The chemistry behind the ingredients everyone is talking about — and the ones they should be.
5 articles
Niacinamide is now in everything from £5 drugstore serums to £200 clinical treatments. But the concentration wars, the vitamin C myths, and the flush debates have buried the actual science. We went back to the literature.
Rosa canina seed oil contains one of the highest concentrations of linoleic acid of any carrier oil — up to 54%. That single fact explains most of its cosmetic benefits. Everything else is marketing.
The hyaluronic acid in a £10 serum and a £100 serum may share the same INCI name — Sodium Hyaluronate — but behave completely differently on skin. Molecular weight is the variable that marketing never mentions.
Squalene is unstable, oxidises rapidly, and was historically sourced from shark liver. Squalane is its hydrogenated, stable, plant-derived counterpart. The INCI list will tell you which one you are buying — if you know what to look for.
Retinol has the strongest evidence base of any cosmetic anti-ageing ingredient. It also has the highest rate of misuse. The gap between the clinical literature and the consumer experience is almost entirely a formulation and education problem.