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The History of Whoo HwanYu Eye Cream

HwanYu Eye Cream

Luxurious eye cream with a highly concentrated formula derived from over 70 natural ingredients (including Organic Wild Ginseng) helps make the skin look 10 years younger. This advanced, superior eye cream is powered by "Allyunbosimdan" treatment, the royal court's secret skin care method that addresses the eye area, along with "Master (Gun)" ingredients. Hwanyudongango Eye cream and its "Allyunbosimdan" ingredients keep the delicate skin around eye moist, smooth, and firm.
Uploaded by: joschristensen on

Ingredients overview

Water, Dipropylene Glycol, Sorbitol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Ceramide NP, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Tricholoma Matsutake Extract, Pca Dimethicone, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Triethylhexanoin, Polygonum Multiflorum Root Extract, Sucrose Polystearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Velvet Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Panthenol, Cordyceps Sinensis Extract, Beeswax, Saussurea Involucrata Extract, Chaenomeles Sinensis Fruit Extract, PEG-100 Stearate, Cinnamomum Cassia Bark Extract, Asparagus Cochinchinensis Root Extract, Polygonatum Officinale Rhizome/​Root Extract, Juglans Regia (Walnut) Seed Extract, Diospyros Kaki Leaf Extract, Glycereth-20, Stearic Acid, Niacinamide, Butylene Glycol, Ziziphus Jujuba Fruit Extract, Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract, Poria Cocos Sclerotium Extract, Punica Granatum Fruit Extract, PEG-10 Rapeseed Sterol, Squalane, C14-22 Alcohols, Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract, Lithospermum Erythrorhizon Root Extract, Cimicifuga Racemosa Root Extract, Trifolium Pratense (Clover) Leaf Extract, Tuber Melanosporum Extract, Chrysanthellum Indicum Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Nut Extract, Artemisia Princeps Leaf Extract, Atractylodes Japonica Rhizome Extract, Cornus Officinalis Fruit Extract, Schizandra Chinensis Fruit Extract, Lycium Chinense Fruit Extract, Dimethiconol, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Panax Ginseng Leaf/​Stem Extract, Carbomer, Tromethamine, Fragrance, Arachidyl Glucoside, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate, Angelica Acutiloba Root Extract, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Cyperus Rotundus Root Extract, Phellodendron Amurense Bark Extract, Laminaria Japonica Extract, Cassia Obtusifolia Seed Extract, Cuscuta Japonica Seed Extract, Prunella Vulgaris Leaf Extract, Polygonum Aviculare Extract, Anemarrhena Asphodeloides Root Extract, Paeonia Lactiflora Root Extract, Rehmannia Glutinosa Root Extract, Eucommia Ulmoides Bark Extract, Poncirus Trifoliata Fruit Extract, Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Flower Extract, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Extract, Prunus Persica (Peach) Kernel Extract, Amomum Xanthioides Seed Extract, Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract, Citrus Unshiu Peel Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Seed Powder, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Dimocarpus Longan Fruit Extract, Lindera Strychnifolia Root Extract, Coptis Japonica Root Extract, Atractylodes Lancea Root Extract, Bambusa Textilis Stem Extract, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract, Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Extract, Ganoderma Lucidum (Mushroom) Stem Extract, Xanthan Gum, Mica, Titanium Dioxide(Ci 77891), Glycine Max (Soybean) Seed Extract, Trisodium EDTA, Cholesterol, Iron Oxides(Ci 77491), Trichosanthes Kirilowii Root Extract, Tussilago Farfara (Coltsfoot) Flower Extract, Schizonepeta Tenuifolia Extract, Belamcanda Chinensis Root Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Perilla Ocymoides Leaf Extract, Platycodon Grandiflorum Root Extract, Ophiopogon Japonicus Root Extract, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Eriobotrya Japonica Leaf Extract

