There's an ingredient in every cream we make that you might not recognize: MSM. It's not as glamorous as colostrum or as familiar as goat milk, but it's in every product for good reason. MSM is one of the most underrated skincare ingredients available—and understanding why we include it everywhere helps you understand what makes our products work.
What Is MSM?
MSM stands for methylsulfonylmethane. It's a naturally occurring sulfur compound found in many foods—fruits, vegetables, grains, milk—and in human tissues. Your body already contains MSM; it's not foreign or synthetic.
Sulfur is the third most abundant mineral in your body, and it plays essential roles in numerous biological processes. Much of that sulfur exists as MSM or is derived from MSM metabolism.
As a skincare ingredient, MSM has been used for decades, though it's never achieved the mainstream recognition of ingredients like retinol or hyaluronic acid. This relative obscurity doesn't reflect its effectiveness—it reflects marketing trends that favor newer, flashier actives over steady, reliable workhorses.
The Sulfur Connection
To understand MSM, you need to understand sulfur's role in skin health.
Sulfur is essential for producing collagen and keratin—the proteins that give skin structure and strength. Without adequate sulfur, your body can't manufacture these proteins properly. Skin loses firmness and resilience.
Sulfur also helps form glutathione, your body's master antioxidant. Glutathione protects cells from oxidative damage—the kind of damage that accelerates aging and compromises skin health.
Additionally, sulfur plays a role in maintaining the bonds between skin cells. Proper sulfur availability supports skin barrier integrity, helping skin hold moisture and resist irritants.
MSM is one of the most bioavailable forms of sulfur—meaning your skin can actually use it. Not all sulfur sources are equally accessible to biological processes, but MSM integrates readily into the pathways where sulfur is needed.
MSM's Skincare Benefits
Anti-Inflammatory Action
MSM has documented anti-inflammatory properties. It can help reduce the redness, swelling, and irritation associated with various skin conditions.
For people with inflammatory skin issues—rosacea, eczema, acne, general sensitivity—this anti-inflammatory action provides relief without the side effects of pharmaceutical options. MSM calms inflammation naturally, supporting the body's own regulatory mechanisms.
This is one reason we include MSM in every product. Inflammation underlies many skin problems, and addressing it broadly supports overall skin health.
Collagen and Elastin Support
MSM provides sulfur for collagen and elastin synthesis. These proteins are responsible for skin's firmness, elasticity, and youthful structure.
As we age, collagen production naturally declines. Supporting collagen synthesis through sulfur availability doesn't reverse aging, but it helps skin maintain its structural proteins more effectively.
The keratin in your skin, hair, and nails also requires sulfur. MSM contributes to healthier, stronger keratin structures throughout your body.
Antioxidant Enhancement
By supporting glutathione production, MSM indirectly enhances your skin's antioxidant defenses. Glutathione neutralizes free radicals before they can damage skin cells.
Free radical damage from UV exposure, pollution, and normal metabolic processes accelerates visible aging and compromises skin function. Better antioxidant protection means skin that ages more gracefully and functions better.
Permeability Enhancement
MSM may help other ingredients penetrate skin more effectively. Research suggests it can enhance the permeability of cell membranes, potentially making other beneficial compounds in our products more bioavailable.
This makes MSM a good team player—it doesn't just provide its own benefits but may help other ingredients work better too.
Wound Healing Support
Sulfur plays a role in wound healing, and MSM supplementation has been associated with faster healing in various contexts. For skin, this translates to support for daily wear and repair, recovery from minor damage, and overall maintenance of healthy tissue.
Why It's in Everything
Given these benefits, why do we include MSM in every cream we make rather than reserving it for specific products?
Universal need: Everyone benefits from anti-inflammatory support, collagen production, and antioxidant enhancement. These aren't specialized concerns—they're fundamental aspects of skin health that affect everyone.
Consistent results: By including MSM across our product line, we ensure everyone using our products receives these benefits regardless of which specific product they choose.
