Minimalist Granactive Retinoid 02%

Ethoxydiglycol is a synthetic solvent.

Solvents are used to keep ingredients together in a product. They can help dissolve ingredients to stable bases or help evenly distribute ingredients throughout the product.

Coco-Caprylate/Caprate is created from fatty coconut alcohol, caprylic acid, and capric acid.

It is a lightweight emollient. Emollients create a thin barrier on the skin to trap moisture in. This helps keep your skin hydrated and soft.

This ingredient is an emollient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It is considered a skin-softener by helping the skin prevent moisture loss.

It helps thicken a product's formula and makes it easier to spread by dissolving clumping compounds.

Propanediol is an all-star ingredient. It softens, hydrates, and smooths the skin. 

It’s often used to:

This ingredient is a retinoid. It usually goes by a more common name: "Granactive".

Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate (HPR) belongs to the class of retinoids that also includes retinol and tretinoin.

Tocopheryl Acetate is AKA Vitamin E. It is an antioxidant and protects your skin from free radicals. Free radicals damage the skin by breaking down collagen.

One study found using Tocopheryl Acetate with Vitamin C decreased the number of sunburned cells.

Arachidyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol made from peanut oil. It is an emollient, emulsifier, and thickener.

You'll most likely find this ingredient as an emulsifier in water-based cosmetics.

Behenyl Alcohol is a type of fatty alcohol (these are different from the drying, solvent alcohols).

Fatty Alcohols have hydrating properties and are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product. They are usually derived from natural fats and oils; behenyl alcohol is derived from the fats of vegetable oils.

We don't have a description for Arachidyl Glucoside yet.

Sodium Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid's salt form. It is commonly derived from the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid.

Like hyaluronic acid, it is great at holding water and acts as a humectant. This makes it a great skin hydrating ingredient.

Lysine is an essential amino acid. Your body is unable to produce it naturally and we mainly get lysine from food sources.

Our bodies use lysine for growth and tissue repair. The skin uses amino acids as a precursor for building protein, and therefore keratins, collagen and elastin.

Histidine is a semi-essential amino acid used by our bodies to create protein. It has humectant and skin conditioning properties.

Our bodies use histidine to create filaggrin - filaggrin is a structural protein that the skin uses in maintaining skin barrier.

Arginine is an amino acid that is important for human development. Your body uses is it to produce hair keratin and skin collagen.

As a cosmetic ingredient, Arginine has antioxidant properties and can also help repair damaged skin. This ingredient is derived either synthetically or from animals.

Aspartic Acid is an amino acid that our bodies produce naturally. It is an antioxidant.

Our body uses Aspartic Acid to help build collagen and elastin. It also plays a role in hydrating skin.

Threonine is an amino-acid. It helps hydrate the skin and has antioxidant benefits.

Our skin uses threonine for creating collagen and elastin. Humans are not able to create threonine and must get it through eating foods such as fish, lentils, poultry, sesame seeds, and more.

Serine is an amino acid naturally found in our body. Our bodies use amino acids to create protein.

Amino-acids help give keep our skin hydrated. They play an important role in the skin barrier, which keeps the skin plump and firm.

Glutamic Acid is an amino acid that is found in all living organisms. Our bodies use this to help nerve cells in the brain communicate with other cells.

In cosmetics, glutamic acid is a famous humectant. It draws water from the air to your skin, keeping your skin hydrated (like hyaluronic acid).

Proline is an amino-acid. It helps moisturize the skin and plays an important role in creating proteins.

Our skin uses proline as one of the building blocks for producing collagen.

This ingredient is an amino acid that helps build proteins and moisturizes skin. It is already present in our skin as our bodies produce them naturally.

Glycine already plays a role in helping keep our skin moisturized as amino acids transport moisture throughout our skin.

Alanine is an amino acid and is already found in the human body. Our skin uses alanine to build collagen, elastin, and keratin.

Valine is an essential amino acid. It is used by our bodies for tissue repair and muscle growth.

An essential amino acid is one in which our bodies cannot naturally produce so we must get them through diet. Foods such as eggs, dairy, red meat, and fish contain valine.

Methionine is an essential amino acid. It is a conditioning agent and commonly found in both skin and hair products.

This amino acid is a precursor to glutathione, a powerful antioxidant.

Isoleucine is an amino acid that helps reinforce our skin barrier. This amino acid plays a role in creating protein for the body.

Fun fact: Isoleucine is found in meat, fish, dairy, legumes, and nuts.

We don't have a description for Leucine yet.

Tyrosine is one of the amino acids used to create protein. It plays a role in melanin production.

A study from 2012 found tyrosine to show promising results in restoring skin volume.

Phenylalanine is an amino acid. It is a skin soothing and hydrating ingredient. Amino acids play a crucial role in wound healing and skin hydration.

This ingredient is also used to help even out skin tone due to its ability to disrupt the melanin production process.

Cysteine is an amino acid found in our bodies. It becomes an antioxidant when converted into gluthatione.

Once it becomes gluthatione, it prevents oxidative damage to parts of our cell. Gluthatione has also been shown to protect our skin from UV-B induced damage.

1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse. 

It is a:

• Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
• Emollient, helping to soften skin
• Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
• Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives 

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.

It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.

Pullulan is a low viscosity polysaccharide (a long chain carbohydrate) with binding and film forming properties when dissolved in water. It is used to create a "silicone-like" or silky feel in cosmetics without adding viscosity.

According to a manufacturer, this ingredient's ability to easily dissolves makes it a great carrier for active ingredients.

Ethylhexylglycerin (we can't pronounce this either) is commonly used as a preservative and skin softener. It is derived from glyceryl.

You might see Ethylhexylglycerin often paired with other preservatives such as phenoxyethanol. Ethylhexylglycerin has been found to increase the effectiveness of these other preservatives.

Xanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.

On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.

Hydroxyethylcellulose is used to improve the texture of products. It is created from a chemical reaction involving ethylene oxide and alkali-cellulose. Cellulose is a sugar found in plant cell walls and help give plants structure.

This ingredient helps stabilize products by preventing ingredients from separating. It can also help thicken the texture of a product.

Sclerotium Gum is a polysaccharide gum made by the fungus, Sclerotium rolfssii. It is similar to xanthan gum.

In cosmetics, Sclerotium Gum is used to thicken the texture and to help stabilize other ingredients.

Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate is used to help stabilize a product.

It is a chelating agent, meaning it helps prevent metal ions from binding to other ingredients. This prevents unwanted reactions in products. Metal ions can come into a product via the water ingredient. They are found in trace amounts and are not known to be harmful.

Lecithin is a term for a group of substances found in the cell membranes of plants, animals, and humans. They are made up of mixture of phospholipids.

This ingredient has emollient and emulsifying properties.