Derma E Thickening Shampoo

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.

Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.

While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.

The common safety discussion around this ingredient involves a manufacturing byproduct called 1,4-dioxane.

Trace amounts can form during production but the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety has concluded that levels at/below 10 ppm in finished products are safe (commercial products consistently fall within acceptable margins).

True allergic reactions are uncommon and the CIR Expert Panel has confirmed this ingredient to be safe as used in cosmetics.

Because it is derived from lauric acid, it may not be fungal acne safe.

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.

D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.

Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):

Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.

This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.

Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.

This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.

Menthol also has antimicrobial properties.

1) produce more collagen (type I, III, and IV)
2) activate the same genes retinoids do

Unlike retinoids, this ingredient will not increase photosensitivity and is safe to use during pregnancy (but please still check in with your doctor!).

The flagship clinical trial from Dhaliwal et al. 2019 found 0.5% bakuchiol (twice daily) and 0.5% retinol (once daily) reduced wrinkles and hyperpigmentation equally, but bakuchiol had significantly less irritation.

Systematic reviews also back this up:

Bakuchiol is comparable to retinol for photoaging but with better tolerability. It also has mild antibacterial properties against Cutibacterium acnes and antifungal activity in vitro against Candida and dermatophytes.

The reason bakuchiol works well is due to its structure; it is a meroterpene phenol, or a hybrid molecule. The phenol half acts as an antioxidant while the terpene half is fat-loving. This helps the molecule slip through the skin barrier.

This ingredient is usually used between 0.5-2%. Only one case of contact dermatitis has ever been reported for this ingredient.

Tea tree may cause sensitivity and irritation for some people. This oil naturally contains fragrance such as linalool and limonene.

However, research shows irritation usually occurs when using pure tea tree oil and not in cosmetic products.

Tea tree oil was found to help relieve the symptoms of psoriasis in one study.

Tea tree oil is toxic when ingested. Another study showed it to caused damage to the nervous system of dogs and cats when applied to their skin or given orally.

At higher doses or for those with sensitive skin, methol-type cooling can quickly turn into burning/irritation. It can also trigger irritant dermatitis or even allergic contact dermatitis. In a large patch-test dataset, peppermint oil had a low but positive rate for this.

In cosmetics, Cosmetic Safety Reviews (CIR) concludes that peppermint oil is safe to use when formulated to be non-sensitizing with some restrictions; for instance, pulegone, a naturally occurring component of peppermint oil, should not exceed 1%.

Since peppermint oil contains fragrance allergens such as limonene, linalool, and menthol, it can be sensitizing for those with rosacea, eczema, a broken skin barrier, or just sensitive skin in general.

In Japan, this ingredient is known as Hakka Yu.

Lab studies show carvone to have antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, but it is a recognized fragrance allergen. Carvone is a mild skin sensitizer while limonene is a well-known one.

In a 21-year retrospective from a Swedish patch test clinic, 3.5% of patients tested positive for sensitive towards carvone.

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.

This ingredient has skin conditioning, anti-inflammatory, and humectant properties. Humectants help hydrate your skin by drawing moisture from the air. This helps keep your skin moisturized.

Biologically, collagen is responsible for keeping skin firm and youthful. Collagen is comprised mostly of glycine, proline, and hydroxypoline. These are amino acids.

Collagen will not increase sun sensitivity, but you should always wear sunscreen during the day.

Learn more about hydrolyzed collagen here.

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.

It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.

Tocopheryl Acetate is commonly found in both skincare and dietary supplements.

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