StriVectin Hyaluronic Tripeptide Gel-Cream for Eyes

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.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

This property also makes Pentylene Glycol a great texture enhancer. It can also help thicken or stabilize a product.

Pentylene Glycol also acts as a mild preservative and helps to keep a product microbe-free.

Some people may experience mild eye and skin irritation from Pentylene Glycol. We always recommend speaking with a professional about using this ingredient in your routine.

Pentylene Glycol has a low molecular weight and is part of the 1,2-glycol family.

Polymethylsilsesquioxane has not been shown to clog pores. It has been deemed safe to use up to 55%, but most cosmetics use much less.

If you have concerns about using this ingredient, we recommend speaking with a professional.

Because it’s oil-soluble, THD dives deep into your skin’s fatty layers (think ceramides and cholesterol) to fight off the kind of free radicals that mess with your skin barrier. This makes it a great pair with water-based vitamin C (ascorbic acid) that mainly works on the surface.

Even at just 0.1%, THD is already showing great antioxidant activity. When used up to 2%, it helps keep your skin happy and calm, especially when it’s stressed from pollution or sun.

Want to fade dark spots or tackle hyperpigmentation? You’ll want 5% or more. Pairing it with brightening buddies like niacinamide or licorice root gives even better results. One study even used 30% THD with other brighteners and saw real results on stubborn discoloration, even in melasma-prone skin.

A note on THD: It’s has a slightly silky, oily texture and usually shows up colorless or pale yellow (though the exact shade can vary by supplier).

While you can sneak it into water-based formulas, it really shines when paired with silicones or oils, which help your skin soak it up better.

THD is pretty stable, but it’s still vulnerable to degradation like ascorbic acid. Too much light or heat (above 113°F / 45°C) can break it down over time. Go for dark and opaque packaging that keeps it safe and shady!

Read more about other types of Vitamin C:

Though Caprylyl Glycol is an alcohol derived from fatty acids, it is not the kind that can dry out skin.

This ingredient is also used as a preservative to extend the life of products. It has slight antimicrobial properties.

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.

Ci 77891 is commonly found in sunscreens due to its ability to block UV rays.

Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.

"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.

These fatty acids help the skin create ceramides. Ceramides play a role in repairing the skin barrier.

Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil helps moisturize the skin. This in turn helps the skin look more rejuvenated and smoother.

Sunflowers are rich in vitamin E.

Historians believe Indigenous cultures of North America domesticated sunflowers before corn. Thus they relied on sunflower oil for a variety of uses. One such use is moisturizing skin and hair.

Sunflower seed oil may not be fungal acne safe. We recommend speaking with a professional if you have any concerns.

Last, the phytochemicals found in apples are strong antioxidants. These antioxidants help with anti-aging as they protect your skin cells against oxidative damage.

An in-vivo study done by the manufacturer claims:

While this seems promising, more studies are needed. (Though there's no harm in testing out this ingredient!)

For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.

The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.

For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.

One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.

Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.

Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.

The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.

As an emulsifier, Hexylene Glycol helps keep water and oil together. This prevents them from separating in a product. Hexylene Glycol also thins out the texture of a product by lessening viscosity.

Hexylene Glycol has a small molecular weight.

Isohexadecane is often used in products designed to help oily skin. It is lightweight and non-greasy while helping to moisturize. When mixed with silicones, it gives a product a silky feel.

Glycation is the process of sugars binding to and damaging proteins. Too much sugar in our skin can lead to damaged collagen, contributing to factors of aging.

Carnosine is water-soluble and is not able to travel deeper layers of skin. This leads to some doubt about whether it can boost collagen in skin, since collagen is located in the deeper layers of skin.

Fun fact: Carnosine can be naturally found in our muscles and brain.

Disodium EDTA is a salt of edetic acid and is found to be safe in cosmetic ingredients.

Allantoin is derived from the comfrey plant but produced synthetically for cosmetic products to ensure purity.

Sodium Hyaluronate is naturally occurring in our bodies and is mostly found in eye fluid and joints.

These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:

Typically, it's used in cosmetic products to protect them from deterioration caused by UV rays. This is why you'll find it in a lot of products that aren't sunscreens.

High percentages of Sodium Lactate can have an exfoliating effect.

Fun fact: Sodium Lactate is produced from fermented sugar.

As an emollient, the fatty acids in soybean oil helps keep your skin soft and hydrated. It does so by creating a film on top that traps moisture in.

Soybean oil is also rich in vitamin E, a potent antioxidant. Vitamin E is also anti-inflammatory and provides a soothing effect.

Studies show soy may help fade hyperpigmentation from UVB. It does so by disrupting the melanin process from UVB induced skin inflammation.

This ingredient may not be malassezia folliculitis, or fungal-acne, safe.

Soybeans are rich in proteins and are part of the legume family. Foods made with soybeans include tofu, soymilk, edamame, miso, and soy sauce.

Alumina may be used as an abrasive, or exfoliant.

Alumina is naturally occurring in the mineral corundum. Certain varieties of corundum create rubies and sapphires. Corundum is also the crystalline form of alumina.

