Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

It is also used to make a product more thick.

Dimethicone comes in different viscosities:

Depending on the viscosity, dimethicone has different properties.

Ingredients lists don't always show which type is used, so we recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the viscosity.

This ingredient is unlikely to cause irritation because it does not get absorbed into skin. However, people with silicone allergies should be careful about using this ingredient.

Note: Dimethicone may contribute to pilling. This is because it is not oil or water soluble, so pilling may occur when layered with products. When mixed with heavy oils in a formula, the outcome is also quite greasy.

It's actually inactive on its own and works like a slow-release "storage" form; the enzymes in your skin called esterases gradually convert it into active vitamin E over time.

One in vivo study showed 5% of the acetate in the living layer of the epidermis converted to vitamin E after 5 days of application. This study also found the skin gained protection against UV damage even though the conversion was slow and small.

Once converted, vitamin E acts as a skin's main fat-soluble antioxidant that fights free radicals to protect skin from damage.

Topical vitamin E generally boosts the skin's photoprotection, and it reduced UV-damage in animal models.

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.

Overall, it has a pretty solid safety profile and has been found to be non-irritating and non-comedogenic. Allergic reactions may happen but stay rare due to how widely the ingredient gets used.

The concentration will vary depending on the formula; industry data shows 0.1% in baby lotions, 3% in lipsticks, and 5% in foot powders. You can also find this ingredient at 100% in a pure vitamin E oil.

Most leave-on skincare keeps it at the lower end, often between 0.5-1%.

Specifically, saccharide Isomerate is a humectant. Humectants draw moisture from the air to our skin.

Research shows Saccharide Isomerate to be an effective moisturizer.

Generally, it is used to hold water and soften skin in a formula. Algae are rich in polysaccharides, pigments, and amino-acids that act as humectants, emollients, and skin-conditioning agents.

It isn't on standard cosmetic-patch test panels and "seaweed dermatitis" is actually an acute irritant reaction to algal toxins in seawater and not the cosmetic ingredient.

You'll see algae listed as a 5/5 on a lot of pore-clogging charts and that number doesn't come from anywhere; it's not in the original rabbit-ear studies that most comedogenic ratings trace back to.

The reasoning behind the reputation is that seaweed is high in iodine and iodine can trigger acne-like breakouts when eaten. This traces back to a 1976 letter in Archives of Dermatology describing two women whose breakouts cleared after they stopped taking high-dose kelp supplements orally.

And the reaction of these two women wasn't clogged pores at all: it was an iodine-triggered pustular rash. Later research found normal dietary iodine doesn't meaningfully affect acne either and nobody has shown topical algae delivers enough iodine to matter.

What we do have is dozens of brown and red algae ingredients found to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing, and a handful of studies that found algae compounds may actually help acne.

However, plenty of people do report breaking out from algae-containing products. Skin is individual and it's worth avoiding if yours has reacted to algae before.