Skin Actives

Every Lipid Serum

A very common ingredient that can be found in all 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. 

Chia seeds are in fashion and there is a reason for that. They are not only a superfood for your body but putting the oil all over your face seems to be a good idea too.

Its unique property is that it's the richest known botanical source of skin moisturizing and probably anti-inflammatory alpha-linolenic acid (contains 50-60%). It also contains barrier repairing linoleic acid (17-26%) and only a small amount of very nourishing but potentially acne causing oleic acid (7%).

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The emollient plant oil coming from the seeds of Pomegranate. The red fruit has lots of seeds (100-200 per fruit), but 7 kg of them are needed for 1 kg of oil. Among the many similar plant oils, Pomegranate oil is a really unique one, as its main fatty acid (60%) is a rare one called punic acid, a so-called conjugated fatty acid with three double bonds. It also contains the common linoleic (2-10%) and oleic acids (3-12%), but only in small amounts.

Punic acid is thought to be a biologically active compound, a powerful anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant agent. The oil itself is also claimed to have strong antioxidant properties as well as having excellent nourishing and moisturizing abilities. On top of that, we also found a research that examined Pomegranate as a cosmeceutical source and it concluded that the seed oil can nicely promote the regeneration of the epidermis (the top layer of the skin).

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).

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We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

• Primary fat-soluble antioxidant in our skin
• Significant photoprotection against UVB rays
• Vit C + Vit E work in synergy and provide great photoprotection
• Has emollient properties
• Easy to formulate, stable and relatively inexpensive

An oil-loving, red-orange colored pigment that is becoming more and more well-known as a potent antioxidant.

If being an orange-colored pigment reminds you of beta-carotene from carrots, that is no coincidence: astaxanthin also belongs to the chemical group called carotenoids known for giving yellow, orange, or red color to plants. Our guy comes mostly from microalgae, a well-known and often used source is Haematococcus Pluvialis. 

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We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

A fat-soluble carotenoid pigment that can be found in dark green vegetables such as spinach, cabbage or broccoli, as well as in colorful vegetables and fruits such as corn, oranges, or peaches. It has significant antioxidant properties when taken orally or applied topically.  

According to the manufacturer's claims, Lutein is much more than just a simple antioxidant. It also increases skin hydration and elasticity and absorbs potentially harmful blue light (the one at 400-500 nm also called high energy visible light, aka HEV light). Whether HEV light is bad for the skin or not remains to be seen, but Lutein, being an awesome antioxidant, is a nice addition to any cosmetic product even if HEV-protection turns out to be a fad. 

Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA) is a great antioxidant that's also part of the body's natural antioxidant system. It's soluble both in water-rich and lipid-rich environments so it's versatile and can interact with many types of evil oxidants as well as other nice antioxidants. 

ALA seems to be a great choice for topical use as studies show it can penetrate the skin rapidly where it's converted to DHLA (dihydrolipoic acid), an even more potent antioxidant molecule.  A nicely designed (we mean double-blind, placebo-controlled) 12-week study from 2003 confirmed that 5% ALA cream can decrease skin roughness and improve general signs of photoaging statistically significantly.  A slight catch, though, is that burning and warmth in the skin was quite a common side effect, especially in the first 4 weeks. 

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We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

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.

A cholesterol based ester molecule (cholesterol + oleyl alcohol with carbonic acid) whose unique thing is that it's neither solid nor liquid but something in between called liquid crystals.

Multiple cholesteric esters are often mixed togeather to form a "cholesteric liquid crystal" structure that can reflect visible light to produce beautiful iridescent colors. 

A cholesteric ester (cholesterol + nonanoic acid) that has a unique liquid crystal structure (in between solid and liquid state). Mixed with other cholesteric esters, it can produce beautiful iridescent colors. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

It's the acronym for Butylated Hydroxy Toluene. It's a common synthetic antioxidant that's used as a preservative.

There is some controversy around BHT. It's not a new ingredient, it has been used both as a food and cosmetics additive since the 1970s. Plenty of studies tried to examine if it's a carcinogen or not. This Truth in Aging article details the situation and also writes that all these studies examine BHT when taken orally.

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We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

A biologically active component that can be found in rice bran oil. It has natural antioxidant properties and can help to stabilize other unstable plant oils.  Interestingly, it also seems to possess some natural sunscreen abilities.