Water
Also-called: Aqua;Water | What-it-does: solvent
Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product.
It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water.
Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) is drying.
One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). Like this, the products can stay more stable over time.
Dimethicone
What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1
Probably themost common silicone of all. It is a polymer (created from repeating subunits) molecule and has different molecular weight and thus different viscosity versions from water-light to thickliquid.
As for skincare, it makes the skin silky smooth, creates a subtle gloss and forms a protective barrier (aka occlusive). Also, works well to fill in fine lines and wrinkles and give skin a plump look (of course that is only temporary, but still, it'snice). There are also scar treatment gels out there using dimethicone as their base ingredient. It helps to soften scars and increase their elasticity.
As for hair care, it is a non-volatile silicone meaning that it stays on the hair rather than evaporates from it andsmoothes the hairlike no other thing. Depending on your hair type, it can bea bit difficult to wash out and might cause some build-up (btw, this is not true to all silicones, only the non-volatile types).
Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate
What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 2
A liquid emollient derived from isostearic acidthat gives arich, cushiony skin-feel andunusually high levels of gloss. It also has film-forming abilities but without leaving a sticky residue and it aids long-lasting and water-resistant properties. All this makesPentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate an ideal emollient forlong-lasting protective emulsions, like lip balms.
Isononyl Isononanoate
What-it-does: emollient
An emollient ester with a rich and creamy but non-greasy skin feel. It makes skin supple and protects dry skin.
Butylene Glycol
What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant, solvent | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1
Butylene glycol, or let’s just call it BG, is a multi-tasking colorless, syrupy liquid. It’s a great pick for creating a nice feeling product.
BG’s main job is usually to be a solvent for the other ingredients. Other tasks include helping the product to absorb faster and deeper into the skin (penetration enhancer), making the product spread nicely over the skin (slip agent), and attracting water (humectant) into the skin.
It’s an ingredient whose safety hasn’t been questioned so far by anyone (at least not that we know about). BG is approved by Ecocert and is also used enthusiastically in natural products. BTW, it’s also a food additive.
Bakuchiol - goodie
Also-called: Sytenol A, Phyto Retinol;Bakuchiol | What-it-does: cell-communicating ingredient, antioxidant, antimicrobial/antibacterial
At first glance, you could think that Bakuchiol is your average plant extract. It is derived from the seeds ofPsoralea Corylifolia, aka Babchi,aplant important in Indian and Chinese medicine. The molecule was first isolated in 1973 and several anti-something properties are known about it: it has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, anti-bacterialand hepatoprotective magical abilities like plenty of other Ayurvedic plant extracts.
What makesBakuchiol a special snowflakeis the recent discovery that it behaves on the skin in a way very similar to well-known skincare superstar, retinol. While chemically, it has nothing to do with the vitamin-A family, aka retinoids, comparative gene expression profiling (a fancy way of saying that they compared how retinol and bakuchiol modify the way skin cells behaveand produceimportant skin proteins such as collagen) shows that retinol and bakuchiol regulate skin cell behavior in a similar way.
To be more specific, both Bakuchiol and retinol upregulatecollagen I, III and IV production and downregulateMMP, the evil collagen attackingenzyme in our skin. This means more collagen stays in our skin and we all know that more collagen equals firmer, more wrinkle-free skin. A 12-weekclinical study using a 0.5% Bakuchiol formula with 17 people using it twice a day confirmed a significant improvement in lines and wrinkles, elasticity, firmness and an overall reduction in photo-damage. Also, the test formula was very well tolerated, without any retinol-like side effects.
What's more, a 2018 double-blindstudy with 44 people compared 0.5% Bakuchiol with 0.5% retinol cream and found that "bakuchiol is comparable to retinol in its ability to improve photoagingand is better tolerated than retinol". A super promising result after 12 weeks.
If you are not a daredevil-type who doesn't want to stop using a super well-proven retinol for a newbie like Bakuchiol, we have good news. The two also workvery nicely together and Bakuchiol can actually help tostabilize the otherwise unstable and hard to formulate retinol.
