Grounded Sage Flourish and Nourish Facial Serum

As an emollient, peach kernel oil helps moisturize and soften you skin. Emollients help trap moisture in by creating a film on top of the skin. This keeps your skin hydrated.

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.

This ingredient does have a comedogenic rating of 3, but this doesn't mean a formula with this ingredient will clog pores. Human testing has proved that any finished product with this ingredient won't automatically make you break out; it really comes down to concentration, formula, and your skin.

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.

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.

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.

Emerging studies show diosgenin may help encourage skin cell turnover. By telling your skin to produce new skin-cells, Wild Yam root may help with reducing the signs of aging. Other studies are looking into the potential of Wild Yam Root to protect skin against UV damage. However, further research is needed to confirm these claims.

Wild Yam Root has been used in traditional medicine to treat arthritis.

These compounds protect your skin two ways:

1) They fight off free radicals, or the unstable molecules from things like sun and pollution that age and damage skin.
2) They help calm inflammation by switching off the chemical signals that tell skin to get red and irritated.

Lab studies also suggest that rosmarinic acid may help protect collagen and slow sugar-related damage to it.

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review has concluded rosemary-derived ingredients to be safe when formulated to be non-sensitizing.

Rosemary can occasionally cause allergic contact dermatitis (due to carnosol), so be sure to patch test if you have reactive or fragrance-sensitive skin.

All studies done on this ingredient are in vitro or animal; carrot seed essential oil has been shown to speed up wound closure in rats. Cell culture has also shown it to have anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activity against gram-positive bacteria.

There is a myth going around that this ingredient has an SPF of 38-40. It traces back to a 2009 paper that tested multi-ingredient herbal sunscreen and not just this oil. When tested properly, carrot seed oil measured SPF 0.1 in vitro and 2.5 in vivo. Please do not treat this ingredient as sun protection!

Allergies are documented but uncommon and most of the documented cases come from canning factory workers. It's safe to patch test if you have botanical sensitivities or allergies.

The essential oil version of this ingredient is a terpene-rich fragrance material so those with fragrance sensitivities should also patch test.

There is a published case of phytophotodermatitis after use of a carrot extract-containing sunscreen that presented as a hyperpigmented patch. This is because Apiaceae plants can carry furanocoumarins.

Carrot is in the same plant family as celery and parsley, which contain furanocoumarins. These are compounds that can make skin more reactive to sunlight.

Carrots themselves have very little of them (usually only trace amounts) and the steam-distilled version shouldn't carry them at all since they're too heavy to come through distillation.

If you're using a leave-on product with it during the day, wearing sunscreen covers it.

This ingredient shows up on a lot of "pore-clogging" lists but there's no real evidence behind that. It doesn't even have a comedogenic rating from an actual study; the numbers you'll find online come from blogs citing other blogs.

Ratings for other ingredients mostly come from a 1980s rabbit ear test. This test doesn't translate well to human skin or to real products because the ingredient sits at a much lower percentage.

Some people still find it breaks them out due to the fatty acid profile. So if that's you, definitely trust your skin.

The Malassezia yeast feeds on long-chain fatty acids (C11-24). The fatty acids in this ingredient fall right into that range, making it not fungal acne safe.