Glow Recipe Vitamin C Pineapple

Glow Recipe Vitamin C Pineapple

Pineapple-C Bright Serum

Glowing, glass skin starts with a bright, smooth, and translucent complexion so reflective, skin appears like glass. This bouncy, lightweight serum will do just that with three potent forms of antioxidant-rich vitamin C including 22% Pineapple Juice (one of the most powerful forms of natural vitamin C), pure Ascorbic acid, and stable 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic acid to combat acne scars, dark spots, and hyperpigmentation leaving skin glossy and even. The natural AHAs and Bromelain Enzymes from pineapple gently exfoliate while the built-in skin soothers (chamomile and aloe) ensure that skin stays happy and refreshed

Uploaded by: maca on 04/01/2019

Ingredients overview

Ananas Sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract, Butylene Glycol, Propanediol, Water, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Dimethicone, Ascorbic Acid, Lactic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Squalane, Tocopheryl Acetate, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Extract, Hexylresorcinol, Arginine, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylic/​Capric Triglyceride, Xanthan Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Fragrance

Highlights

#alcohol-free

Key Ingredients

Other Ingredients

Skim through

Ingredient name	what-it-does	irr., com.	ID-Rating
Ananas Sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract	soothing, moisturizer/​humectant		goodie
Butylene Glycol	moisturizer/​humectant, solvent, viscosity controlling	0, 1
Propanediol	solvent, moisturizer/​humectant
Water	solvent
3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid	antioxidant, skin brightening		goodie
Dimethicone	emollient	0, 1
Ascorbic Acid	antioxidant, skin brightening, buffering		superstar
Lactic Acid	exfoliant, moisturizer/​humectant, buffering		superstar
Sodium Hyaluronate	skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant	0, 0	goodie
Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract	soothing, antioxidant	0, 0	goodie
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice	soothing, moisturizer/​humectant		goodie
Squalane	skin-identical ingredient, emollient	0, 1	goodie
Tocopheryl Acetate	antioxidant	0, 0
Portulaca Oleracea Extract	soothing, antioxidant		goodie
Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Extract
Hexylresorcinol	skin brightening, antimicrobial/​antibacterial		goodie
Arginine	skin-identical ingredient		goodie
Ethylhexylglycerin	preservative
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride	emollient
Xanthan Gum	viscosity controlling
Caprylyl Glycol	moisturizer/​humectant, emollient
Pentylene Glycol	solvent, moisturizer/​humectant
Dimethicone Crosspolymer	viscosity controlling
Fragrance	perfuming		icky

Glow Recipe Pineapple-C Bright Serum

Ingredients explained

A goodie fruit extract coming from the lovely pineapple. It contains a bunch of good-for-the-skin stuff:bromelain and fruit acids  have mild exfoliant properties, and fruit sugars and amino acids give the pineapple fruit nice moisturizing and soothing properties.

There is also a pineapple extract called pineapple ceramide on the market that's claimed to be loaded with a glucose linked ceramide derivative called glucoceramide. According to the manufacturer, glucoceramide is not only a skin moisturizer but it also helps to lighten the skin and make it more smooth.

Butylene glycol, or let's just call it BG, is a multi-tasking colorless, syrupy liquid. It's a great pick for creating a nice feeling product.

BG's main job is usually to be a solvent for the other ingredients. Other tasks include helping the product to absorb faster and deeper into the skin (penetration enhancer), making the product spread nicely over the skin (slip agent), and attracting water (humectant) into the skin.

It's an ingredient whose safety hasn't been questioned so far by anyone (at least not that we know about). BG is approved by Ecocert and is also used enthusiastically in natural products. BTW, it's also a food additive.

Propanediol is a natural alternative for the often used and often bad-mouthed propylene glycol. It's produced sustainably from corn sugar and it's Ecocert approved.

It's quite a multi-tasker: can be used to improve skin moisturization, as a solvent, to boost preservative efficacy or to influence the sensory properties of the end formula.

Also-called: Aqua | What-it-does: solvent

Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it's the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product.

It's mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water.

Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) is drying.

One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). Like this, the products can stay more stable over time.

Also-called: Form of Vitamin C, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbate, EAC;Ethyl Ascorbic Acid | What-it-does: antioxidant, skin brightening

A very stable and promising form of the skincare superstar, Vitamin C. If you do not know why Vitamin C is such a big deal in skin care, you can catch up here. In short, Vitamin C has three proven magic abilities: antioxidant, collagen booster, and skin brightener. The problem, though, is that it's very unstable, turns brown and becomes ineffective in no time (after a few month) and the cosmetics industry is trying to come up with smart derivatives that are stable and have the magic properties of pure Vitamin C.

Ethyl Ascorbic Acid or EAC for short is an "etherified derivative of ascorbic acid" that consists of vitamin C and an ethyl group bound to the third carbon position. This makes Vitamin C very stable and soluble in both water and oil.

However, for a Vitamin C derivative to work it's not enough just to be stable, they also have to be absorbed into the skin and be converted there to pure Vitamin C. We have good news regarding the absorption: on top of manufacturer claims, there is some data (animal study) demonstrating in can get into the skin, and it seems to be better at it than Ascorbyl Glucoside, another vitamin C derivative.

Regarding conversion, we can cite only a manufacturers claim saying that EAC is metabolized in the skin into pure ascorbic acid (and the ascorbic acid content of EAC is very high - 86,4% - compared to the usual 50-60% Vitamin C content of other derivatives).

As for the three magic abilities of Vitamin C, we again mostly have only the manufacturer's claims, but at least those are very promising. EAC seems to have both anantioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect, and it's claimed to be able to boost the skin's collagen production. The strong point of EAC though is skin brightening. On top of manufacturer claims, there is also clinical in-vivo (tested on real people) data showing that 2% EAC can improve skin tone and whiten the skin.

Overall, Ethyl Ascorbic Acid is a very promising but not a fully proven Vitamin C derivative. It's worth a try, especially if you are after Vitamin C's skin-brightening effects.

What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

Probably themost common silicone of all. It is a polymer (created from repeating subunits) molecule and has different molecular weight and thus different viscosity versions from water-light to thick liquid.

As for skincare, it makes the skin silky smooth, creates a subtle gloss and forms a protective barrier (aka occlusive). Also, works well to fill in fine lines and wrinkles and give skin a plump look (of course that is only temporary, but still, it's nice). There are also scar treatment gels out there using dimethicone as their base ingredient. It helps to soften scars and increase their elasticity.

As for hair care, it is a non-volatile silicone meaning that it stays on the hair rather than evaporates from it andsmoothes the hair like no other thing. Depending on your hair type, it can bea bit difficult to wash out and might cause some build-up (btw, this is not true to all silicones, only the non-volatile types).

• Works best between a concentration of 5-20%
• Boosts the skin's own collagen production
• Fades pigmentation and brown spots
• If used under sunscreen it boosts its UV protection
• Extremely unstable and oxidizes very easily in presence of light or air
• Stable in solutions with water only if pH is less than 3.5 or in waterless formulations
• Vit E + C work in synergy and provide superb photoprotection
• Ferulic acid doubles the photoprotection effect of Vit C+E and helps to stabilize Vit C
• Potent Vit. C serums might cause a slight tingling on sensitive skin

Read all the geeky details about Ascorbic Acid here >>

• It's the second most researched AHA after glycolic acid
• It gently lifts off dead skin cells to reveal newer, fresher, smoother skin
• It also has amazing skin hydrating properties
• In higher concentration (10% and up) it improves skin firmness, thickness and wrinkles
• Choose a product where you know the concentration and pH value because these two greatly influence effectiveness
• Don't forget to use your sunscreen (in any case but especially so next to an AHA product)

Read all the geeky details about Lactic Acid here >>

It's the - sodium form - cousin of the famous NMF, hyaluronic acid (HA). If HA does not tell you anything we have a super detailed, geeky explanation about it here.  The TL; DR version of HA is that it's a huge polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) found in the skin that acts as a sponge helping the skin to hold onto water, being plump and elastic. HA is famous for its crazy water holding capacity as it can bind up to 1000 times its own weight in water.

As far as skincare goes, sodium hyaluronate and hyaluronic acid are pretty much the same and the two names are used interchangeably. As cosmetic chemist kindofstephen writes on reddit  "sodium hyaluronate disassociates into hyaluronic acid molecule and a sodium atom in solution".

In spite of this, if you search for "hyaluronic acid vs sodium hyaluronate" you will find on multiple places that sodium hyaluronate is smaller and can penetrate the skin better. Chemically, this is definitely not true, as the two forms are almost the same, both are polymers and the subunits can be repeated in both forms as much as you like. (We also checked Prospector for sodium hyaluronate versions actually used in cosmetic products and found that the most common molecular weight was 1.5-1.8 million Da that absolutely counts as high molecular weight).

What seems to be a true difference, though, is that the salt form is more stable, easier to formulate and cheaper so it pops up more often on the ingredient lists.

If you wanna become a real HA-and-the-skin expert you can read way more about the topic at hyaluronic acid (including penetration-questions, differences between high and low molecular weight versions and a bunch of references to scientific literature).

Also-called: German Chamomile Flower Extract | What-it-does: soothing, antioxidant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

Chamomile probably needs no introduction as it's one of the most widely used medicinal herbs. You probably drink it regularly as a nice, calming cup of tea and it's also a regular on skincare ingredient lists.

Cosmetic companies use it mainly for its anti-inflammatory properties. It contains the terpenoids chamazulene and bisabolol both of which show great anti-inflammatory action in animal studies. On top of that chamomile also has some antioxidant activity (thanks to some other active ingredients called matricine, apigenin and luteolin).

Though chamomile is usually a goodie for the skin, it's also not uncommon to have an allergic reaction to it.

Aloe Vera is one of today's magic plants. It does have some very nice properties indeed, though famous dermatologist Leslie Baumann warns us in her book that most of the evidence is anecdotal and the plant might be a bit overhyped.

What research does confirm about Aloe is that it's a great moisturizer and has several anti-inflammatory (among others contains salicylates, polysaccharides, magnesium lactate and C-glucosyl chromone) as well as some antibacterial components. It also helps wound healing and skin regeneration in general. All in all definitely a goodie.

It seems to us that squalane is in fashion and there is a reason for it. Chemically speaking, it is a saturated  (no double bonds) hydrocarbon (a molecule consisting only of carbon and hydrogen), meaning that it's a nice and stable oily liquid with a long shelf life.

It occurs naturally in certain fish and plant oils (e.g. olive), and in the sebum (the oily stuff our skin produces) of the human skin. As f.c. puts it in his awesome blog post, squalane's main things are "emolliency , surface occlusion, and TEWL prevention all with extreme cosmetic elegance". In other words, it's a superb moisturizer that makes your skin nice and smooth, without being heavy or greasy.

Another advantage of squalane is that it is pretty much compatible with all skin types and skin conditions. It is excellent for acne-prone skin and safe to use even if you have fungi-related skin issues, like seborrhea or fungal acne.

The unsaturated (with double bonds) and hence less stable version of Squalane is Squalene, you can read about it here >>

Also-called: Vitamin E Acetate | What-it-does: antioxidant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

It's the most commonly used version of pure vitamin E in cosmetics. You can read all about the pure form here. This one is the so-called esterified version.

According to famous dermatologist, Leslie Baumann while tocopheryl acetate is more stable and has a longer shelf life, it's also more poorly absorbed by the skin and may not have the same awesome photoprotective effects as pure Vit E.

Portulaca Oleracea is a nice succulent with bright yellow flowers and edible nutritious vegetables. It's a famous plant in Korean traditional medicine to treat infection and irritated skin.

Modern research confirms that it's loaded with skin-goodies: it's the richest green plant source of omega-3 fatty acids (α-linolenic acid), contains NMFs (polysaccharides and amino acids),vitamins (β-carotene), minerals, and antioxidants (yellow betaxanthins and reddish betacyanins). Thanks to all its beneficial components, Purslane Extract has several magic properties: it's a great anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent and also has wound healing abilities.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

A molecule that is naturally present in the bran of rye and other cereals. It has been used for a long time in the food industry as an "anti-browning agent" for fresh-cut fruits or shrimps.

It turns out that Hexylresorcinol works as an "anti-browning agent" also in cosmetic products. It is a pretty well-researched molecule with significant tyrosinase (the famous enzyme needed to produce melanin) inhibiting abilities. The clinical study of the manufacturer showed that 0.5% Hexylresorcinol has a comparable skin-lightening effect to gold-standard, 2% Hydroquinone.

Even better, a 12-weeks, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with 65 volunteers confirmed the effectiveness of our skin-lightening molecule and it measured an average of 88% skin-lightening improvement. The study also included before and after photos (always a good sign!) and the skin-lightening was indeed visible and significant (though the pigmentation spots did not completely disappear, just so you have realistic expectations).

A semi-essential (infants cannot synthesize it, but adults can) amino acid that is one of the primary building blocks of hair keratin and skin collagen. It's a natural moisturizing factor, a skin hydrator and might also help to speed up wound healing.

Arginine usually has a positive charge (cationic) that makes it substantive to skin and hair (those are more negatively charged surfaces) and an excellent film former.  Thanks to the positive charge, it also creates a complex with AHAs (AHAs like to lose a hydrogen ion and be negatively charged, so the positive and the negative ions attract each other) that causes a "time-release AHA effect" and reduces the irritation associated with AHAs.

If you have spotted ethylhexylglycerin on the ingredient list, most probably you will see there also the current IT-preservative, phenoxyethanol. They are good friends because ethylhexylglycerin can boost the effectiveness of phenoxyethanol (and other preservatives) and as an added bonus it feels nice on the skin too.

Also, it's an effective deodorant and a medium spreadingemollient.

A super common emollient that makes your skin feel nice and smooth. It comes from coconut oil and glycerin, it's light-textured, clear, odorless and non-greasy. It's a nice ingredient that just feels good on the skin, is super well tolerated by every skin type and easy to formulate with. No wonder it's popular.

It's one of the most commonly used thickeners and emulsion stabilizers. If the product is too runny, a little xanthan gum will make it more gel-like. Used alone, it can make the formula sticky and it is a good team player so it is usually combined with other thickeners and so-called rheology modifiers (helper ingredients that adjust the flow and thus the feel of the formula). The typical use level of Xantha Gum is below 1%, it is usually in the 0.1-0.5% range.

Btw, Xanthan gum is all natural, a chain of sugar molecules (polysaccharide) produced from individual sugar molecules (glucose and sucrose) via fermentation. It's approved by Ecocert and also used in the food industry (E415).

It's a handy multi-tasking ingredient that gives the skin a nice, soft feel. At the same time, it also boosts the effectiveness of other preservatives, such as the nowadays super commonly used phenoxyethanol.

The blend of these two (caprylyl glycol + phenoxyethanol) is called Optiphen, which not only helps to keep your cosmetics free from nasty things for a long time but also gives a good feel to the finished product. It's a popular duo.

A multi-functional, silky feeling helper ingredient that can do quite many things. It's used as anemulsion stabilizer, solvent and a broad spectrum antimicrobial. According to manufacturer info, it's also amoisturizer and helps to make the product feel great on the skin. It works synergistically with preservatives and helps to improve water-resistance of sunscreens.

A high-molecular-weight silicone elastomer (rubber-like elastic material) that is usually blended with a base silicone fluid (such as dimethicone or cyclopentasiloxane) to give the formula a silky smooth feel and to act as a thickening agent.

Also-called: Fragrance, Parfum;Parfum/Fragrance | What-it-does: perfuming

Exactly what it sounds: nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. Fragrance in the US and parfum in the EU is a generic term on the ingredient list that is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average (but it can have as much as 200 components!).

If you are someone who likes to know what you put on your face then fragrance is not your best friend - there's no way to know what's really in it.

Also, if your skin is sensitive, fragrance is again not your best friend. It's the number one cause of contact allergy to cosmetics. It's definitely a smart thing to avoid with sensitive skin (and fragrance of any type - natural is just as allergic as synthetic, if not worse!).

You may also want to take a look at...

An often used glycol that works as a solvent, humectant, penetration enhancer and also gives a good slip to the products. [more]

A natural corn sugar derived glycol. It can be used to improve skin moisturization, as a solvent, to boost preservative efficacy or to influence the sensory properties of the end formula. [more]

Normal (well kind of - it's purified and deionized) water. Usually the main solvent in cosmetic products. [more]

A stable form of Vitamin C, whose strong point is skin-brightening. It might also have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and collagen boosting abilities. [more]

A very common silicone that gives both skin and hair a silky smooth feel. It also forms a protective barrier on the skin and fills in fine lines. Also used for scar treatment. [more]

Pure Vitamin C. A skincare superstar that is clinically proven to boost collagen production (in 5-20% concentration), fade hyperpigmentation and boost UV protection under sunscreen. Also, it's extremely unstable and hard to formulate. [more]

A superstar AHA that not only exfoliates skin but is also a very good moisturizer. In higher concentration (10% and up) it can even improve skin firmness, thickness, and wrinkles. [more]

It's the salt form of famous humectant and natural moisturizing factor, hyaluronic acid. It can bind huge amounts of water and it's pretty much the current IT-moisturizer. [more]

The famous aloe vera. A great moisturizer and anti-inflammatory ingredient that also helps wound healing and skin regeneration. [more]

An emollient and natural moisturizer that can be found also in the sebum (oily stuff our skin produces). It leaves a nice non-greasy, non-heavy feeling on the skin. [more]

A form of vitamin E that works as an antioxidant. Compared to the pure form it's more stable, has longer shelf life, but it's also more poorly absorbed by the skin. [more]

A pretty well-researched molecule with significant tyrosinase (the famous enzyme needed to produce melanin) inhibiting abilities. [more]

An amino acid that is one of the primary building blocks of hair keratin and skin collagen. It's a natural moisturizing factor and might also help to speed up wound healing.  [more]

It can boost the effectiveness of phenoxyethanol (and other preservatives) and as an added bonus it feels nice on the skin too. [more]

A very common emollient that makes your skin feel nice and smooth. Comes from coconut oil and glycerin, it's light-textured, clear, odorless and non-greasy. [more]

A super commonly used thickener and emulsion stabilizer. [more]

A handy multi-tasking ingredient that gives the skin a nice, soft feel and also boosts the effectiveness of other preservatives. [more]

A multi-functional, silky feeling helper ingredient that can do quite many things. It's used as an emulsion stabilizer, solvent, and a broad spectrum antimicrobial. [more]

A high-molecular-weight silicone elastomer (rubber-like elastic material) that is usually blended with a base silicone fluid (such as dimethicone or cyclopentasiloxane) to give the formula a silky smooth feel and to act as a thickening agent. [more]

The generic term for nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. It is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average. [more]

Glow Recipe Vitamin C Pineapple

Source: https://incidecoder.com/products/glow-recipe-pineapple-c-bright-serum