Highlights

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Alcohol Free

Skim through

Ingredient name what-it-does irr., com. ID-Rating
Water solvent
Dipropylene Glycol solvent
Sorbitol moisturizer/​humectant 0, 0
Cyclopentasiloxane emollient, solvent
Panax Ginseng Root Extract antioxidant, emollient goodie
Glycerin skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant 0, 0 superstar
Dimethicone emollient 0, 1
Ceramide NP skin-identical ingredient goodie
Hydrogenated Lecithin emollient, emulsifying goodie
Tricholoma Matsutake Extract
Pca Dimethicone
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene emollient, viscosity controlling 2, 1
Triethylhexanoin emollient, perfuming
Polygonum Multiflorum Root Extract
Sucrose Polystearate emollient, emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing
Glyceryl Stearate emollient, emulsifying 0, 1-2
Velvet Extract moisturizer/​humectant
1,2-Hexanediol solvent
Panthenol soothing, moisturizer/​humectant 0, 0 goodie
Cordyceps Sinensis Extract antioxidant, emollient, moisturizer/​humectant
Beeswax emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsifying, perfuming 0, 0-2
Saussurea Involucrata Extract moisturizer/​humectant
Chaenomeles Sinensis Fruit Extract antioxidant, emollient, moisturizer/​humectant
PEG-100 Stearate surfactant/​cleansing, emulsifying 0, 0
Cinnamomum Cassia Bark Extract
Asparagus Cochinchinensis Root Extract
Polygonatum Officinale Rhizome/Root Extract
Juglans Regia (Walnut) Seed Extract
Diospyros Kaki Leaf Extract
Glycereth-20 moisturizer/​humectant, viscosity controlling
Stearic Acid emollient, viscosity controlling 0, 2-3
Niacinamide cell-communicating ingredient, skin brightening, anti-acne, moisturizer/​humectant superstar
Butylene Glycol moisturizer/​humectant, solvent 0, 1
Ziziphus Jujuba Fruit Extract
Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract
Poria Cocos Sclerotium Extract
Punica Granatum Fruit Extract
PEG-10 Rapeseed Sterol surfactant/​cleansing, emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing
Squalane skin-identical ingredient, emollient 0, 1 goodie
C14-22 Alcohols
Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract
Lithospermum Erythrorhizon Root Extract
Cimicifuga Racemosa Root Extract antimicrobial/​antibacterial, antioxidant, emollient, moisturizer/​humectant
Trifolium Pratense (Clover) Leaf Extract antioxidant
Tuber Melanosporum Extract moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Chrysanthellum Indicum Extract
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract antioxidant, soothing goodie
Ginkgo Biloba Nut Extract
Artemisia Princeps Leaf Extract
Atractylodes Japonica Rhizome Extract
Cornus Officinalis Fruit Extract
Schizandra Chinensis Fruit Extract
Lycium Chinense Fruit Extract antioxidant
Dimethiconol emollient, moisturizer/​humectant
Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil emollient goodie
Panax Ginseng Leaf/Stem Extract
Carbomer viscosity controlling 0, 1
Tromethamine buffering
Fragrance perfuming icky
Arachidyl Glucoside emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing
Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter emollient goodie
Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate soothing
Angelica Acutiloba Root Extract
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate soothing, moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Cyperus Rotundus Root Extract
Phellodendron Amurense Bark Extract soothing, anti-acne goodie
Laminaria Japonica Extract
Cassia Obtusifolia Seed Extract
Cuscuta Japonica Seed Extract
Prunella Vulgaris Leaf Extract
Polygonum Aviculare Extract antioxidant, emollient goodie
Anemarrhena Asphodeloides Root Extract
Paeonia Lactiflora Root Extract
Rehmannia Glutinosa Root Extract
Eucommia Ulmoides Bark Extract antioxidant
Poncirus Trifoliata Fruit Extract
Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Flower Extract
Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Extract
Prunus Persica (Peach) Kernel Extract moisturizer/​humectant
Amomum Xanthioides Seed Extract
Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract
Citrus Unshiu Peel Extract skin brightening, antioxidant
Nelumbo Nucifera Seed Powder
Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract antioxidant, antimicrobial/​antibacterial, preservative
Dimocarpus Longan Fruit Extract
Lindera Strychnifolia Root Extract
Coptis Japonica Root Extract soothing, antioxidant goodie
Atractylodes Lancea Root Extract
Bambusa Textilis Stem Extract
Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract antioxidant, soothing goodie
Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Extract perfuming
Ganoderma Lucidum (Mushroom) Stem Extract
Xanthan Gum viscosity controlling
Mica colorant
Titanium Dioxide(Ci 77891) colorant 0, 0
Glycine Max (Soybean) Seed Extract
Trisodium EDTA chelating
Cholesterol skin-identical ingredient, emollient 0, 0 goodie
Iron Oxides(Ci 77491) colorant 0, 0
Trichosanthes Kirilowii Root Extract
Tussilago Farfara (Coltsfoot) Flower Extract emollient
Schizonepeta Tenuifolia Extract
Belamcanda Chinensis Root Extract
Houttuynia Cordata Extract antioxidant, soothing goodie
Perilla Ocymoides Leaf Extract
Platycodon Grandiflorum Root Extract antioxidant
Ophiopogon Japonicus Root Extract
Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Extract
Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract soothing, antioxidant, antimicrobial/​antibacterial, moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Eriobotrya Japonica Leaf Extract

