Ingredient Overload: Why Less is More for Your Skincare Routine

Picture a skincare product crammed with everything from exfoliating acids and vitamin C to fruit enzymes. Of course, no modern skincare item seems complete without niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and a dash of squalane.

Do you know what this product is supposed to do?

Better yet, who do you think this product was developed for?

The skincare industry has seen a worrying trend of new brands launching products that contain every trendy ingredient without a proper understanding of their effects.

However, such a "kitchen sink" approach can be harmful, causing adverse reactions and reducing the product's effectiveness.

What was done to capitalize on the current social media frenzy only comes back to haunt the brand, oftentimes only a matter of months after launch, because the market has shifted.

Not only that, many of these ingredients are fantastic on their own, and some even work better together, but when thrown indiscriminately, they can create chaos on your skin rather than the promised perfection.

In this article, I will discuss a product that I think is well-designed and a few products that, in my opinion, have missed the mark. Please feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts as well!

The Ordinary’s "Buffet": A Masterclass in Multi-Ingredient Formulation

While the skincare industry often floods the market with multi-ingredient formulas, The Ordinary’s “Buffet” stands out as a beacon of efficacy and clever marketing. This product isn’t just aptly named—it's a thoughtful composition of high-impact ingredients.

At the heart of the "Buffet" are peptides like This formula contains SYN™-AKE, Matrixyl™ synthe'6™, Matrixyl™ 3000, ARGIRELOX™ peptide, which mimic the effects of Botox by inhibiting neurotransmitters that cause facial muscles to contract. This powerful blend targets various skin concerns simultaneously, from reducing wrinkles to enhancing skin firmness.

This formula is particularly effective with the particularly cunning in its use of tiny tripeptides—so small (below 500 DA in molecular weight) they slip beneath the skin's defenses like miniature ninjas, starting to reveal their prowess within a mere 28 days.

These swift benefits are beautifully partnered with the long-term effects of the Matrixyl components, which weave through the skin’s collagen layers like skilled tailors, reshaping and firming over a span of eight weeks.

Matrixyl Synthe'6, with its preventative charms, is like a youth booster for anyone with Peter Pan syndrome, warding off the dreaded shadows of aging.

The Ordinary’s "Buffet" exemplifies how a skincare product can marry art, science, and branding successfully. It’s simple, effective, and uses multiple ingredients to accomplish its position in the market, “to target multiple signs of aging at once.”

Remedy’s Formulation for Dark Spots: A Complicated Brew

Dr. Shah, aka DermDoc, a TikTok dermatologist I deeply respect, seems to have instructed his chemist to spare no ingredient in this ambitious formulation.

He dubs it “Super Stacked”

This product, laden with niacinamide, Tranexamic Acid, AHAs, Vitamin C, Retinol, and Kojic Acid, is perhaps too robust for delicate skin.

For those with sensitive skin, combining retinol and vitamin C has been linked to a notable increase in dryness on the face, according to studies.

And if you add exfoliating acids and niacinamide, you might cause a red-faced flush if the blend isn’t right. For example, the dreaded niacin flush can occur when niacinamide turns into nicotinic acid on the skin.

If he had taken a simpler approach and narrowed down the formula, focusing on Tranexamic Acid, a powerhouse dark spot corrector, combined with the effects of Silymarin, a potent antioxidant, produces a 67%reduction in oil oxidation, transforming the formula from not just a dark spot corrector but one with additional photoaging protection and acne-fighting properties.

It proves the "less is more" philosophy, improving skin health without overwhelming it.

U Beauty - The SUPER Hydrator: Luxurious or Overdone

At $168, this hydrator is a veritable cocktail of skincare buzzwords, including some less than savory ingredients like pentylene glycol, various oils, silicones, and a plethora of acids and vitamins.

With over fifty components listed, one must question whether this product delivers commensurate benefits or merely capitalizes on ingredient overload.

One user shared, “The next morning, I woke up with swollen skin”

Another expressed concerns about the formulation: “My big complaint is the ingredients. Man, there's just a lot there, and frankly, they don't agree with my skin so much. Don't get anywhere near your eyes...I mean not even close - it really burns eyes, heck, I was having issues even with my skin, but one day I got this too close and ouch!”