Synergy with goat milk: MSM complements goat milk's natural properties beautifully. The anti-inflammatory action enhances goat milk's soothing effects. The sulfur supports the collagen-building that goat milk's nutrients encourage. The permeability enhancement may help goat milk's beneficial compounds penetrate better.
No downside: MSM is well-tolerated by virtually everyone. It's not irritating, not sensitizing, not problematic for any skin type. Including it everywhere doesn't risk negative reactions.
The Athletic Connection
MSM is particularly valued by athletes, which connects to our Active Cream and Muscle Cream products.
For decades, athletes have used MSM supplements for joint health, muscle recovery, and inflammation management. The compound's anti-inflammatory properties help with the muscle soreness and joint stress that intense physical activity creates.
Topical MSM applies these benefits directly to tired muscles and stressed tissues. Instead of taking a supplement that has to travel through your digestive system and bloodstream, you can apply MSM directly where you need it.
This is why our Active Cream and Muscle Cream feature MSM prominently—though they contain other beneficial ingredients too (arnica, chondroitin, glucosamine), MSM provides foundational support that enhances everything else.
What the Research Shows
MSM has been studied in various contexts:
Joint health studies have shown MSM supplements can reduce joint pain and improve function in osteoarthritis patients. While these are oral supplement studies, they demonstrate MSM's anti-inflammatory effects.
Skin studies have found topical MSM can improve skin smoothness and reduce wrinkle severity. It's also been studied for rosacea, showing potential benefits for redness and irritation.
Combination studies have examined MSM paired with other ingredients, often finding that MSM enhances the effects of companion compounds—supporting the permeability enhancement theory.
The research base isn't as extensive as for more heavily marketed ingredients, but what exists supports MSM's traditional use and our experience with it in our products.
How MSM Feels
MSM doesn't have dramatic immediate effects you'd notice like the tingle of an acid or the sensation of a cooling agent. It works quietly in the background, supporting skin function day after day.
What people typically notice over time:
Calmer skin. Redness and irritation tend to decrease with consistent use. Reactive skin becomes more stable.
Better moisture retention. Barrier function improvement means skin holds moisture better over time.
Improved texture. Collagen support contributes to firmer, smoother skin gradually.
Enhanced recovery. Skin bounces back from minor damage and irritation more quickly.
These aren't overnight transformations—they're cumulative benefits from consistent use of a supportive ingredient.
The Bigger Picture
MSM exemplifies our approach to skincare: choose ingredients that support fundamental skin function rather than forcing dramatic short-term changes.
Many popular skincare ingredients work by temporarily altering skin appearance or aggressively triggering specific responses. These can work, but they often come with tradeoffs—irritation, sensitivity, unsustainable results.
MSM takes a different approach. It provides raw materials your skin needs to do its job better. It reduces inflammatory load that impairs normal function. It supports the systems that maintain healthy skin naturally.
This isn't glamorous. It doesn't make for exciting before-and-after photos. But it produces skin that's genuinely healthier, more comfortable, and more resilient over time.
Making MSM Work for You
To get the most from MSM in our products:
Use consistently. MSM's benefits accumulate with regular use. Occasional application won't produce the same results as daily inclusion in your routine.
Give it time. Support for collagen, barrier function, and inflammation management takes time to show visible results. Think weeks and months, not days.
Combine with overall skin health practices. MSM enhances healthy skin function—it works best alongside adequate hydration, sun protection, and other fundamentals.
Consider your needs. While MSM benefits everyone, those with inflammatory conditions, athletic lifestyles, or aging concerns may notice its effects more clearly.
An Underrated Essential
MSM doesn't get magazine covers or social media hype. It's not the ingredient influencers showcase in their routines. But it's been quietly supporting skin health for decades, and it's in every product we make for good reason.
Sometimes the most important ingredients aren't the flashiest ones. Sometimes they're the reliable workhorses that make everything else work better. MSM is that kind of ingredient—essential, effective, and worth understanding even if it never trends on TikTok.
Experience the difference MSM makes in every product we offer. Explore our collection of goat milk skincare, handcrafted on our Washington State farm with MSM for comprehensive skin support.