And we are still not done, as Bakuchiol shows not only anti-aging properties but also nice anti-acneeffects. 1% Bakuchiol seems to be very effective in itself (57% reduction in acne after 6 weeks treatment) and even better when combined with 2% salicylic acid(67% reduction in acne after 6 weeks). We like that Bakuchiol is such a good team player! The molecule works against acne in multiple ways: It downregulates 5α-reductase (asebum-controlling enzyme), it is antibacterial (including P. acnes), anti-inflammatory and it inhibits lipid-peroxidation, an evil oxidative process that is recently thought to be a very early trigger in the acne process.
We feel that this description is becoming very long so we will just mention that Bakuchiol also seems to positively regulate hydration-related genes such as Aquaporin 3 and also shows some melanin-inhibiting properties.
Overall, we think Bakuchiol is an awesomemolecule with lots of promise both for anti-aging and anti-acne. But the proof compared to the well-established superstars is far from solid, so in a skincare routine, we would rather add Bakuchiol next to retinol than straight up replace it. Unless you are a gimme-the-newest-shiny-thing-under-the-sun-type.
Arachidyl Alcohol
What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising
A fatty alcohol (the non-drying type with a long oil loving chain of 20 carbon atoms) that is used to increase the viscosity of the formula and it also helps the oily and the watery parts to stay nicely mixed together (called emulsion stabilizing).
Glyceryl Polymethacrylate
What-it-does: viscosity controlling
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Dimethicone Crosspolymer
What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising
A high-molecular-weightsilicone elastomer (rubber-likeelastic material) that is usually blended with a base silicone fluid (such as dimethicone or cyclopentasiloxane) to give the formula a silky smooth feel and to act as a thickening agent.
Behenyl Alcohol
What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising
A fatty alcohol (the non-drying type with a long oil loving chain of 22 carbon atoms) that is used to increase the viscosity of the formula and it also helps the oily and the watery parts to stay nicely mixed together (called emulsion stabilizing).
Glycerin - superstar
Also-called: Glycerol;Glycerin | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
- A natural moisturizer that’s also in our skin
- A super common, safe, effective and cheap molecule used for more than 50 years
- Not only a simple moisturizer but knows much more: keeps the skin lipids between our skin cells in a healthy (liquid crystal) state, protects against irritation, helps to restore barrier
- Effective from as low as 3% with even more benefits for dry skin at higher concentrations up to 20-40%
- High-glycerin moisturizers are awesome for treating severely dry skin
Read all the geeky details about Glycerin here >>
PEG-75 Shea Butter Glycerides
What-it-does: emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Glyceryl Stearate
What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1-2
A super common, waxy, white, solid stuff that helps water and oil to mix together, gives body to creams and leaves the skin feeling soft and smooth.
Chemically speaking, it is the attachment of a glycerin molecule to the fatty acid calledstearic acid. It can be produced from most vegetable oils (in oils three fattyacidmolecules are attached to glycerin instead of just one like here) in a pretty simple, "green" process that is similar to soap making. It's readily biodegradable.
It also occurs naturally in our body and is used as a food additive. As cosmetic chemistColins writes it, "its safety really is beyond any doubt".
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
What-it-does: emollient, antimicrobial/antibacterial
An often used emollient with a light and silky feel. It's very mild to both skin and eyes and spreads nicely and easily. It's often used in sunscreens as it's also an excellent solvent for sunscreen agents.
Polysorbate 20
What-it-does: emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
It's a common little helper ingredient that helps water and oil to mix together. Also, it can help to increase the solubility of some other ingredients in the formula.
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate - goodie
Also-called: Form of Vitamin C, THDA;Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate | What-it-does: antioxidant, skin brightening
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate is a stable, oil-soluble form of skincare big shot Vitamin C. If you do not know, why Vitamin C is such a big deal in skincare, click here and read all about it. We are massive vitamin C fans and have written about it inexcruciating detail.
So now, you know that Vitamin C is great and all, but it's really unstable and gives cosmetics companies many headaches. To solve this problem they came up with vitamin C derivatives, and one of them is Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (let's call it THDA in short).
It's a really promising candidate (see below), but while reading all the goodness about it in a minute, do not forget that derivatives not only haveto be absorbed into the skin but also have to beconverted to pure vitamin C (ascorbic acid or AA) and the efficacy of the conversion is often unknown. In addition,vitamin C's three magic properties (antioxidant, collagen booster, skin brightener) are all properly proven in-vivo (on real people), but for the derivatives, it's mostly in-vitro studies or in thecase of THDA, it's in-vitro and done by an ingredient supplier.
