What Actually Makes Skin Glow?

Scarlett Column No. 005 | 3 min read

We have spent years being sold glow in bottles. But what exactly are we trying to make our skin do?

There are few words the beauty industry loves as much as glow. We have glow serums, glow creams, glow oils, glow masks and entire routines promising to take us from dull to luminous. We know glowing skin when we see it, or at least we think we do, but the interesting thing about glow is that it is not actually one thing. There is no single biological process called glowing, and there is no ingredient that can simply switch it on.

What we call glow is really the way several qualities of healthy-looking skin come together. Skin that is adequately hydrated tends to look fuller and more supple. Skin with a relatively smooth surface reflects light more evenly. Skin that is well moisturised can appear softer and less ashy. When uneven tone, dryness and excessive buildup of dead skin cells are reduced, light moves across the face differently. The result is that elusive quality we describe as radiance.

This also explains why shine and glow are not necessarily the same thing. Oily skin can shine beautifully and still be dehydrated, congested or uneven. Dry skin can be healthy but appear dull because its surface is rough and reflects light less evenly. Highlighter can create the illusion of luminosity in seconds, and a layer of facial oil can make almost any complexion gleam, but neither necessarily tells us what is happening underneath.

Exfoliation helps. More exfoliation does not always help more.

One of the quickest ways to make dull skin appear brighter is to remove some of the dead cells accumulating on its surface. This is why freshly exfoliated skin can feel extraordinarily smooth and seem almost immediately more radiant. The temptation, once we discover this, is to keep going. Our skin usually has other ideas.

Over-exfoliation can compromise the skin barrier, increase irritation and leave skin feeling tight, sensitive or inflamed. For skin prone to hyperpigmentation, repeatedly irritating the skin in pursuit of brightness can be particularly counterproductive. Exfoliation is useful because it supports a smoother surface and normal skin renewal, not because healthy skin needs to be relentlessly scrubbed, peeled or polished into submission.

A good exfoliation routine should therefore leave your skin looking better over time, not leave you constantly recovering from it.

Hydration and moisture are doing different jobs

Hydrated skin contains sufficient water. Moisturised skin has the lipids and protective support that help keep that water from escaping too quickly. This distinction matters because a complexion can be oily and still lack water, just as dry skin can need considerably more than a lightweight hydrating serum.

This is also where climate matters. A skincare routine created for a dry winter in London or New York does not automatically make sense during a humid afternoon in Lagos or Abuja. Humidity can reduce how quickly water evaporates from the skin, which may mean that some people feel comfortable with lighter layers and fewer humectant-heavy products. Air conditioning, cleansing habits, individual skin type and the season complicate the picture further. Then harmattan arrives and the skin that seemed perfectly content a few months earlier suddenly wants something richer.

The goal is not to use as much hydration as possible. It is to give your skin what it needs in the environment you are actually living in.

Even-looking skin catches the eye

When people describe beautiful skin as glowing, they are frequently responding to more than luminosity. They are also noticing evenness. Dark marks, post-acne pigmentation, redness, sun damage and areas of dryness can interrupt the uniform way light reflects from the skin, making a complexion appear less radiant even when it is otherwise healthy.

This is why ingredients and products designed to improve the appearance of uneven tone can make such a visible difference. But brighter-looking skin should never be confused with lighter skin. Your natural complexion does not need to become several shades lighter in order to glow. There is an important distinction between helping skin look clearer, more even and radiant, and attempting to erase its natural colour. Beautiful skin exists across every shade of brown.

And then there is the skin barrier

The barrier is not the glamorous part of skincare. It does not photograph particularly well, and it is difficult to turn into a seductive before-and-after. Yet it is doing an enormous amount of work. A healthy skin barrier helps regulate water loss and protects the skin from external irritants. When it is compromised, skin can become dry, rough, uncomfortable and reactive, none of which is particularly conducive to the smooth, supple appearance we associate with glow.

This is why chasing radiance with an increasingly complicated collection of strong actives can sometimes produce the opposite result. Skin does not necessarily become more beautiful because more things are being done to it. Sometimes it needs less.

So, can you buy glow?

Not exactly.

You can buy an exfoliant that helps smooth the skin. You can choose a moisturiser that leaves it softer and more supple. You can use ingredients that help improve the appearance of uneven tone. You can protect your skin from the sun and support its barrier. You can also drink enough water, sleep properly, eat well and accept that no complexion looks exactly the same every morning of every month.

What you cannot buy is one magical ingredient called glow. Perhaps that is why the best glow routines are less exciting than the promises printed across beauty packaging. They are built on cleansing without unnecessarily stripping the skin, exfoliating without abusing it, moisturising according to what your skin actually needs, addressing concerns consistently and protecting the progress you have made.

Glow is not an ingredient. It is what healthy-looking, well-cared-for skin does with light.