The History of Whoo HwanYu Eye Cream
Ingredients explained

Also-called: Aqua | 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. 

What-it-does: solvent

A clear, colorless liquid that works as a solvent and viscosity decreasing ingredient. It also has great skin-moisturizing abilities. 

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

It's a sweet tasting sugar substitute that helps your skin to hold onto water when used in cosmetic products. It also helps to thicken up products and give them a bit more slip. 

What-it-does: emollient, solvent

A super commonly used 5 unit long, cyclic structured silicone that is water-thin and does not stay on the skin but evaporates from it (called volatile silicone). Similar to other silicones, it gives skin and hair a silky, smooth feel

It's often combined with the non-volatile (i.e. stays on the skin) dimethicone as the two together form a water-resistant, breathable protective barrier on the skin without a negative tacky feel.

Also-called: True Ginseng, Ginseng, Korean Ginseng | What-it-does: antioxidant, emollient

A  traditional Korean medicine used for more than 2000 years. Regarding skin care, its main thing seems to be enhancing skin nutrition and metabolism as a result of improving blood circulation.

It also contains biologically active components referred to as ginseng saponins (ginsenosides) that have potent antioxidant properties

Glycerin - superstar
Also-called: Glycerol | 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 >>

What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

Probably the most 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 thick liquid.

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's nice). There are also scar treatment gels out there using dimethicone as their base ingredient. It helps to soften scars and increase their elasticity. 

Ceramide NP - goodie
Also-called: Ceramide 3 | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient

One of the many types of ceramides that can be found naturally in the upper layer of the skin. Ceramides make up about 50% of the goopy stuff that's between our skin cells and play a super important role in having a healthy skin barrier and keeping the skin hydrated. It works even better when combined with its pal, Ceramide 1.

We wrote way more about ceramides at ceramide 1, so click here to know more.

What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying

It's the chemically chopped up version of normal lecithin. Most often it's used to create liposomes and to coat and stabilize other ingredients. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling | Irritancy: 2 | Comedogenicity: 1

A synthetic liquid oil that can replace mineral oil or silicone oils in the cosmetic formulas. There are different grades depending on the molecular weight ranging from very light, volatile, non-residue leaving ones to more substantial, slight residue leaving ones.

Apart from leaving the skin soft and smooth (emollient), it's also used as a waterproofing agent in sunscreens or makeup products and as a shine enhancer in lip gloss formulas. 

What-it-does: emollient, perfuming

Triethylhexanoin is a colorless to pale yellow liquid ester that makes the skin nice and smooth, aka emollient. It has a pleasant non-sticky, non-greasy feel to it, gives formulas smooth application properties and also helps moisture retention. 

Also-called: Fo Ti Root

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

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 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.

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: solvent

A really multi-functional helper ingredient that can do several things in a skincare product: it can bring a soft and pleasant feel to the formula, it can act as a humectant and emollient, it can be a solvent for some other ingredients (for example it can help to stabilize perfumes in watery products) and it can also help to disperse pigments more evenly in makeup products. And that is still not all: it can also boost the antimicrobial activity of preservatives

Panthenol - goodie
Also-called: Pro-Vitamin B5 | What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

An easy-to-formulate, commonly used, nice to have ingredient that’s also called pro-vitamin B5. As you might guess from the “pro” part, it’s a precursor to vitamin B5 (whose fancy name is pantothenic acid). 