With thiscontext in mind let's see what THDA might be able to do. First, it is stable (if pH < 5), easy to formulate, and a joy to work with for a cosmetic chemist.
Second, because it's oil-soluble, its skin penetration abilities seem to be great. So great in fact, that it surpasses the penetration of pure vitamin Cthreefold at the same concentration and it penetrates successfully into the deeper layers of the skin (that is usually important to do some anti-aging work). There is also in-vitro data showing that it converts to AA in the skin.
Third, THDA seems to have all three magic abilitiesof pure vitamin C: it gives antioxidant protection from both UVB and UVA rays, it increases collagen synthesis (even more than AA) and it has askin brightening effect by reducing melanogenesis by more than 80% in human melanoma cell cultures.
So this all sounds really great, but these are only in-vitro results at this point. We could find Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate mentioned only in one publishedin-vivo study that examined the anti-aging properties of a silicone formula containing 10% AA and 7% THDA. The authors theorized that the 10% AA is released slowly from the silicon delivery system and probably stays in the upper layer of the skin to give antioxidant benefits, while THDA penetrates more rapidly and deeply and gives some wrinkle-reducing benefits. The study was a small (10 patients), double-blind experiment,and the formula did show some measurable anti-aging results. However, it is hard to know how much pure vitamin C or THDA can be thanked.
Bottom line: a really promising, but not well-proven vitamin C derivative that can be worth a try especially if you like experimenting (but if you likethe tried and true, pure vitamin Cwill be your best bet).
Retinol - superstar
Also-called: Vitamin A, Form of Retinoids;Retinol | What-it-does: cell-communicating ingredient
- Retinol (pure Vitamin A) is probably the most proven anti-aging ingredient available OTC
- It has to be converted in the skin to retinoic acid to work its magic
- Once converted, it has the same effect as all-trans-retinoic acid, aka tretinoin
- A generally accepted ballpark number is that retinol is 10-to-20 times less potent than retinoic acid
- It makes skin less wrinkled, smoother, firmer and tighter
- It might also be helpful for acne prone skin as it normalizes keratinization and makes the pores produce less sebum
- Possible side effects and irritation are also much less than with retinoic acid
- Do not use whilst pregnant
Read all the geeky details about Retinol here >>
Ceramide Ng - goodie
Also-called: Ceramide 2;Ceramide NG | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient
One of the 9 types of ceramides that can be found naturally in the upper layer of the skin. Ceramides make up a big part (about 50%) of the goopy stuff that's between our skin cells (called extracellular matrix) and play a superimportant role in having a healthy skin barrier and keeping the skin hydrated.
We wrote way more about ceramides at ceramide 1, soclick here to know more.
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 - goodie
Also-called: Part of Matrixyl 3000, Pal-GQPR, Previously Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3;Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 | What-it-does: cell-communicating ingredient
A four amino acid peptide with the amino sequence ofglycine-glutamine-proline-arginine. It is attached to palmitic acid (a fatty acid) to increase oil solubility and skin penetration.
It works by reducing the production of thesignal molecule,interleukin-6 (IL-6) which promotes inflammation in the skin and less inflammation means slower degradation of important things (like collagen)that resultsin younger looking skin for a longer time.
It works in synergy with its pal, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1in the famous Matrixyl 3000 complex. You can read some more about the famous duo here.
Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12 - goodie
Also-called: Biopeptide El, pal-VGVAPG, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide (old name);Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12 | What-it-does: cell-communicating ingredient
A six amino acid peptide that is claimed to improve firmness and skin tone. Its amino acid sequence isVal-Gly-Val-Ala-Pro-Gly that is also called the "spring fragment" and is repeated six times in the important skin protein, elastin molecule.
The manufacturer made a double-blind, one-month long clinical study on 10 women and found that twice a day application of 4% Biopeptide El improved skin firmness by 33% and skin tone by 20%.
Sodium Hyaluronate - goodie
What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
It’s the - sodium form - cousin of the famous NMF,hyaluronic acid(HA). If HA does not tell you anything we have a super detailed, geeky explanation about it here. The TL; DR version of HA is that it's a huge polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) found in the skin that acts as a sponge helping the skin to hold onto water, being plump and elastic. HA is famous for its crazy water holding capacity as it can bind up to 1000 times its own weight in water.
