Hollow-cream
Buying cosmetics sometimes feels like walking through a minefield – you can come across a "hollow cream," a product whose flashy descriptions on the packaging promise spectacular effects in every aspect of skin appearance and a rewind of time almost back to infancy.
What prompted me to write this post was a disappointing cream from a well-known brand, claiming to bring back youth. And indeed, it did one thing well - it tightened the skin, or rather... it just pulled it. Unfortunately, beyond that, it did absolutely nothing - no hydration, suppleness, elasticity, soothing, or comfort. Overall, a waste of money.
As for the ingredients, a classic case - for a pleasant sensory experience, they used typical raw materials found in products considered premium: silicone elastomers, a blend of three acrylate thickeners, and peptides to achieve the tightening effect.
So, what could be the reason for the dissatisfaction? Have you ever wondered why some cosmetics noticeably improve the condition of your skin while others don’t?
The answer isn’t simple at all. A product’s behavior on the skin depends on many factors: its composition (of course), but also skin type, condition, and even the season or air humidity. Creating formulations is my job - selecting ingredients to achieve a specific effect is my daily routine, so I’d like to focus on this first aspect.
Do I have a clever solution to this problem? I definitely have my methods, though I don't think there’s a universal answer :) My family and friends often ask me which cream I recommend, but that’s a trick question! Every person has different skin, which makes it incredibly difficult to create a cream that pleases most customers. However, in my experience, applying the following solutions almost always delivers excellent results:
Using biocompatible raw materials, such as emulsifiers that form liquid crystal structures (which also exist in the skin) or certain emollients. Some manufacturers provide studies showing that selecting such an ingredient over a synthetic one, even in a simple formulation, significantly increases hydration. These components are easily "recognized" and integrated into the skin. Note: I’m not against synthetic ingredients—I’m speaking from my formulation experience. Sometimes choosing a synthetic component is absolutely necessary.
Incorporating components found in the skin’s Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF). I’d love to see every emulsion enriched with hyaluronate, amino acids, sodium lactate, humectants, mild acids in small amounts, sugars, or PCA as standard base elements. Why isn’t this always the case? Because every formulator has their own style and approach, but most importantly—there’s a strict budget that often doesn’t allow for these ingredients. You won’t find a rich formulation in a $5 cream from a popular drugstore chain, and even if the INCI list looks impressive, the active ingredients are often just a drop in the bucket.
Selecting ingredients found in the skin’s intercellular cement, such as saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (omega 3-6-7-9, stearic acid, and palmitic acid), along with ceramides, cholesterol (a highly underrated ingredient), squalane, triglycerides, and tocopherol.
Adding soothing and anti-redness ingredients. Chronic low-grade inflammation in the skin, often stress-related (oh, that cortisol...), leads to persistent redness and an unhealthy appearance. Achieving the coveted glow or glass-skin effect without makeup becomes nearly impossible. That’s why reducing inflammation is crucial. Your skin will thank you for a solid dose of antioxidants (vitamin C, resveratrol, glutathione, ergothioneine), panthenol, allantoin, provitamin D3 (my personal favorite), and extracts from Centella Asiatica or passionflower.
Using even some of these ingredients would significantly improve the condition of many skin types, but hoping that cosmetic companies will immediately adopt them in their formulations is probably wishful thinking ;)
On the other hand, I have to defend manufacturers - business profitability, selling through retail chains, and distributing products from overseas all require cosmetics with a long shelf life (at least 30 months). This applies to both budget and premium brands. To achieve this, companies must use raw materials that don’t spoil easily, which is why you’ll rarely find oils rich in essential fatty acids (EFAs) in these products. Additionally, incorporating the ingredients mentioned above makes formulations much more complex, increasing the risk of unwanted reactions that could shorten a cream’s lifespan before it even reaches the three-year mark.
Smaller manufacturers that don’t operate in mass markets can produce batches with shorter shelf lives (1.5 - 2 years), allowing them to include more ingredients that rebuild the skin’s hydrolipid barrier. However, their products tend to be more expensive and harder to find. This leads us to the classic triangle: ingredients vs. price vs. availability, where you can usually achieve only two at the same time.
But the funniest part? After all the effort put into brand concepts, ingredient selection, and efficacy testing, the customer might still choose a completely different product - because it’s trendy, on sale, or simply smells better ;P
