away the dead skin cells. This creates a nourishing, soothing, and effective exfoliating polish that makes you feel brand new with each use.

Bromelain is safe for all skin types! It’s a great way to exfoliate for sensitive skin as its less irritating than acids or harsh scrubs. It’s also complimentary to any acne or oily focused skincare routine as it can help flush away stubborn blockages without adding any harshness. And for the people that shave their face — these are great products to incorporate before shaving. Removing this layer of dead skin will allow you to get a closer shave and feel less irritation.

At Silt we’re pretty hyped on bromelain and it’s wildly effective skin softening abilities. Utilizing this naturally potent ingredient is a perfect example of the power of powder formulation.