As far as skincare goes, sodium hyaluronate and hyaluronic acid are pretty much the same and the two names are used interchangeably. As cosmetic chemist kindofstephenwrites on reddit "sodium hyaluronate disassociates into hyaluronic acid molecule and a sodium atom in solution".
In spite of this, if you search for "hyaluronic acid vs sodium hyaluronate" you will find on multiple places that sodium hyaluronate is smaller and can penetrate the skin better. Chemically, this is definitely not true, as the two forms are almost the same, both are polymers and the subunits can be repeated in both forms as much as you like. (We also checkedProspector for sodium hyaluronate versions actually used in cosmetic products and found that the most common molecular weight was 1.5-1.8 million Da that absolutely counts as high molecular weight).
What seems to be a true difference, though, is that the salt form is more stable, easier to formulate andcheaper so it pops up more often on the ingredient lists.
If you wanna become a real HA-and-the-skin expert you can read way more about the topic at hyaluronic acid(including penetration-questions, differences between high and low molecular weight versions and a bunch of references to scientific literature).
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate - goodie
Also-called: Licorice;Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate | What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant
The salt form of one of the main anti-inflammatory ingredients in the licorice plant, monoammonium glycyrrhizinate. It’s a yellowish powder with a nice sweet smell.
It’s used mainly for its soothing and anti-inflammatory properties, but according to manufacturer info, it’s also sebum regulating so it's a perfect ingredient for problem skin products.
Read more about licorice and why it's a skincare superstar here.
Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract - superstar
Also-called: Licorice Root;Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract | What-it-does: soothing, skin brightening
You might know licorice as a sweet treat from your childhood, but it's actually a legume that grows around the Mediterranean Sea,the Middle East, central and southern Russia. It's sweet and yellow and not only used for licorice all sorts but it's also a skincare superstar thanks to two magic properties:
Nr. 1 magic property is that it has skin-lightening or to say it another way depigmenting properties. The most active part is called glabridin. The topical application (meaning when you put it on your face) of 0.5% glabridin was shown to inhibit UVB caused pigmentation of guinea pigs. Another study even suggested that licorice is more effective than the gold standard skin-lightening agent hydroquinone. All in all, licorice is considered to be one of the safest skin lightening agents with the fewest side effects.
There is just one catch regarding glabridin and licorice: the amount of glabridin in commercial licorice extracts can vary a lot. We have seen extracts with only 4% glabridin as well as 40% glabridin. The latter one is a very-very expensive ingredient, so if you are after the depigmenting properties try to choose a product that boasts its high-quality licorice extract.
Nr. 2 magic property is that licorice is a potent anti-inflammatory. Glabridin has also some soothing properties but the main active anti-inflammatory component is glycyrrhizin. It’s used to treat several skin diseases that are connected to inflammation including atopic dermatitis, rosacea or eczema.
Oh, and one more thing: glabridin seems to be also an antioxidant, which is just one more reason to be happy about licorice root extract on an ingredient list.
Bottom line: Licorice is a great skincare ingredient with significant depigmenting, anti-inflammatory and even some antioxidant properties. Be happy if it's on the ingredient list. :)
Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract - goodie
Also-called: Oat Kernel Extract, Colloidal Oatmeal;Avena Sativa Kernel Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing, emollient, abrasive/scrub
When you hear oatmeal, you probably think of breakfast, but the finely ground version ofwhole oat kernels, aka colloidal oatmeal, can do good things for your skin, especially if it's dry, itchy or prone to skin-rashes oreczema.
Oat is loaded with compounds good for the body, inside or outside, such as soothing agent beta-glucan(5%), lipids (3-11%) including barrier repairing omega-3 and 6 fatty acids or phenolic antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents (avenanthramides).
The soothing, antioxidant and skin-protecting abilities of oat are so well-established that it is an active natural ingredient coveredby the FDA OTC Skin Protectantmonograph in the US, meaning that colloidaloatmeal can be claimed as an active ingredient on the INCI list and Aveeno is a mass-market brand built around oat-containing products.
