May 4

May 4 PRODUCT REVIEW: THE INKEY LIST HYALURONIC ACID CLEANSER - BEST HYDRATING CLEANSER, WHAT IS TRANS-EPIDERMAL WATER LOSS?

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THE INKEY LIST | HYALURONIC ACID CLEANSER

This product review was originally part of my blog article titled, Products I'm Into: New Stuff from The Inkey List. You can catch the full piece here.

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I love discovering new things. Whether it’s cool TikTok beauty hacks, innovative skincare treatments or delicious vegan treats, it’s the little things that make my days delightful.

Just ahead of vegan donuts on the delight scale are innovative skincare products. And when it comes to cool, new stuff I’d never imagined, let alone heard of, The Inkey List has long been an innovation machine.

One of my favorite new Inkey products over the past year is the brand’s Succinic Acid Acne Treatment. I’m always seeking out new acne products — and particularly gentle, effective blemish serums and creams that don’t dry out the skin and compromise the delicate microbiome. That only perpetuates the acne cycle; it’s the reason so many people struggle with acne longterm.

The Inkey List’s Succinic Acid Acne Treatment is a blend of two tried-and-true, proven acne treatment actives, Sulfur Powder and Salicylic Acid. By themselves, they’re not innovative. But combined with Succinic Acid, an ingredient I’d never heard of until Inkey imagined it, you’ve got acne innovation. In the year since the product launched, I’ve seen Succinic Acid in several other acne products. The Inkey List didn’t event it, but they kicked off a trend!

PRODUCT REVIEW: THE INKEY LIST SUCCINIC ACID ACNE TREATMENT – BEST GENTLE ACNE TREATMENT

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What Is Succinic Acid and What Does Succinic Acid Do for Skin?

In my initial review of The Inkey List’s Succinic Acid Acne Treatment, I wanted to know more about the mysterious sounding ingredient and found an insightful piece on the Refinery29 website titled, I Used Buzzy Ingredient Succinic Acid For 4 Weeks & It Changed My Skin.

What is succinic acid and how can it treat acne, fine lines and wrinkles?
“Naturally found in amber or sugar cane, succinic acid is sustainably obtained through a process of fermentation and is similar in aim to salicylic acid. It has skin-softening and bacteria-inhibiting properties and helps to control sebum, therefore reducing shine and excess oil, which can potentially lead to breakouts. It also restores the skin’s pH balance – something some skincare products (such as foaming cleansers or harsh exfoliating acids) can disrupt, causing redness, dryness and cracked skin.
“Although new to us in the beauty industry, succinic acid has been used in European countries for many years for its medicinal properties. Its skincare properties are especially intriguing, though. ‘As succinic acid balances oily and congested complexions, it’s ideal for patients with acne,’ says skin expert and facialist Renée Lapino. ‘This leads to fewer spots and blackheads. But succinic acid also reverses the visible signs of ageing, and is especially useful for those with sensitive skin that gets red or irritated easily.’”

The Succinic Acid Acne Treatment has become one of my go-to blemish treatments for my occasional breakouts. It’s quite effective — and never dries out my skin. I have Inkey innovation to thank for that!

Over the last several weeks, the brand has been on a roll with multiple new product introductions and I’ve been excited to give them all a try. Three of them stand out to me, featured in the blog.

The Inkey List Omega Water Cream Moisturizer is a wonderfully light, refreshing lotion that’s slightly thicker than a conventional gel-cream. With the change of seasons and warmer weather ahead, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

I love a good cleanser! Among my favorites for warmer weather is a gel type cleanser. Often, however, even the best cleansing gels can dry out the skin. Inkey infused their new Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser with an innovative complex of humectants and hydrators to infuse skin with moisture and prevent dryness and trans-epidermal water loss. It’s so cool and such a pleasure to use!

Last is The Inkey List Mandelic Acid Treatment for the treatment of acne marks — one of the most vexing acne-related conditions to treat. Even I deal with leftover signs of acne in the days and weeks after the blemish has been eradicated. Mandelic Acid is hot in skincare right now and this new treatment really intrigues me.

Let’s take a look at one of The Inkey List’s latest innovations for SS22 in more detail…

The Inkey List | Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser

If you’ve followed my blog antics for a while and, in particular, watched my skincare videos on my YouTube channel, you know that cleansing is ritualistic for me. Yes, I love a good cleanser, and especially a cleansing gel — IMO the best facial cleanser for part two of a double cleanse.

