Restores the skin's barrier and restores the skin's hydration and radiance. Uploaded by: ainhoamorablaz on 02/10/2024.
Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Niacinamide, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil, Ethylhexyl Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Phytosphingosine, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Cetyl Palmitate, Ceteareth-20, Ceteareth-12, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Cholesterol, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum.
Alcohol Free. Fragrance and Essential Oil Free.
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.
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.
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 called stearic acid. It can be produced from most vegetable oils (in oils three fatty acid molecules 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. Its safety really is beyond any doubt.
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) tail part that makes them absolutely non-drying and non-irritating and are totally ok for the skin.
A light emollient ester (C8-10 fatty acids connected to C12-18 fatty alcohols) that absorbs quickly and leaves a dry but silky finish on the skin. In terms of skin feel, it is similar to Dicaprylyl Carbonate, another commonly used light emollient.
A multi-functional skincare superstar with several proven benefits for the skin. Great anti-aging, wrinkle smoothing ingredient used at 4-5% concentration. Fades brown spots alone or in combination with amino sugar, acetyl glucosamine. Increases ceramide synthesis that results in a stronger, healthier skin barrier and better skin hydration. Can help to improve several skin conditions including acne, rosacea, and atopic dermatitis.
When it comes to cosmetic oils and hype, argan oil is for sure leading the way. Dubbed as the liquid gold of Morocco, we have to admit we have some trouble determining why this oil enjoys such a special miracle status. Not that it's not good, it is good, even great but reading the research about argan and a bunch of other plant oils we just do not see the big, unique differentiating factor (though that might be our fault not reading enough, obvs.) So, argan oil comes from the kernel of the argan fruit that comes from the argan tree that grows only in Morocco. The tree is slow growing and getting the oil is a hard job. The traditional process is that the ripe argan fruits fall from the tree, then goats eat them up and poop out the seeds. The seeds are collected and smashed with a stone to get the kernels inside. This part is the hard one as the seeds have extremely hard shells. Once the kernels are obtained, the oil is pressed out from them (the kernels contain about 50% oil). As for skincare, argan oil is loaded with lots of skin goodies (but so are many other plant oils): it contains 80% nourishing and moisturizing unsaturated fatty acids, mainly oleic (38-50%), linoleic (28-38%) and palmitic (10-18%). It also contains a relatively large amount of antioxidant vitamin E (600-900 mg/kg, about twice as much as olive), small amounts of antioxidant phenols (including caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and epicatechin), as well as some rare sterols with soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. Thanks to all the above goodness in argan oil, it can greatly nourish and moisturize the skin and hair. It's also claimed to be able to neutralize collagen-damaging free radicals, help reduce scars, and revitalize and improve skin elasticity. You can even read that argan might help acne-prone skin, but being a high oleic oil, we would be careful with that. All in all, argan oil is a real goodie but we do not fully understand the special miracle status it enjoys.
A clear, almost colorless (or slightly yellowish) oily liquid (an ester to be precise) that's used as a medium spreading emollient. It gives skin a nice and smooth after-feel and it's very good at reducing oiliness or greasiness coming from other heavier oils in the formula.
Unless you live under a rock you must have heard about shea butter. It's probably the most hyped up natural butter in skincare today. It comes from the seeds of African Shea or Karite Trees.