Its main job in skincare products is to moisturise the skin. It’s a humectant meaning that it can help the skin to attract water and then hold onto it. There is also research showing that panthenol can help our skin to produce more lovely lipids that are important for a strong and healthy skin barrier. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Cera Alba | What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsifying, perfuming | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0-2

It's the yellow, solid stuff that you probably know from beeswax candles. It's a natural material produced by honey bees to build their honeycomb.

As for skincare, it's used as an emollient and thickening agent. It's super common in lip balms and lipsticks. 

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing, emulsifying | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

A very common water-loving surfactant and emulsifier that helps to keep water and oil mixed nicely together. 

It's often paired with glyceryl stearate - the two together form a super effective emulsifier duo that's salt and acid tolerant and works over a wide pH range. It also gives a "pleasing product aesthetics", so no wonder it's popular.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 2-3

A common multi-tasker fatty acid. It makes your skin feel nice and smooth (emollient), gives body to cream type products and helps to stabilize water and oil mixes (aka emulsions).

Niacinamide - superstar
Also-called: vitamin B3, nicotinamide | What-it-does: cell-communicating ingredient, skin brightening, anti-acne, moisturizer/humectant
  • 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
Read all the geeky details about Niacinamide here >>

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.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: astringent

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Squalane - goodie
What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

It seems to us that squalane is in fashion and there is a reason for it. Chemically speaking, it is a saturated  (no double bonds) hydrocarbon (a molecule consisting only of carbon and hydrogen), meaning that it's a nice and stable oily liquid with a long shelf life. 

It occurs naturally in certain fish and plant oils (e.g. olive), and in the sebum (the oily stuff our skin produces) of the human skin. As f.c. puts it in his awesome blog post, squalane's main things are "emolliency, surface occlusion, and TEWL prevention all with extreme cosmetic elegance". In other words, it's a superb moisturizer that makes your skin nice and smooth, without being heavy or greasy.

What-it-does: emulsion stabilising

A 100% vegetable origin emulsifier that usually comes to the formula with its buddy called C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside. The duo is trade-named Montanov L and works as an effective oil in water emulsifier. It creates ultra-soft, light texture, has excellent dermo-compatibility and is readily biodegradable.

Chemically speaking, it is a mixture of fatty alcohols with 14 to 22 carbon atoms in their fatty chains. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Black Cohosh | What-it-does: antimicrobial/antibacterial, antioxidant, emollient, moisturizer/humectant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: antioxidant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Black Truffle Extract | What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

If you are into fine dining, I am sure you have seen black truffle being grated by the waiter on top of your food in a Micheline star restaurant. It's one of the most expensive edible mushrooms in the world.

As for what it's doing in a cosmetic product, it's a great question and we cannot say that there are tons of great research papers out there giving a reliable answer. What we could find is a patent application claiming that a cosmetic product with black truffle extract can fight reactive oxygen species (aka antioxidant), it can improve blood flow by expanding the capillary blood vessels and it can inhibit skin irritation

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Green Tea | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing
  • Green tea is one of the most researched natural ingredients
  • The active parts are called polyphenols, or more precisely catechins (EGCG being the most abundant and most active catechin)
  • There can be huge quality differences between green tea extracts. The good ones contain 50-90% catechins (and often make the product brown and give it a distinctive smell)
  • Green tea is proven to be a great antioxidant, UV protectant, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic and antimicrobial
  • Because of these awesome properties green tea is a great choice for anti-aging and also for skin diseases including rosacea, acne and atopic dermatitis
Read all the geeky details about Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract here >>

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: antioxidant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

A thick, high molecular weight silicone that is usually diluted in another, lighter silicone fluid (like dimethicone or cyclopentasiloxane). The dimethiconol containing silicone blends leave a silky smooth, non-greasy film on the skin.

Also-called: Macadamia Oil | What-it-does: emollient

The golden yellow oil coming from the Macadamia nut, a native Australian nut. Similar to other plant oils, it's loaded with emollient and nourishing fatty acids. It's a high oleic acid oil (50-67% oleic acid and only 0-5% linoleic acid) that makes it very emollient and ideal for dry skin types (and less ideal for acne-prone skin).

