Skincare Ingredients Explained (Without The Confusing Jargon)

You're on the toilet... your phone dies.. so you resort to the most interesting read in the bathroom... the back of your beauty products. Halfway through you think.. "what the f**k do any of these words mean?"... well, let me break it down. 

Here’s your beginner-friendly guide to the main types of skincare ingredients, what they do, and how they actually work.

1. Humectants (The Hydration Magnets)

WHAT:

Hydrate by pulling water into your skin.

HOW:

Humectants attract water molecules. They draw water either from the air around you or from the deeper layers of your skin up to the surface layer (the epidermis). That’s what makes skin look plumper and fresher.

Common humectants:

• Hyaluronic Acid
• Polyglutamic Acid
• Glycerin
• Aloe Vera

Our hydrate & plump serum contains 2 humectants; Hyalornic Acid (HA) & Polyglutamic Acid (PGA). This is why it is so good at hydrating to the skin. HA is included at different molecular weights in the serum, so the smaller HA molecules sink deeper into the skin to hydrate the deeper layers while the larger molecules hydrate the upper layers. Meanwhile, the PGA sits on the surface of the skin to form a moisture-binding film, helping the skin barrier appear more plump and hydrating

2. Emollients (The Smoothers)

WHAT:

Soften and smooth your skin.

HOW:

Your skin barrier is made up of skin cells with tiny gaps between them. Emollients fill in those gaps with lipids (fats), which makes your skin feel smooth.

Common emollients:

• Shea Butter
• Ceramides
• Squalane
• Fatty acids

3. Occlusives (The Sealers)

WHAT:

They lock moisture in and prevent water loss.

HOW:

Your skin naturally loses water throughout a process called Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) where water slowly evaporates from your skin. When your skin barrier is damaged, it escapes faster, leaving your skin dry and irritated. Occlusives create a protective barrier over your skin so that water can’t escape as easily. They don’t hydrate your skin directly but offer a protective seal for the existing hydration in your skin & to slow down TWEL.

Common occlusives:

• Petroleum jelly
• Beeswax
• Lanolin
• Dimethicone

4. Exfoliants (The Skin Refreshers)

WHAT:
They remove dead skin cells to make skin smoother and brighter.

HOW:

- Physical exfoliants: Manually scrub off dead skin (think grainy scrubs).

- Chemical exfoliants (acids): These dissolve the “glue” that holds dead skin cells together, so they shed naturally.

Common chemical exfoliants:

• AHA: Glycolic acid, Lactic acid, Mandelic acid
• BHA: Salicylic Acid
• PHA: Gluconolactone, Lactobionic Acid

Exfoliating helps unclog pores and improve product absorption but overdoing it damages your barrier.

5. Surfactants (The Cleansers)

WHAT:

They clean your skin by removing oil, dirt, SPF and makeup.

HOW:

Oil and water don’t mix.. and your skin naturally produces oil (lipids).
Surfactants have a clever structure where one end loves oil and the other end loves water 

When you massage a cleanser onto damp skin, the oil-loving ends grab onto dirt, makeup and excess sebum. Each little surfactant buntches up together to form a tiny little ball to trap the oil & dirt on the inside (called micelles.. where miceller water gets its name from!)

• The oil-loving parts tuck themselves inside
• The water-loving parts stay on the outside

So the dirt and oil get trapped in the centre of this little bubble.

When you rinse with water, the outside of the micelle (which loves water) washes away taking all the trapped dirt and oil with it.

Peptides (The Skin Trainers)

WHAT:

Short blocks of protein (amino acids) that are used to send messages to the skin to produce more collagen, and keep skin firm and bouncy.

HOW:

Peptides talk to the cells in your skin and tell them to produce more collagen, improving the elasticity of the skin, strengthen the barrier and repaid damage. 

Hydrate & Plump Serum

Much of the plumping effects overtime from our hydrate & plump serum are as a result of the multi peptides in the formula. Some of the peptides include XXXXXXXXXXXXXX which all work together overtime to help increase the elasticity of the skin while the HA and PGA hydrate - dual action!

6. Active Ingredients (The Targeted Problem-Solvers)

WHAT:
They target specific skin concerns.

HOW:
Active ingredients interact with your skin at a cellular level — meaning they influence how skin cells behave.

• Retinol: speeds up skin cell turnover
• Niacinamide: strengthens the skin barrier + reduces redness
• Vitamin C: helps brighten + supports collagen
• Salicylic Acid: clears pores from inside

When these ingredients are included at clinically active levels, they can create visible change over time.