Water is a great solvent. It’s neutral and doesn’t provide any strong positive or negative effects. It just helps components to mix better and to transport active components.
Squalane is a more stable equivalent of Squalene. It is a very important component of our skin. It’s a major part of natural sebum that forms a protection barrier on the skin's surface. If the barrier isn’t strong enough, your skin will become more sensitive. Squalanehelps to keep skin hydrated, protects it from the negative impact of the environment, lowers irritation, stimulates regeneration, and removes dryness. It is accepted by our skin very well and will not cause allergic reactions.
3
Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) ExtractAntioxidant
Roles: Astringent
UV Protection
Soothing
Lightening
Tones up skin
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Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil
Roles: Skin conditioning, Emollient
Comedogenic rating [ 3 ]
Good for dry skin
Bad for oily skin
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Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter
Roles: Skin conditioning, Viscosity controlling
UV Protection
Moisturizing
Anti-aging
Malassezia unsafe
Shea Butter is a great natural moisturizer everybody knows about. And it’s popular for a reason. It contains 5 essential fatty acids (palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and arachidonic), vitamins (A, D, E, F), and catechins, which are antioxidants. It moisturizes the skin and protects it from UV, cold, and other negative factors. It can be used on its own and will not harm your skin even in very high concentrations.
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Propanediol
Roles: Solvent, Viscosity controlling
Moisturizing
Hair conditioning
Propanediol is a good solvent, emollient and humectant. It helps to moisturize the skin and prevent moisture loss. In haircare products, it conditions hair and improves absorption of the product.
Stearic Acid doesn’t belong to aggressive acids. It’s a fatty acid that can be found in Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, and many natural butters and oils. The component is mostly used for formulation purposes. It makes the product spread and feel better. It’s one of the most important fatty acids in our skin cells.
Xanthan Gum is used as a thickener or rheology modifier and emulsion stabilizer. It doesn’t provide any notable skin-related effects and is used mostly for formulation purposes. It makes the product’s texture smooth and even. It’s a naturally-derived thickener. Notable fact: it can also be found in the food you eat every day, so it is 100% safe.
Benzyl Alcohol doesn’t belong to harmful alcohols and it will not dry your skin. It’s a stabilizing agent that prevents ingredients oxidization. Having this component in formulation the product will keep efficiency for a longer time. Benzyl Alcohol has a slight almond odor and is used as a fragrance ingredient very often.
Lactic Acid is the most popular and the least aggressive acid among all the AHAs. Unlike Salicylic and Glycolic acids which can irritate your skin, Lactic Acid will hardly cause any problems. The combination of its soft action and effectiveness makes it a real brilliant. It exfoliates dead cells, makes the skin tone even, clears pores, kills bacteria, moisturizes the skin and helps to keep water, helps the cells to produce Hyaluronic Acid. It also works as a strong antioxidant and anti-aging component.
It's a great acid for getting familiar with the world of AHAs. If you want to start using "fruit acids" but struggling for some reason, try to use Lactic Acid first. If your skin accepts it well, you can try stronger acids.
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Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice PowderAntioxidant
Tocopherol is one of the most popular active ingredients in cosmetics. It’s a brilliant component. It's a form of Vitamin E and it does help the skin and hair a lot. It conditions the skin, strengthens its barrier, protects it against harm, and makes the tone even. It also helps your skin and hair to resist the sun. It’s safe but can irritate sensitive skin sometimes. Pay attention to concentration!
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Phytic AcidAntioxidant
Roles: Chelating
Moisturizing
Soothing
Lightening
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Sodium Hyaluronate
Roles: Skin conditioning, Humectant
Moisturizing
Softening
Anti-aging
Rejuvenation
Good for dry skin
Sodium Hyaluronate is an amazing component! It plays very important role in skin hydration process. It helps to maintain water balance and lower water loss. Scientists have found a direct dependence between the level of Sodium Hyaluronate in cells and skin aging. That's why this component is so much important. It must be in your routine if you want to have a healthy and fresh looking skin.
Some people think that Sodium Hyaluronate and Hyaluronic acid are different names of the same component, but it is not entirely correct. Hyaluronic acid is a different chemical but with similar effects. Actually, Sodium Hyaluronate is used in cosmetics much more often because it’s more stable and has much better resistance to oxidation.
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Bacillus Ferment
Roles: Skin conditioning
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Glyceryl Caprylate
Roles: Emollient, Emulsifying, Surfactant
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Citric AcidAntioxidantAHA
Roles: Buffering, Chelating, Fragrance, Masking
Cleansing
Exfoliating
Soothing
Lightening
Lifting
Hair growth stimulating
Citric Acid is one of the AHAs and it is a super useful component! It’s a great antioxidant. It acts as a soft peeling that removes dead cells and kills bacteria. It becomes even more effective if used with other cosmetic acids. Combined formulations are more active, but can irritate sensitive skin if used too often. The component can also whiten the skin and remove dark areas.
It can be an irritator due to its naturally lower pH level of 2.2. But manufacturers also use it as a pH adjuster so in most cases you will not have any issues.
