Ultra-Potent Brightening Serum
Highlights
Key Ingredients
Other Ingredients
Skim through
Ingredient name | what-it-does | irr., com. | ID-Rating |
---|---|---|---|
Hydroquinone | skin brightening | ||
Propylene Glycol | moisturizer/humectant, solvent | 0, 0 | |
Alcohol Denat | antimicrobial/antibacterial, solvent, viscosity controlling | icky | |
Azelaic Acid | anti-acne, soothing, buffering | superstar | |
Aqua (Water) | solvent | ||
Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water | soothing | goodie | |
Lactic Acid (L) | exfoliant, moisturizer/humectant, buffering | superstar | |
Kojic Acid | antioxidant, skin brightening | ||
Salicylic Acid | exfoliant, anti-acne, soothing, preservative | superstar | |
Alcohol | antimicrobial/antibacterial, solvent, viscosity controlling | icky | |
Ascorbic Acid (L) | antioxidant, skin brightening, buffering | superstar | |
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose | surfactant/cleansing, viscosity controlling | 0, 1 | |
Sodium Hydroxide | buffering |
Admire my SKIN Ultra-Potent Brightening SerumIngredients explained
- It's a helper ingredient that improves the freeze-thaw stability of products
- It's also a solvent, humectant and to some extent a penetration enhancer
- It has a bad reputation among natural cosmetics advocates but cosmetic scientists and toxicology experts do not agree (read more in the geeky details section)
- It's a super common and super debated skincare ingredient
- It has several benefits: great solvent, penetration enhancer, creates cosmetically elegant, light formulas, great astringent and antimicrobial
- It can be very drying if it's in the first few ingredients on an ingredient list
- Some experts even think that regular exposure to alcohol damages skin barrier and causes inflammation though it's a debated opinion (read more in geeky details tab)
- Superstar ingredient with antibacterial, skin cell regulating, anti-inflammatory and skin-lightening magic properties
- It is especially useful for acne-prone or rosacea-prone skin types (in concentration 10% and up)
- It is a prescription drug in the US but can be freely purchased in the EU in an up to 10% concentration
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.
The distillate created from different parts of the hazelnut-bush-like magic tree, commonly called Witch Hazel. Hamamelis Virginiana Water is a bit of a sloppy ingredient name as the leaves, the twigs and the bark can be used to create extracts or distillates and the different parts contain different amounts of biologically active components. But what you are getting is probably a nice water with astringent, soothing, antioxidant and antibacterial magic properties.
We went into great detail about Witch Hazel in cosmetics here, detailing the main biologically active components and how they are different in different parts of the plant. Click here and read more >>
- It’s the second most researched AHA after glycolic acid
- It gently lifts off dead skin cells to reveal newer, fresher, smoother skin
- It also has amazing skin hydrating properties
- In higher concentration (10% and up) it improves skin firmness, thickness and wrinkles
- Choose a product where you know the concentration and pH value because these two greatly influence effectiveness
- Don’t forget to use your sunscreen (in any case but especially so next to an AHA product)
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
- It's one of the gold standard ingredients for treating problem skin
- It can exfoliate skin both on the surface and in the pores
- It's a potent anti-inflammatory agent
- It's more effective for treating blackheads than acne
- For acne combine it with antibacterial agents like benzoyl peroxide or azelaic acid
Simply alcohol refers to ethanol and it's a pretty controversial ingredient. It has many instant benefits: it's a great solvent, penetration enhancer, creates cosmetically elegant, light formulas, great astringent and antimicrobial. No wonder it's popular in toners and oily skin formulas.
The downside is that it can be very drying if it's in the first few ingredients on an ingredient list.
Some experts even think that regular exposure to alcohol damages skin barrier and causes inflammation though it's a debated opinion. If you wanna know more, we wrote a more detailed explanation about what's the deal with alcohol in skincare products at alcohol denat. (it's also alcohol, but with some additives to make sure no one drinks it).
- Works best between a concentration of 5-20%
- Boosts the skin’s own collagen production
- Fades pigmentation and brown spots
- If used under sunscreen it boosts its UV protection
- Extremely unstable and oxidizes very easily in presence of light or air
- Stable in solutions with water only if pH is less than 3.5 or in waterless formulations
- Vit E + C work in synergy and provide superb photoprotection
- Ferulic acid doubles the photoprotection effect of Vit C+E and helps to stabilize Vit C
- Potent Vit. C serums might cause a slight tingling on sensitive skin
A handy helper ingredient (a polymer, i.e. big molecule from repeated subunits) that is used to stabilize emulsions as well as to thicken up products. It can also stabilize foam in cleansing products.
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 itself is a potent skin irritant, but once it's reacted (as it is usually in skin care products, like exfoliants) it is totally harmless.
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what‑it‑does | skin brightening |
what‑it‑does | moisturizer/humectant | solvent |
irritancy, com. | 0, 0 |
what‑it‑does | antimicrobial/antibacterial | solvent | viscosity controlling |
what‑it‑does | anti-acne | soothing | buffering |
what‑it‑does | solvent |
what‑it‑does | soothing |
what‑it‑does | exfoliant | moisturizer/humectant | buffering |
what‑it‑does | antioxidant | skin brightening |
what‑it‑does | exfoliant | anti-acne | soothing | preservative |
what‑it‑does | antimicrobial/antibacterial | solvent | viscosity controlling |
what‑it‑does | antioxidant | skin brightening | buffering |
what‑it‑does | surfactant/cleansing | viscosity controlling |
irritancy, com. | 0, 1 |
what‑it‑does | buffering |