Three fixtures of conventional beauty formulation are refreshing their image (and soon, perhaps yours).
You’re not imagining it: Hyaluronic acid, a longtime staple of mainstream serums, lotions, and masks, has been flooding the natural beauty world—as befits an ingredient that can carry more than 1,000 times its weight in water. With ever more sophisticated and sustainable sourcing, this age-old hydrator is now a favorite on the clean skincare scene, where you may also have noticed the proliferation of two other mainstream staples: niacinamide and retinol (or at least a close relation). To make sense of the resulting abundance, read on. Your newly smooth, dewy, and glowing skin will thank you.
“ADVANCEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCTION PROCESSES HAVE MADE PRODUCTION PROCESSES HAVE MADE HYALURONIC ACID MORE READILY AVAILABLE HYALURONIC ACID MORE READILY AVAILABLE FROM SUSTAINABLE SOURCES, FURTHER FROM SUSTAINABLE SOURCES, FURTHER DRIVING ITS ADOPTION IN CLEAN SKINCARE”
–NAVIN ARORA, DO
FOUNDER OF BOREALIS DERMATOLOGY IN LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK
HYALURONIC ACID
Though this ingredient does several things, it’s best known as a humectant: something that attracts and retains moisture. “Imagine hyaluronic acid as a sponge that can hold a large amount of water,” says board-certified dermatologist Navin Arora, DO, founder of Borealis Dermatology in Long Island, New York. “When applied to the skin, hyaluronic acid acts like a magnet for moisture.”
Your body produces its own joint- and tissue-lubricating hyaluronic acid. And though skincare formulators are clearly sourcing theirs elsewhere, that natural occurrence in humans gives the acid a certain cred in clean beauty circles. “Additionally, advancements in technology and production processes have made hyaluronic acid more readily available from sustainable sources, further driving its adoption in clean skincare,” says Dr. Arora.
When Stella McCartney launched Stella Skincare a year and a half ago, for example, two of the three products—Alter-Care Serum and Restore Cream—were infused with a hyaluronic acid that’s derived from a fermented lactic acid bacterium. And the ingredient’s supplier uses a fermentation culture that contains byproducts of other cosmetics- making processes.
That circular economic model—which aims to repurpose would-be waste and extend everything’s life cycle for as long as possible— is increasingly prevalent in the sustainable beauty world, says longtime formulator Mary Berry. As founder and CEO of Cosmos Labs, she’s embraced the shift and put all manner of natural byproduct to creative use.
Then again, hyaluronic acid on its own inspires creativity, given how many iterations there are. Ranging from ultra-low to ultra-high molecular weight, the ingredient can penetrate your skin, stay at the surface, or achieve a combination of the two. (One famously beloved multiweight formulation, Glow Recipe Plum Plump Hyaluronic Serum, blends five molecular weights for a “bouncy” effect at the surface as well as deeper hydration.)
Of course, the combination the formulator chooses depends on the specific desired effects. One favorite formulation of Berry’s, for example, is Naked & Thriving Renew Resurfacing Night Serum, with a lower molecular weight hyaluronic acid that penetrates along with exfoliating AHAs, and helps keep your skin hydrated as you sleep—a period notorious for what’s called transepidermal water loss.
Dermatologists tend to be fans of hyaluronic acid, too, and several have worked it into their own lines. The latest is board-certified dermatologist Ava Shamban, MD—or Dr. Ava as she’s come to be known on TV—with offices in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. The line she’s debuting this month, Althaea Skin, includes a Day Serum with a blend of hyaluronic acid and antioxidants to help your skin fend off environmental aggressors, as well as a hyaluronic acid-infused Awake Eye Gel.