If your skin is dry, irritated, inflamed or eczema-prone, colloidal oatmeal is something to try.
Arctium Lappa - goodie
Also-called: Burdock Root;Arctium Lappa Root Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing
Burdock root is a goodie plant extract that has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Also,it has someanti-fungal and seborrhea regulation magic powers that makethe ingredient especially usefulfor greasy and flaky skin and scalp.
Salix Alba Extract - goodie
Also-called: White Willow Bark Extract;Salix Alba Bark Extract | What-it-does: soothing, astringent
The extract coming from the bark of the White Willow, a big (25 m/80 ft.) tree that likes to liveon riverbanks. It's famous for containing anti-inflammatory natural salicylates (this powder, for example, is standardized to contain 53-65%), a close chemical relative to famous exfoliantsalicylic acid.
Thanks to its salicin content, willow barkis often touted as a natural alternative to salicylic acid, though it's quite questionable how effective it is as a chemical exfoliant in the tiny amounts used in cosmetics. Apart from soothing salicin, it also containsflavonoids and phenolic acids that give willow bark tonic, astringent, and antiseptic properties.
Glycine Soja Sterols
Also-called: Soybean Sterols;Glycine Soja Sterols | What-it-does: emollient
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Lecithin - goodie
What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying
A very common ingredient that can be found inall cell membranes. In cosmetics it's quite the multi-tasker: it's an emollient and water-binding ingredient but it's also an emulsifier and can be used for stabilization purposes. It's also often used to create liposomes.
Allantoin - goodie
What-it-does: soothing | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
Super common soothing ingredient. It can be found naturally in the roots & leaves of the comfrey plant, but more often than not what's in the cosmeticproductsis produced synthetically.
It's not only soothing but it' also skin-softening and protecting and can promote wound healing.
Tocopheryl Acetate
Also-called: Vitamin E Acetate;Tocopheryl Acetate | What-it-does: antioxidant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
It’s the most commonly used version of pure vitamin E in cosmetics. You can read all about the pure form here. This one is the so-called esterified version.
According to famous dermatologist, Leslie Baumann while tocopheryl acetate is more stable and has a longer shelf life, it’s also more poorly absorbed by the skin and may not have the same awesome photoprotective effects as pure Vit E.
Hydrolyzed Soy Protein
What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 - goodie
Also-called: Part of Matrixyl 3000, Pal-GHK, Formerly also Palmitoyl Oligopeptide;Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 | What-it-does: cell-communicating ingredient
A really famous peptide that is part ofMatrixyl 3000, the most sold peptide complex in the word. Before we go and find out whatthe big deal withMatrixyl 3000 is, let's just focus onPalmitoyl Tripeptide-1 itself for a bit.
It's a small three amino acid (they are the building blocks of all proteins) peptide with the amino sequence ofglycine-histidine-lysine, or GHK. GHK is attached topalmitic acid (a fatty acid) to increase oil solubility and skin penetration.
The GHK part is the important one as it's a type I collagen fragment. When collagen naturally breaks down in the skin, the resulting peptide fragments signal to the skin that it should get to work and create some nice, new collagen. Adding in collagen fragment peptides, like GHK, might trick the skin into thinking that collagen has broken down and it's time to create some more.
Therefore, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 is believed to be able to stimulate collagen production in the skin, and more collagen means fewer wrinkles and younger looking skin.
InMatrixyl 3000,Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 is coupled withPalmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7and the duo works in synergy to reduce wrinkles and give younger looking skin. According to the manufacturer's in-vivo (made on real people) test, applying 3% Matrixyl 3000 twice a day for 2 months resulted in all of the following things:
- 39.4% reduction in surface occupied by deep wrinkles
- 32.9% reduction in main wrinkle density
- 19.9% reduction in main wrinkle average depth
- 16% improvement in roughness
- 16.2% in lifting effect
- 5.5% improvement in elasticity
- 15.5% improvement in skin tone
Manufacturer results, of course,alwayshave to be taken with a pinch of salt, but if you like peptides, the Matryxil 3000 duo is one of the best-proven and most well-known ones and it's something that is worth trying.
Sodium Hydroxide
Also-called: lye;Sodium Hydroxide | What-it-does: buffering
The unfancy name for it is lye. It’s a solid white stuff that’s very alkaline and used in small amounts to adjust the pH of the product and make it just right.