Its unique property is that it contains high amounts of a rare fatty acid called palmitoleic acid (12-25%) that give Macadamia oil a "cushiony" feel. It's also easily absorbed and makes the skin soft and supple. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

A big molecule created from repeated subunits (a polymer of acrylic acid) that magically converts a liquid into a nice gel formula.  It usually has to be neutralized with a base (such as sodium hydroxide) for the thickening to occur and it creates viscous, clear gels that also feel nice and non-tacky on the skin. No wonder, it is a very popular and common ingredient. Typically used at 1% or less in most formulations.

What-it-does: buffering

It's a little helper ingredient that helps to set the pH of the products to be right. It has an alkaline pH and can neutralize acidic ingredients.

Fragrance - icky
Also-called: Fragrance, Parfum;Parfum/Fragrance | What-it-does: perfuming

Exactly what it sounds: nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. Fragrance in the US and parfum in the EU is a generic term on the ingredient list that is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average (but it can have as much as 200 components!). 

If you are someone who likes to know what you put on your face then fragrance is not your best friend - there's no way to know what’s really in it.  

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 named Montanov 202. As described by its manufacturer, the main thing of Montanonv 202 is that it gives creams a unique evanescent and light feel with a matt finish. It also leaves the skin soft, but not oily, is hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic making it perfect for both oily and sensitive skin formulas. 

Also-called: Shea Butter | What-it-does: emollient

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 and used as a magic moisturizer and emollient.

But it's not only a simple emollient, it regenerates and soothes the skin, protects it from external factors (such as UV rays or wind) and is also rich in antioxidants (among others vitamin A, E, F, quercetin and epigallocatechin gallate). If you are looking for rich emollient benefits + more, shea is hard to beat. 

What-it-does: soothing

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Licorice | 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. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Amur Cork Tree Bark Extract, Oubaku Ekisu | What-it-does: soothing, anti-acne

traditional East Asian medicine that has a couple of recent studies to back up its positive effects on the skin.

It seems to have potent anti-inflammatory activity, it's a mild antioxidant and also has strong anti-bacterial effect for acne causing bacteria, Propionibacterium acne. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Knotgrass Extract, Elix-IR | What-it-does: antioxidant, emollient

A flavonoid-rich plant extract coming from knotgrass that is claimed to protect the skin from both UV and Infrared damage.  By now it's pretty well-known that UV-light is the number one external skin-aging factor, however, *sigh* it looks like UV is not the only kind of light that causes bad things to happen to the skin.

Infrared light (760 nm to 1 mm) is the spectral band above visible light and there is some research concluding that it can accelerate skin aging via multiple mechanisms, one of them being the stimulation of the production of evil collagen-destroying enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases (MMP).

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: antioxidant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: astringent

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Satsuma Mandarin, Satsuma Orange | What-it-does: skin brightening, antioxidant

Out of the more than 900 Citrus species known today, Citrus Unshiu is a seedless, easy to peel tangerine coming from the Japanese town Satsuma. The peel extract used in cosmetics is mainly created from the "press-cake", the by-product of the juice industry and as it turns out, what's waste to one industry is a useful ingredient to another. 

In cosmetics, the main thing of the Citrus Unshiu Peel Extract is being a skin-brightening or whitening agent. In-vitro (made in test tubes) and animal studies both show promising results for inhibiting tyrosinase, the famous enzyme regulating melanin production. It also contains antioxidant components such as carotenoids, coumarins,  limonoids, and flavonoids that might be useful for the skin to protect itself from UV caused damages. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Japanese Pepper, Korean Pepper, Sanshō, Chopi | What-it-does: antioxidant, antimicrobial/antibacterial, preservative

If you are into Japanese cuisine, you might know this guy as Japanese pepper or Sanshō pepper that is known for its unique fresh aroma and appetite increasing spicy sensation.

As for the skin benefits of Zanthoxylum Piperitum, it might have antioxidant effects (with active components called hyperoside and quercitrin), but more importantly, it is an antibacterial and natural preservative agent. It is pretty common in K-Beauty products, as it's one of the three natural extracts that make up the popular Korean preservative called EURO-NApre. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Japanese Goldthread Root Extract | What-it-does: soothing, antioxidant

The extract coming from the root of the traditional medicinal herb, Coptis Japonica or Japanese Goldthread. The plant is used traditionally in East Asia for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial abilities.

