Glow Jar Beauty Light Squalane Moisturizer

This ingredient is considered safe and human testing of concentrations between 2.5-2.7% were found minimal irritation. Just know, there have been very rare cases of the palmitate family causing contact dermatitis.

This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe because it contains a C16 ester (palmitic acid) that falls into the C11-24 range that Malassezia can feed on.

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.

Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.

Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.

This is due to how structurally similar it is to what your skin already produces.

Though it is mostly an emollient that helps soften and hydrate skin, it also has some humectant and occlusive action. Humectants help the skin retain moisture while occlusives seal it in, making squalane a triple-threat moisturizer.

Research shows it has antioxidant capabilities that help protect against stressors like UV exposure, specifically UVA induced oxidative stress. This study also found that it supports collagen biosynthesis in human dermal fibroblasts.

No clinical study has reported significant adverse effects and irritation reactions are very rare from this ingredient (even at 100% concentration).

Overall, it's a fantastic ingredient for hydration and is suitable for all skin types.

This depends on the source. Squalane can be derived from both plants and animals. Most squalane used in skincare comes from plants.

Please note: the source of squalane is only known if disclosed by the brand. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have any questions about their squalane.

Read more about squalene with an "e".

Though squalane is often called an oil, it’s technically not one. It is a hydrocarbon, meaning it is only made of carbon and hydrogen. True oils are triglycerides and made of fatty acids and glycerol.

The term “oil-free” isn’t regulated so companies can define it however they want. Some exclude all oils, while others just avoid mineral oil or comedogenic oils.

Squalane has a comedogenic rating of 1 from the original 1972 study that tested raw ingredients under occlusion on rabbit ears. This system is not standardized or peer-reviewed, and using the raw ingredients is very different from how diluted cosmetic formulations are used on human skin.

A comedogenic rating of 1 means it is "unlikely to clog pores" according to the original rating system.

The overall formula of a product matters more than the individual ingredients on whether or not it will cause clogged pores.

This oil is rich in fatty acids, including: two types of linoleic acid (~30-34%), oleic acid (17%), and palmiteic acid (35%). Note these numbers are averages, and different parts of the plant will vary.

Palmitoleic acid has been shown to help soothe inflammation and promote wound healing. It is also naturally found in the fat of our skin.

Overall, seabuckthorn oil is great for nourishing, hydrating, and soothing skin. While it shows UV protecting properties, it should not replace sunscreen.

Due to the rich fatty acid content, this ingredient may not be Malassezia folliculitis, or fungal acne, safe.

Seabuckthorn berries are little orange fruits. This plant is native to Asia.

In vitro research found an increase in skin hydration by 58% and a decrease in TEWL by 37.8% after 24 hours of applying this ingredient (pretty impressive for a single ingredient!).

Besides hydration, shea butter also contains triterpenes that have anti-inflammatory potential. In particule, lupeol cinnamate has shown the highest anti-inflammatory activity in vivo.

Shea butter also contains vitamins A and E which may contribute to antioxidant activity.

While Shea Butter has an SPF rating of about 3-4, it is not a sunscreen replacement.

This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe because its fatty acids fall within the C11-C24 range that the Malassezia yeast can metabolize.

Cacao seed butter contains antioxidants known as polyphenols. Antioxidants help fight free-radical molecules by stabilizing them. Unstable free-radicals may cause damage to your skin cells. Antioxidants may help with anti-aging.

Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter can be bad for acne prone skin.

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.

Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.

It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.

This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.

This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.

In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.

Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.

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.

This ingredient is skin soothing and helps reduce inflammation. Emerging studies show it inhibits NO (nitric oxide) production to reduce inflammation. NO acts as a signaling molecule that can tell the skin to become inflammed. By regulating NO, marigold can effectively soothe the skin.

A study from 2008 found marigold to have potential anti-fungal properties against 23 types of fungus found on the human body. Please note - fungal acne comes from a yeast (not a fungus).

Marigolds have been used in traditional medicine throughout Asia and Europe.

Unlike other plant oils, jojoba wax doesn't easily penetrate skin. It mostly works in the uppermost layers as an emollient. This just means it forms a light barrier on the skin to help retain moisture.

Formulations with jojoba esters up to 90% reduced transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and increased barrier recovery by 81% (outperforming bisabolol at 47%).