Still, some of the earliest adopters of hyaluronic acid in the clean beauty world continue to inspire deep loyalty. A few cases in point: Espa Overnight Hydration Therapy, with lavender to help lull you into a dream state as hyaluronic acid suffuses your skin; Eminence Organic Skin Care’s Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Serum (one celebrity fan, Kristen Bell, has said this hyaluronic acid serum gives her skin all the moisture she needs); and Tata Harper Hydrating Floral Essence, so instantly skin-reviving and spirit-soothing, the travel size is indispensable on planes.
NIACINAMIDE
Another term for a form of vitamin B3, “Niacinamide is gaining popularity for its ability to improve skin texture, reduce the appearance of pores, balance oil production, and soothe redness and irritation,” says Dr. Arora. Derived from the likes of brewer’s yeast and grains, niacinamide is a natural fit for clean formulators, who are incorporating the multitasker into everything from makeup to masks.
Even so, a few main uses stand out, chief among them: endowing your complexion with a certain gleam. Accordingly, there’s a jewel box full of existing favorites—from Natura Bissé Diamond Luminous Perfecting Cream to Drunk Elephant B-Goldi Bright Drops, while new arrivals include Alpyn Beauty Instant Bright Eye and Follain Brightening Serum.
Niacinamide is also finding its way into more concealers and foundations that are meant to bring down redness or otherwise color-correct, such as Saie Slip Tint Radiant All-Over Concealer and Ilia True Skin Serum Foundation. Then there are the niacinamide-enhanced cosmetics concerned with pores and oil-regulation. See: Lys Triple Fix Translucent Pressed Setting Powder and Milk Makeup Pore Eclipse Mattifying Primer.
Even sunscreens are increasingly incorporating niacinamide for its reparative qualities. The hardest-working of these multitaskers pack high SPFs, treatment benefits, and instant complexion enhancement, such as Odacité Tinted SPF 50 Mineral Drops Flex-Perfecting Sunscreen and Bloomeffects Tulip Dew Sunscreen Serum SPF 50
RETINOL (OR A CLOSE ASSOCIATE)
Vitamin A derivatives, which range from prescription retinoids (think Retin-A) to over-the-counter retinols, have been some of the longest-serving workhorses of the modern skincare era. Ever since the FDA approved topical tretinoin in 1971, retinoids have—in the words of the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology—“spawned a revolution.” In addition to the variations that treat acne, retinoids remain some of the most powerful wrinkle reducers, collagen stimulators, and overall texture and tone enhancers at your disposal. While some are naturally sourced, others are synthetic analogs—and almost all have a long-established rep for irritation.
A more recent phenomenon: “Clean skincare formulations with gentle retinol alternatives are becoming more prevalent,” says Dr. Arora. “Bakuchiol is one that’s really good,” notes Berry, who’s increasingly using it in formulations. “It’s made from the babchi plant,” also known as the bakuchi, among other names. This herb has been used in Ayurveda since time immemorial to treat everything from leprosy to psoriasis, but 21st-century researchers have been focusing on wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, and anything else you might address with a retinol, as both ingredients are believed to stimulate the skin’s collagen-producing receptors.
“A small study in the British Journal of Dermatology found bakuchiol to be just as effective at erasing fine lines and improving skin color as retinol, but with less peeling and burning,” according to an analysis by Harvard Health Publishing. And though there were too few participants to prove anything conclusively, those findings—coupled with reams of anecdotal evidence—have led to a veritable bakuchiol boom. “The first time I saw it was in an Herbivore serum several years ago,” says Berry, referring to the brand’s beloved Bakuchiol Retinol Alternative Smoothing Serum. “Since then, we’ve been adding it as retinol alternative.”
So have many others. The resulting short list includes Kora Organics Plant Stem Cell Retinol Alternative Serum, the Inkey List Bakuchiol (a moisturizer) and—lest the skin below your neck be left out—The Organic Pharmacy Advanced Retinoid-like Body Oil.
Bottom line: Watch this space. As more crossover stars make their way from the mainstream into the world of clean beauty, your ethos and esthetics are bound to fall into ever easier alignment.