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.

If you spot Citric Acid near the end of an ingredient list, it's likely there as a pH adjuster rather than an active ingredient.

Read more about some other popular AHA's here:

As an emollient, lecithen helps soften the skin and creates a barrier to keep moisture in.

As an emulsifier, it also helps prevent water and oil ingredients from separating. Lecithin can also help ingredients be better absorbed by the skin.

This is because the phospholipids in lecithin produce liposomes. Liposomes help other ingredients get through the skin barrier.

Depending on the source of this ingredient, lecithin may not be fungal acne safe. This is because some sources of lecithin come from soybean oil, which may feed the malassezia yeast that feeds fungal acne.

We recommend reaching out to the brand you are purchasing from to inquire about the source of their lecithin.

Sodium benzoate works as a preservative by inhibiting the growth of bacteria inside of cells. It prevents the cell from fermenting a type of sugar using an enzyme called phosphofructokinase.

It is the salt of benzoic acid. Foods containing sodium benzoate include soda, salad dressings, condiments, fruit juices, wines, and snack foods.

Studies for using ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate in cosmetics are lacking, especially in skincare routines with multiple steps.

We always recommend speaking with a professional, such as a dermatologist, if you have any concerns.

Polyhydroxystearic Acid may not be fungal acne safe.

Both potassium sorbate and sorbic acid can be found in baked goods, cheeses, dried meats, dried fruit, ice cream, pickles, wine, yogurt, and more.

You'll often find this ingredient used with other preservatives.

A study from 2002 found rice to help increase the rate of wound healing. The same study found an improvement of skin barrier function in the patients after taking rice baths.

Numerous in-vitro studies have found rice water to help decrease sun damage by increasing collagen production and inhibiting the process of tyrosinase.

Long story short- tyrosinase is an enzyme that controls melanin production. Our bodies start producing melanin (AKA tanning) when exposed to UV radiation to protect against damage. Rice water is found to partially block this process.

Though more research is needed on rice's ability to help with UV protection, recent studies seem promising.

Wondering why rice is hydrating? The protein in rice have emollient properties. Emollients create a barrier on the skin to trap moisture in, keeping your skin moisturized.

Some rice extract may have mildly-exfoliating properties. These are mainly limited to Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran and Oryza Sativa (Rice) Germ Powder.

This rice was first cultivated in China over 10,000 years ago. Many cultures throughout Asia have used rice water on skin and hair for centuries.

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.

Due to its fragrance, Benzyl Benzoate can be sensitizing and may cause contact dermatitis. It is a known EU allergen. We recommend speaking with a professional if you have any concerns.

Benzyl Benzoate can be naturally found in cranberries and peaches.

This ingredient may not be Malassezia folliculitis, or fungal acne safe.

Limonene acts as an antioxidant, meaning it helps neutralize free radicals.

When exposed to air, oxidized limonene may sensitize the skin. Because of this, limonene is often avoided by people with sensitive skin.

The term 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term. For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance.

Due to its palmitic acid base, this peptide may not be fungal-acne safe.

Silica is present naturally within the skin during collagen production and when reducing inflammation.

This ingredient has a scent that is floral, spicy tropical, and citrus-like.

The term 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term. For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance.

The term 'citral' is a collective term for two geometric isomers: geranial/Citral A and neral/Citral B.

Citronellol is a modified terpene. Terpenes are unsaturated hydrocarbons found in plants. They make up the primary part of essential oils.

Citronellol is not able to be absorbed into deeper layers of the skin. It has low permeability,

Citronellol is also a natural insect repellent.

Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.

You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.

There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.

Geraniol can be found in many essential oils including Rose Oil and Citronella Oil. The scent of Geraniol is often described as "rose-like". Many foods also contain Geraniol for fruit flavoring.

Geraniol can irritate the skin when exposed to air. However, irritation depends on the ability of geraniol to penetrate into the skin. In general, geraniol is not able to penetrate skin easily.

Geraniol is colorless and has low water-solubility. However, it is soluble in common organic solvents.

Like citronellol, it is a natural insect repellent.

2,6-Octadien-1-ol, 3,7-dimethyl-, (2E)-

While Benzyl Salicylate has been associated with contact dermatitis and allergies, emerging studies show it may not be caused by this ingredient alone.

However, this ingredient is often used with fragrances and other components that may cause allergies. It is still listed as a known allergen in the EU. We recommend speaking with a professional if you have concerns.

Another study from 2021 shows Benzyl Salicylate may have anti-inflammatory properties.

Alcohol comes in many different forms. Different types of alcohol will have different effects on skin. This ingredient is an astringent alcohol.

Using high concentrations of these alcohols are drying on the skin. They may strip away your skin's natural oils and even damage your skin barrier. Astringent alcohols may also irritate skin.

Other types of astringent alcohols include:

According to the National Rosacea Society based in the US, you should be mindful of products with these alcohols in the top half of ingredients.

Any type of sanitizing product will have high amounts of alcohol to help kill bacteria and viruses.