For example, in case of AHA or BHA exfoliants, the right pH is super-duper important, and pH adjusters like sodium hydroxide are needed.
BTW, lye is not something new. It was already used by ancient Egyptians to help oil and fat magically turn into something else. Can you guess what? Yes, it’s soap. It still often shows up in the ingredient list of soaps and other cleansers.
Sodium hydroxide in itselfis a potent skin irritant, but once it's reacted (as it is usually in skin care products, like exfoliants) it is totallyharmless.
Tribehenin
What-it-does: emollient
It's the triglyceride of behenic acid that works as a thickening or gelling agent, as a compacting agent for pressed powders, and improves heat stability of emulsions.
Caprylyl Glycol
What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant, emollient, deodorant
It’s a handy multi-tasking ingredient that gives the skin a nice, soft feel. At the same time, it also boosts the effectiveness of other preservatives, such as the nowadays super commonly used phenoxyethanol.
The blend of these two (caprylyl glycol + phenoxyethanol) is called Optiphen, which not only helps to keep your cosmetics free from nasty things for a long time but also gives a good feel to the finished product. It's a popular duo.
Dipeptide-2 - goodie
Also-called: Part of Eyeliss;Dipeptide-2 | What-it-does: cell-communicating ingredient
A tiny peptide with only two amino acids (aminoacids are the building block of proteins, and peptides are afew amino acids attached together), Valine and Tryptophan. It's part of a 3 activescomplex called Eyeliss (with HMC and Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7) that's supposed to fight under-eye bags.
The manufacturer claims that this dipeptide in Eyeliss canincreaselymphatic circulationand the three actives together represent a "global approach to treating puffy eyes". The clinical study of the manufacturer with 20 people and 3% Eyeliss showed improvement after 56 days for 70% of the participants.
Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract
What-it-does: antioxidant
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
PEG-10 Phytosterol
What-it-does: emulsifying
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
PEG-8
What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant, solvent
A smallish polymer molecule (created from repeated units ofPolyethylene glycol, aka PEG) that's used as asolubilizer and viscosity control agent.
It is a clear, colorless liquid that is water-soluble and water-binding (aka humectant) and can help to solubilize sparingly-water soluble things (e.g. vanilla, perfumes) into water-based formulas. Thanks to its water-binding ability, it also prevents the drying out of formulas, especially when combined with the fellow hygroscopic agent, sorbitol.
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
What-it-does: viscosity controlling, absorbent/mattifier | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
A type of clay mineralthatworks as a nice helper ingredient to thickenand stabilize formulas. As a clay, it consists of platelets that have anegative charge on the surface (face) and a positive on the edge. So the face of one platelet attracts the edge of the other and this builds a so-called "house of card" structuremeaning thatMagnesium Aluminum Silicate (MAS)thickens up products and helps to suspend non-solubleparticles such as color pigments or inorganic sunscreens (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide).
As the "house of card" structure takes some time to form but collapses quickly if the formula is stirred, products thickened with MAS can be thick in the jar but become easily spreadable upon application (called thixotropy). MAS also gives nicesensory properties, it is not tacky or sticky and gives a rich, creamy skin feel. Also a good team player and works in synergy with other thickeners such as Cellulose Gum or Xanthan Gum.
Arachidyl Glucoside
What-it-does: emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing
An ingredient that is created from the attachment of the water-loving sugar molecule, glucose, and an oil-loving 20 carbon long fatty chain. This makes it a partly water- and partly oil-soluble material, meaning it functions as an emulsifier helping oil and water to mix.
Most often, it comes to the formula coupled with two fatty alcohol friends, Arachidyl and Behenyl alcohol, to make up an emulsifier trio trade namedMontanov202. As described by its manufacturer, the main thing of Montanonv 202 is that it gives creams a uniqueevanescent and lightfeel with a matt finish. It also leaves the skin soft, but not oily, is hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic making it perfect for both oilyand sensitive skin formulas.
Pentylene Glycol
What-it-does: solvent, moisturizer/humectant
A multi-functional, silky feeling helper ingredient that can do quite many things. It's used as anemulsion stabilizer, solvent and a broad spectrum antimicrobial. According to manufacturer info, it's also amoisturizer and helps to make the product feel great on the skin. It works synergistically with preservatives and helps to improvewater-resistance of sunscreens.
