Highlights
Key Ingredients
Skim through
| Ingredient name | what-it-does | irr., com. | ID-Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erythromycin | |||
| Tretinoin | cell-communicating ingredient | superstar | |
| Poloxamer 407 | emulsifying, viscosity controlling, surfactant/​cleansing | ||
| Polyethylene Glycol 400 | solvent | 0, 1 | |
| Propylene Glycol | moisturizer/​humectant, solvent | 0, 0 | |
| Mentha Oil | perfuming | icky | |
| Purified Water | solvent |
DaeHwa E-sol GelIngredients explained
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
- Tretinoin (a metabolite of vitamin A) is the gold standard anti-aging ingredient that is also FDA-approved (and it's the only one so far!)
- It's an all around skin issue fixer as it works at the skin cell level and makes your skin cells behave in a healthy and normal way
- It makes the skin less wrinkled, firmer, smoother and tighter, everything you could want from an anti-aging ingredient
- It's also an effective acne treatment. It normalizes keratinization and makes the pores produce less sebum
- It's also a skin lightener though not as effective as gold-standard hydroquinone.
- Side effects with tretinoin are very common. Irritation, skin flaking, redness, and drier skin are usual
- Do not use tretinoin (or any form of retinoids) while pregnant
- To minimize side effects introduce tretinoin slowly into your routine (see more how to use tips in geeky details)
A synthetic big copolymer molecule that is used mainly as a solubilizer (make small amounts of oil-loving things soluble in water-based formulas) and gelling agent.
In general, poloxamers are interesting big molecules composed of three blocks: the middle block is an oil-loving part (from propylene oxide units, if you're into chemistry), while the left and right blocks are two water-loving parts (from ethylene oxide units). This means that poloxamers are partly water and partly oil soluble and thus they are surface active agents acting as emulsifiers and/or cleansers. The size of both the oil and water-soluble part can vary, and the numbers in the name of the molecule refer to both the overall size of the whole molecule and to the ratio of the water-soluble part.
This particular guy, Poloxamer 407, is a big one with significant water-soluble part (70%) hence it works as a solubilizer to make small amounts of oil-loving ingredients (such as essential oils) soluble in water-based formulas. It is also the best gelling and body giving agent out of the poloxamers commonly used in cosmetic products.
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
- 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)
The essential oil coming from steam distillation of freshly harvested, flowering peppermint sprigs. Its major component is menthol that gives the oil its well-known refreshing and cooling properties. Peppermint oil is traditionally used as an inhalant for cold and coughs and there is also some clinical data validating its use against headaches by rubbing a peppermint oil cream on the forehead.
As for skincare, other than the nice grassy-minty smell and the refreshing sensations, we cannot write good things. It can be a skin irritant, so much so that it is a well-known counterirritant for muscle pains creating mild surface irritation to make things better in the deeper layers. But for everyday skincare, counterirritation is not something you wanna do, so we think that peppermint oil is better to avoid, especially if your skin is sensitive.
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.
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| what‑it‑does | cell-communicating ingredient |
| what‑it‑does | emulsifying | viscosity controlling | surfactant/cleansing |
| what‑it‑does | solvent |
| irritancy, com. | 0, 1 |
| what‑it‑does | moisturizer/humectant | solvent |
| irritancy, com. | 0, 0 |
| what‑it‑does | perfuming |
| what‑it‑does | solvent |