Dashu Blue Sedum Moist All-In One

Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.

Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.

This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.

Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

This ingredient is volatile which means it will mostly evaporate (but it evaporates slower than older cyclomethicones, like Cyclotetrasiloxane).

Typical concentration ranges from 1-30% depending on if it's being used to tweak the feel of a product or acting as the main emollient.

You might have heard of "niacin flush", or the reddening of skin that causes itchiness. Niacinamide has not been found to cause this.

In very rare cases, some individuals may not be able to tolerate niacinamide at all or experience an allergic reaction to it.

If you are experiencing flaking, irritation, and dryness with this ingredient, be sure to double check all your products as this ingredient can be found in all categories of skincare.

When incorporating niacinamide into your routine, look out for concentration amounts. Typically, 5% niacinamide provides benefits such as fading dark spots. However, if you have sensitive skin, it is better to begin with a smaller concentration.

When you apply niacinamide to your skin, your body converts it into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD is an essential coenzyme that is already found in your cells as "fuel" and powers countless biological processes.

In your skin, NAD helps repair cell damage, produce new healthy cells, support collagen production, strengthen the skin barrier, and fight environmental stressors (like UV and pollution).

Our natural NAD levels start to decline with age, leading to slower skin repair, visible aging, and a weaker skin barrier. By providing your skin niacinamide, you're recharging your skin's NAD levels. This leads to stronger, healthier, and younger looking skin.

Another name for vitamin B3 is nicotinamide. This vitamin is water-soluble and our bodies don't store it. We obtain Vitamin B3 from either food or skincare. Meat, fish, wheat, yeast, and leafy greens contain vitamin B3.

The type of niacinamide used in skincare is synthetically created.

Emulsifiers prevent oils and waters from separating.

Polyisobutene is not absorbed by the skin.

These "skin-like" liquid crystals improve skin barrier integrity and promote the delivery of actives into the skin.

This ingredient is well-tolerated and has no significant sensitization data.

Because it is derived from the fatty acids in olive oil, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.

This ingredient is also known as part of Olivem 1000, with Cetearyl Olivate being the other part.

According to a manufacturer, this ingredient helps preserve the natural microbiome of skin. Having a healthy microbiome helps keep our skin healthy and protects against harmful bacteria.

Please note, having a healthy microbiome is different from fungal acne; a healthy microbiome includes small amounts of yeast that normally live on your skin without causing problems.

Fungal acne happens when one type of yeast (Malassezia) grows out of control. This is usually because it's feeding on certain oils or fatty acids. Due to the olive oil base, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.

Interestingly, it has some brightening research behind it too; the purified fraction of sprouted mung bean extract was better than arbutin at reducing melanin production in cells. Sprouted extracts also blocked tyrosinase (the enzyme that triggers pigment production) and this effect is mostly credited to a compound called vitexin.

In a separate study, researchers packaged mung been seed coat extract into tiny delivery particles called niosomes (similar idea to liposomes) and found it protected skin cells from UV damage in lab testing + boosted collagen production.

Another study tested creams with 10-25% mung bean seed coat extract and the version with the highest amount (25%) had the strongest antioxidant activity.

It's worth noting most of this evidence is in-vitro and early-stage formulation work rather than the large clinical trials on humans.

Propanediol is not likely to cause sensitivity and considered safe to use. It is derived from corn or petroleum with a clear color and no scent.

Typical use levels in formulas range from 2-10%.

The CIR Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe as a cosmetic ingredient.

Since this ingredient is an ester of oleic acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. Oleic acid is a fatty acid that falls into the C11-24 range that Malassezia can metabolize.

Because it is not a free-fatty acid, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).

Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.

Your skin has cells called fibroblasts that build collagen (the stuff that keeps skin firm and smooth). Adenosine basically flips a switch on these cells that tells them to get to work making more collagen and other proteins. These cells slow down on their own as skin ages, so Adenosine helps give them a little nudge to keep going.

The clinical backing is pretty solid too.

A blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 126 women aged 45-65 tested a 0.1% cream twice daily and found real improvements in crow's feet and frown lines using a precise 3D skin-mapping technique; these changes showed up by week 3 and held at 2 months.

A later study using Adenosine-loaded dissolving microneedle patches reported gains in wrinkle depth, dermal density, elasticity, and hydration.

On concentrations, South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has set 0.04% as the approved functional anti-wrinkle level. You'll typically see this ingredient used somewhere in the 0.04-0.1% range since it works at low doses.

This ingredient has been found safe for cosmetics with the data showing no irritation or sensitization.

Overall, this is a great ingredient for any anti-aging routine and has no photosensitizing effect, so it suits both AM and PM use.

On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.

One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).

Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.

You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.

Research shows it can encourage your skin cells to turn over and renew by stimulating keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation.

It also has mild keratolytic properties to help loosen and shed dead skin cells without being harsh.

Studies also suggest allantoin can help calm inflammation by dialing down some of the chemical signals your skin sends out when it is irritated.

This ingredient is typically used in the 0.1-0.5% range, and the FDA recognizes it as a skin protectant in OTC products up to 2%.

Overall, allantoin is a wonderful addition to most routines; it is stable across a wide pH range (~4-8), works well with other ingredients, and is considered non-sensitizing/non-irritating.

Fun fact: Allantoin is naturally occurring in comfrey root, beets, chamomile, and wheat sprouts. Our bodies even produce it as a byproduct of uric acid metabolism.

Traditional Iranian folk medicine uses Lavender extract to help treat inflammation.

Lavender extract may have a scent.

It contains linalool, a known allergen. However, lavender extract contains less linalool than lavender essential oil.

Borago Officinalis Seed Oil is an antioxidant. Antioxidants help fight free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells.

Folk medicine in European cultures used cornflowers to help treat eye inflammation.

Fun fact: Cornflowers were used to determine if love was returned. Young men would wear cornflowers and if the color faded quickly, it meant the love was not reciprocated.

Antioxidant components in chamomile make it an effective ingredient to help slow the signs of aging. Antioxidants help fight free-radical molecules, or molecules that may damage your skin.

Essential oils from chamomile have been found to improve wound healing due to its antimicrobial properties.

Ancient Greeks and Egyptians used Chamomile to treat skin redness and dryness. Chamomile has also been used to help treat stomach issues.

A follow-up clinical trial found that a topical crosslinked HA serum applied after fillers, microneedling, or chemical peels was well-tolerated and enhanced skin quality at 14 / 28 days.

More recent research suggests that concentrations as low as 0.03% can act as a penetration enhancer for other skincare actives.

Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:

Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.

Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.

You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.

Because hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid is smaller in size, it can slip past your outermost layer of skin more easily than full-sized HA.

Most formulations will combine all sizes to get the best of both worlds.

Typical usage levels range from 0.01-1%. Any percentage higher than 2% might become goopy and tacky.

The only catch is that HA isn't a single thing; it actually comes in a wide range of molecular weights (~50 - 2,000+ kDA) and size matters.

Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.

This is why the best HA serums blend the two sizes together so you get the best of both worlds.

The majority of cosmetic HA is produced by bacterial fermentation, typically using Streptococcus or Bacillus strains. Typical use levels in skincare sit around 0.1-2%.

A clinical study using a 0.2% low-molecular weight HA gel showed improvement in facial seborrheic dermatitis with excellent tolerance.

These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid: