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Ingredients

roykai user profile picture

roykai

Oily/Sensitive

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problem with skincare extracts: are they created equal?

Hi guys so I have a question about skincare extracts basically I was just wondering if anyone of you guys out there know if skincare extracts are created equal for example there are many products with aloe extract inside, however the price can vary depending on the brand even though the brands all market it as being ‘99% Aloe’ extract. similarly for fermentation extracts, price varies greatly from high-end Brand’s like sk2 to mid tier brands like missha. especially for the Korean Brand’s they tend to boast high % of this and that, however I heard that having a high content of an extract ingredient does not necessarily equate to a high concentration of the actual ‘extract’. I actually spoke to the founder of cos de haha and she informed me that while the ingredient list shows their peptides to be the last on the list, the peptides they use come in the concentrated powder form as opposed the ordinary where it’s a premixed liquid, thus being able to claim that it has 25% of peptides etc in the bottle. If that’s the case then ingredient list really don’t mean much anymore right? Like a product could state they have no alcohol but use witch hazel extract which is usually extracted with alcohol as the solvent... Then there’s the issue of grade and quality, something we as consumers will never know. How then should we know what to benchmark our purchases on these days? While consumers become more knowledgeable, we are also opening a whole other can of worms realising how much we don’t actually know about our products.
Peptide Serum with Matrixyl 3000 Argireline

Cos de Baha
Peptide Serum with Matrixyl 3000 Argireline

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3.8

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“Buffet” + Copper Peptides 1%

The Ordinary
“Buffet” + Copper Peptides 1%

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4.5

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297

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10 Comments

Yourskintellectual user profile picture

Yourskintellectual

Oily/Resilient

It's an interesting topic. I think overall it's not really possible to make a fair judgement of a product from the ingredients list because it's impossible to know how it's formulated. I mean it's bloody chemistry and people spend ages studying it to be able to create these products. Doesn't help that skincare companies are permitted to be relatively vague, for instance just because parfum is at the end of the list, doesn't mean there's the lowest amount of it. This is where we end up relying on honest reviews and failing that - use the trial and error method. A bit like baking 😅👌
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roykai user profile picture

roykai

Oily/Sensitive

while I do agree about the fragrance situation, I find it little more annoying in trying to decipher which product actually has enough % of what is being touted. because if there isn’t enough to make any difference then why am I even bothering to waste time and money to use these products? might as well just use a standard HA toner and moisturiser and call it a day hahahah. i myself do receive PR from time to time, but that’s also when I realised it’s very hard to trust reviews these days. while I try to be as truthful as possible, I’m also afraid of souring any relationships with the brand. it’s really tough when ure a small creator and u know u want to be full fledge blunt, but yet you need to be tactful for fear of being removed. because I can only buy so much with my own money. and then for big creators, all the more they will avoid talking about the bad for fear of losing a paid campaign in future which can be a lot of money. so I guess a tip I have is to notice what the reviewer don’t say. there r pr companies out there that just give free products in exchange for a ‘real’ review, but the caveat is to only focus on the good haha. I know so annoying, and if you say no they have dozens more of ppl in the queue willing to do their calling. like if they keep talking about the packaging or the scent or it feels ok...it’s probably not worth your time lol
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Fuyuka user profile picture

Fuyuka

Oily/Sensitive

This is indeed an interesting topic. I especially want to highlight the last sentence as it more or less is the state we are in now. I don't rely much on the ingredients list aside from making sure it is suitable for tackling my concern, never too detailed tho. My consideration before buying a product is usually besides looking for a review and going through trial and error, I also like to get to know about the brand that produces it including how they promote it. For me, these all say a lot. Because a product is not just a combination from some ingredients but an embodiment also years of research, hard work from so many people behind a brand with their values that want to be delivered to people. I think that's why there are differences from qualities, price point, etc.
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roykai user profile picture

roykai

Oily/Sensitive

if I may interest I, in kbeauty competition is fierce and there are literally Brand’s popping up every week. so many of them just buy formulas. and for those bigger companies, sometimes I feel like I’m paying more for the packaging and marketing rather than the product itself
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Imperfectskin user profile picture

Imperfectskin

Oily/Resilient

I think consider also how they formulate the products that's why the pricing of every brand on a particular highlight botanical extract ingredient is really different to each other.
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roykai user profile picture

roykai

Oily/Sensitive

hmm but how do u know how they formulate it
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yuerain user profile picture
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yuerain

Oily/Sensitive

formulations and where they source the ingredients are hard to know. especially with plant extracts. thus people will rely on reviews. I had also asked before if types of fragrance will be stated (company don't need to state it) . I mean also technique in extracting those ingredients are also hard for us to know. even if you know all that with cosmetics degree, you don't know how your skin will react to it since skin is individualistic. just have fun while you are at it cause skincare doesn't have to be difficult with all that. take it as eat a meal. every meal is not exactly the same 😁
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roykai user profile picture

roykai

Oily/Sensitive

so on board with this, but sadly reviews no longer mean much. I’ve PR from time to time and honestly it’s becoming very much like Amazon where they send u product in exchange for a review that doesn’t ‘talk about the negative’ hah
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