Besides barrier support, the science also suggests jojoba to have anti-inflammatory effects and potential applications for skin infections, aging, and wound healing.

Fun fact: Indigenous cultures have used jojoba as a moisturizer and to help treat burns for centuries.

Fungal acne: The Malassezia yeast is known to metabolize fatty acids in the C11-24 range and jojoba's dominant fatty acid components fall into this range. This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.

A 2024 review found evidence for the Rosa canina species supports its use for scarring, hyperpigmentation, wrinkles, and atopic dermatitis; this was mostly credited to its vitamin C content and fatty acid composition as the primary active mechanisms.

You might see this ingredient marketed as a "natural retinol". Some rosehip seed oils contains traces of all-trans-retinoic acid but these trace amounts are far below biologically active levels.

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel has deemed this ingredient safe and it's well-tolerated.

Fungal acne: The fatty acids of this oil fall into the C11-24 range that Malassezia yeast can metabolize, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.

Preclinical research has found that topical avocado oil increased collagen synthesis and reduced inflammation during wound healing, giving it some skin-repairing credibility.

The unsaponifiable fraction of the oil is also interesting: studies on avocado unsaponifiables showed that it helped skin produce more collagen and other structural compounds that support healing.

The CIR Expert Panel has found this ingredient to be non-irritating in formulations.

It's a great ingredient for dry or compromised skin. Just know it may not be fungal acne safe. This is because the oleic acid content falls within the range that Malassezia can use as a food source.

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

The gamma-linoleic acid (GLA) is the headliner here; it's relatively rare in plant oils and acts as a precursor for anti-inflammatory signaling molecules in the skin.

There's a mixed body of clinical research with this ingredient as well, mostly on eczema/atopic dermatitis skin.

Some controlled trials showed improvement in inflammation, dryness, scaling, and overall severity. Other studies and large meta-analysis failed to show a significant effect; the honest takeaway here is "promising but inconsistent" rather than "miracle oil".

On the safety front, this ingredient is found to be safe as used in cosmetics and even has a history of safe food use.

Since this oil is contains oleic acid and palmitic acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast feeds on fatty acids with carbon chain lengths between C11-C24. Oleic Acid sits at C18 and Palmitic acid sits at C16.

In vitro studies have shown that oleic acid and palmitic acid are some of the fatty acids that induce rapid Malassezia growth in lab settings.

As a preservative, it works by disrupting the membrane of microbial proteins. This helps keep bacteria and fungi from growing in your products.

The sensitization picture is actually quite assuring as well:of nearly 71,000 patients patch tested with benzyl alcohol, only 0.21% showed a positive reaction with most of them being weakly positive.

This led researchers to conclude that benzyl alcohol cannot be regarded as a significant contact allergen.

It is worth noting this ingredient is classified as one of the EU's regulated fragrance allergens and restricted to 1% in finished products.

Labels must also declare it in concentrations above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.

At concentrations around 5%, localized redness and itching can appear as a direct irritant response and not as a true allergic reaction.

Salicylic acid is also known for its soothing properties. It has a similar structure to aspirin and can calm inflamed or irritated skin, making it a good option for acne-prone skin that is also sensitive.

Concentrations of 0.5-2% are recognized by the U.S. FDA as an over-the-counter topical acne product.

It can cause irritation and/or dryness if one's skin already has a compromised moisture barrier, so it's best to focus on repairing that before introducing this ingredient into your routine.

While salicylic acid does not increase sun sensitivity, it’s still important to wear sunscreen daily to protect your skin.

If you are looking for the ingredient called BHA or Butylated Hydroxyanisole, click here.

This ingredient is also pretty picky about pH; it performs best at pH 6.5 or below.

At the right pH level, sorbic acid is "active" and can slip through the outer wall of a microbe. Once inside, it turns the cell's interior more acidic to shut down the microbe from the inside.

The EU caps this ingredient at 0.6% while the CIR has concluded it's safe at concentrations up to 1%. It's most often used around 0.05-0.2% in cosmetics.

Though this ingredient is considered low-sensitizing and well-tolerated, a very small number of people may have a contact allergy to it. Be sure to patch test if you have a history of allergies towards preservatives.