Sodium Acrylates Copolymer
What-it-does: viscosity controlling
A big molecule from repeated subunits that is used to form gel-like textures and create a film on the skin.
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Also-called: Sepinov EMT 10;Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer | What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising
This long-named, polymer molecule (big molecule from repeated subunits) is a helper ingredient that's good at emulsifying andstabilizing oils into water-based formulas. Italso acts as a thickening and gelling agent thatcreates nice, non-sticky and supple textures.It works over a very wide pH range (3-12)and can be used to thicken up low-ph formulas, such as exfoliants. Its recommended used range is 0.3-3%.
Cetearyl Alcohol
What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsifying, emulsion stabilising, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 1 | Comedogenicity: 2
An extremely common multitasker ingredient that gives your skin a nice soft feel (emollient) and gives body to creams and lotions. It also helps to stabilize oil-water mixes (emulsions), though it does not function as an emulsifier in itself. Its typical use level in most cream type formulas is 2-3%.
It’s a so-called fatty alcohol, a mix of cetyl and stearyl alcohol, other two emollient fatty alcohols. Though chemically speaking, it is alcohol (as in, it has an -OH group in its molecule), its properties are totally different from the properties of low molecular weight or drying alcohols such as denat. alcohol. Fatty alcohols have a long oil-soluble (and thus emollient) tailpart that makes them absolutelynon-drying and non-irritating and are totally ok for the skin.
Coco-Glucoside
What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing
A vegetable origin (coconut/palm kernel oil, glucose) cleansing agent that givesmoderate to high stable foam. It's also biodegradable and mild to the skin.
Hesperidin Methyl Chalcone - goodie
Also-called: Part of Eyeliss;Hesperidin Methyl Chalcone | What-it-does: antioxidant
This guy - let's just call it simply HMC - is a so-called flavonoid (flavonoids are natural things found it lots of fruits and vegetables).Hesperidin, in particular, is aflavononeand is foundin citrus fruits. The methylation of hesperidin gives HMC, that has well-established blood vessel protectingproperties and can be found in drugs that treat problems related to blood vessels.
As for skincare, there is a mouse study showing HMC has very promising abilities in the "treatment of UVB irradiation-induced skin inflammation and oxidative stress", or English translation = it's an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
HMC is also part of a 3 active ingredient complex called Eyeliss (with Dipeptide-2 and Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7), that's supposed to fight under-eye bags. The manufacturer claims that in their ex-vivo test HMC decreasedcapillary permeability by 25%.
All in all, HMC definitely deserves a goodie status, at least as an antioxidant but it might even do something with under-eye bags.
N-Hydroxysuccinimide
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Disodium EDTA
What-it-does: chelating
Super common little helper ingredient thathelps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time. It does so by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes.
It is typically used in tiny amounts, around 0.1% or less.
Phenoxyethanol
What-it-does: preservative
It’s pretty much the current IT-preservative. It’s safe and gentle, but even more importantly, it’s not a feared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reason paraben.
It’s not something new: it was introduced around 1950 and today it can be used up to 1% worldwide. It can be found in nature - in green tea - but the version used in cosmetics is synthetic.
Other than having a good safety profile and being quite gentle to the skin it has some other advantages too. It can be used in many types of formulations as it has great thermal stability (can be heated up to 85°C) and works on a wide range of pH levels (ph 3-10).
It’s often used together with ethylhexylglycerin as it nicely improves the preservative activity of phenoxyethanol.
Benzoic Acid
What-it-does: preservative
An Ecocert-approved, natural preservative that counts as gentle and non-irritating to the skin. Usually, it comes to the formulaas part of a preservativeblendas it's not enough on its own.
Ethylhexylglycerin
What-it-does: preservative, deodorant
If you have spottedethylhexylglycerinon the ingredient list, most probably you will see there also the current IT-preservative,phenoxyethanol. They are good friends becauseethylhexylglycerincan boost the effectiveness of phenoxyethanol (and other preservatives) and as an added bonus it feels nice on the skin too.
Also,it's an effective deodorant and a medium spreadingemollient.