Other than that, there is also an abstract from the International Journal of Cosmetic Science that found Coptis Japonica Root Extract and its active component called berberine to show potent inhibition of triglyceride (aka fat) accumulation and subcutaneous preadipocytes (the cells that become later fat cells) differentiation meaning that Goldthread Extract might also be useful in slimming and anti-cellulite products.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Ginger Root Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing

The extract coming from ginger, the lovely spice that we all know from the kitchen. It is also a medicinal plant used both in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for pretty much everything you can imagine (muscular pain, sore throat, nausea, fever or cramps,  just to give a few examples).

As for ginger and skincare, the root extract contains the biologically active component called gingerol that has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Combined with Bisabololthe duo works synergistically to sooth the skin and take down redness. 

Also-called: Thyme | What-it-does: perfuming

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

It's one of the most commonly used thickeners and emulsion stabilizers. If the product is too runny, a little xanthan gum will make it more gel-like. Used alone, it can make the formula sticky and it is a good team player so it is usually combined with other thickeners and so-called rheology modifiers (helper ingredients that adjust the flow and thus the feel of the formula). The typical use level of Xantha Gum is below 1%, it is usually in the 0.1-0.5% range. 

Btw, Xanthan gum is all natural, a chain of sugar molecules (polysaccharide) produced from individual sugar molecules (glucose and sucrose) via fermentation. It’s approved by Ecocert and also used in the food industry (E415). 

Also-called: CI 77019 | What-it-does: colorant

A super versatile and common mineral powder that comes in different particle sizes. It is a multi-tasker used to improve skin feel, increase product slip, give the product light-reflecting properties, enhance skin adhesion or serve as an anti-caking agent.

It is also the most commonly used "base" material for layered composite pigments such as pearl-effect pigments. In this case, mica is coated with one or more metal oxides (most commonly titanium dioxide) to achieve pearl effect via the physical phenomenon known as interference. 

Also-called: Titanium Dioxide/Ci 77891;Ci 77891 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

Ci 77891 is the color code of titanium dioxide. It's a white pigment with great color consistency and dispersibility.

Also-called: Black Soybean Extract

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: chelating

A common helper ingredient that works as a so-called chelating agent.  It helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes.

Cholesterol - goodie
What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

It's one of the important lipids that can be found naturally in the outer layer of the skin. About 25% of the goopy stuff between our skin cells consists of cholesterol. Together with ceramides and fatty acids, they play a vital role in having a healthy skin barrier and keeping the skin hydrated. 

Apart from being an important skin-identical ingredient, it's also an emollient and stabilizer

Also-called: Ci 77491/77492/77499 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

A bit of a sloppy ingredient name as it covers not one but three pigments: red, yellow and black iron oxide.

The trio is invaluable for "skin-colored" makeup products  (think your foundation and pressed powder) as blending these three shades carefully can produce almost any shade of natural-looking flesh tones. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: astringent, emollient

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing

Houttuynia cordata is a flowering plant native to Southeast Asia. It is eaten as a leaf vegetable, and also has a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine, including as an attempted treatment for SARS (it didn’t really work). Regarding cosmetics, however, houttuynia cordata extract has a good bit of potential! 

The main active components in the plant are these fancy chemicals called flavonoids. Houttuynia cordata specifically has a good amount of polyphenolic flavonoids, four common ones being quercetin, quercitrin, hyperoside, and rutin. All of these exhibit anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties. Quercitrin has also been shown to decrease damage from UVB rays, which is an added bonus. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the flavonoid content of this extract can depend on if the extract is taken from the roots or the leaves, as well as if it’s a water extraction or an alcohol extraction.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: antioxidant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Skullcap Root Extract | What-it-does: soothing, antioxidant, antimicrobial/antibacterial, astringent, moisturizer/humectant

A traditional Chinese herbal medicine loaded with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory flavonoids such as baicalin, baicalein, and wogonin.

If that would not be enough, Skullcap Root is also claimed to have antimicrobial and antifungal properties (also against P.acnes and Malassezia furfur) as well as some skin-brightening activity. A multi-functional skin-goodie.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

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