Navigating the crowded bazaar of ingredients in this product is like trying to find your friend who lost their cell phone at Coachella.

Notably, ingredients like Phenethyl Alcohol are flagged for causing irritation, highlighting the potential risks associated with the product's complex formula.

When a product contains many ingredients, it becomes difficult to identify which ones, in combination with others, are causing negative experiences. This leads to a poor customer experience and slows down the process of improving the product.

Glow Recipe's Avocado Moisture Barrier Cleanser: Missed Opportunities

Glow Recipe's attempt to innovate in the cleanser market with a "moisture barrier" gel formula falls short despite its impressive list of ingredients, including prebiotics, postbiotics, and multiple forms of hyaluronic acid.

While the ingredient list is appealing, the actual product doesn’t work well: it’s watery and it smells bad.

This goes to show that an overemphasis on a seemingly impressive roster of ingredients can sometimes distract from the fundamental qualities that define a great product (texture, viscosity, application and smell).

It's like a having an Birkin bag without the bottom stitched on.

No matter how luxurious the materials are, if the bag bottoms out, it loses its appeal and functionality. Similarly, a product can have a list of top-tier ingredients, but if it doesn't perform well in practice, it fails to meet expectations.

For a cleanser in a premium price range, one would expect a product that’s not just innovative, but something you’d want to repurchase over and over again.

Tula’s So Poreless Deep Exfoliating Blackhead Scrub: A Harsh Reality

Tula's ambitious endeavor to create a skin-smoothing scrub by blending an array of fruit extracts—including pineapple, eggplant, five types of citrus, and two types of raspberry—misses the mark in practical application.

In scrubs, the true measure of quality often lies less in exotic ingredients and more in texture, skin softening benefits, and the exfoliating properties.

Key elements for effective exfoliation, such as grit to lift dead skin cells and slip for smooth application, are notably lacking in this product as shown in reviews.

“The scrub barely has any "scrub" to it.”

“The amount of product you get for the price is pathetic.”

Despite the inclusion of popular exfoliating agents like silica and volcanic ash—silica appears minimally, making up less than 1% of the formula, and volcanic ash, while effective in detoxifying charcoal masks, fails to perform adequately here.

The result is a scrub that, while promising on paper with its intriguing ingredients, fails to deliver the essential functions of effective exfoliation and skin smoothing, ultimately falling short in both form and functionality.

Tatcha’s Luminous Deep Firming Eye Serum: All Show, No Go

Tatcha's eye serum, while aesthetically appealing, has been disappointing users due to misleading claims about its firming benefits.

The main ingredient, caffeine, is primarily known for its depuffing qualities as a vasoconstrictor, not for firming skin.

For caffeine to be effective in the ways Tatcha claims, it would need to be formulated at concentrations around 3%; however, it appears in this product at less than 1% (based on it’s placement in the ingredient list).

The serum lacks substantial backing in the form of clinical or perception studies to validate its firming promises, leaving much to be desired in terms of proven results.

In The Reviews:

“I haven’t seen any results yet. I’m using it morning and night.”

“I’m not sure what this eye cream is supposed to do. It’s not working in regards of reducing wrinkles or lines around the eye”

While it boasts being non-comedogenic and cruelty-free, these features alone are insufficient to make up for its underwhelming performance in delivering promised skin firming effects.

From Concept to Consumer: The Right Way to Develop Skincare Products

This is why I urge a more thoughtful approach to product development.

The desire to create products with a library’s worth of impressive ingredients can lead to formulations that fail to absorb properly, irritate the skin, and provide a poor user experience. In Tatcha’s case, this results in no real benefits for the user.

Over the course of a decade in this industry, I have experienced both failures and successes. I have learned that "more" is not always better. Only in the last five years did my products truly excel due to a change in my philosophy.

I now believe that products can only be great when the focus is on how it’s new, better and different.

This formulation philosophy has proven successful, as evidenced by the numerous highlights, mentions, and awards my products and launches have received during that period.

Effective skincare is not about including everything but selecting the right things. It's a lesson in restraint and precision that benefits both the product and its user.