And among my favorite cleansers happens to be a cleansing gel from The Inkey List, introduced perhaps two years ago. In true Inkey fashion, the brand’s Fulvic Acid Brightening Cleanser is one part innovation, one part intrigue. Sure it sounds super weird and nerdy, but that’s what I love about Inkey!

In my original product review of the Fulvic Acid Brightening Cleanser, I learned that fulvic acid is extracted from “soils, compost, marine sediments, and sewage” and acts like a gentle exfoliant. I have some degree of confidence that the fulvic acid in Inkey’s brightening cleanser isn’t sourced from sewage. I’m not worried. I love the stuff!

PRODUCT REVIEW: THE INKEY LIST FULVIC ACID BRIGHTENING CLEANSER - BEST BRIGHTENING CLEANSER

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Similar to The Inkey List’s Fulvic Acid Brightening Cleanser, the brand’s new Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser is a refreshing cleansing gel with only a slight foaming effect. Cleansers that foam a lot are fun to use, but aren’t very gentle on the skin. So I appreciate Inkey so much for that.

And the brand’s new Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser couldn’t have come at a better time. The temps are slowly, but surely heating up and I’m switching up all my skincare, including the cleansers I reach for in my daily routines.

It may seem like cleansers aren’t often very innovative or unique. But a close look at the INCI of the The Inkey List’s latest cleansing introduction and there’s innovation everywhere. Most notably, the Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser contains a complex of three hydrating actives that help to prevent trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL). In fact, TEWL is the leading cause of dehydration and one of the key causes of skin aging — right behind unprotected sun exposure.

What Is Trans-Epidermal Water Loss (TEWL)?

Trans-epidermal water loss, or TEWL, is the leading cause of dehydration — or insufficient water in the skin’s layers. Just as the body needs sufficient quantities of water each day to survive, the skin needs water to function in an optimally healthy manner. Dehydrated skin compromises skin barrier function, diminishing the skin’s ability to fortify itself against external aggressors.

For a deep-dive into trans-epidermal water loss, there’s an excellent article on the health website Skin Better titled, What Is Transepidermal Water Loss and Why Is it Important? It’s available to read here. In the piece, the author explains TEWL as follows:

“The skin is comprised of three primary layers: the epidermis, the outermost layer; the dermis or middle layer; and the hypodermis, the undermost layer. When water passes from the dermis through the epidermis and evaporates from the skin’s surface, this is known as transepidermal water loss (International Journal of Pharmaceutics).
While TEWL is a process that your skin naturally regulates, certain factors that can damage the skin’s barrier function can also affect TEWL levels. Circumstances such as injury, low-humidity weather conditions and topically applied products that dry out the skin can impact TEWL.
To achieve this, combine humectant and occlusive skincare ingredients.
Transepidermal water loss can contribute to a variety of dry skin conditions, and although it is a natural process, there are ways that you can help your skin stay moisturized and hydrated. Hydration refers to the water content of the skin, whereas moisturization is the skin’s ability to retain those water molecules. Therefore, your skin needs both elements to maintain desirable levels of TEWL.
To achieve this, combine humectant and occlusive skincare ingredients. Humectants help to draw moisture to the epidermis, either from the air if it is humid enough, or from the underlying dermis in low-humidity conditions. Because water content that is drawn from the dermis can be lost through TEWL, it’s important to combine the use of humectants with occlusives. Together, these ingredients create a reservoir of moisture in the epidermis and act as a barrier on the skin to help prevent TEWL by sealing in that moisture. The occlusive agents simultaneously keep pollutants, toxins and harmful bacteria out (Skin Therapy Letter).”

There’s classic humectant Hyaluronic Acid, a plant-based sugar complex called PolyFructol Plus, and Betaine Powder — a bio-compatible active found in the body that helps the body metabolize a certain amino acid. The three combine to hydrate skin by holding water in the skin’s layers and preventing dryness in the first place.

Seriously, what’s PolyFructol Plus though? I just had to go googling! According to the ingredient’s manufacturer, “PolyFructol Plus is a highly concentrated solution of the plant-based oligosaccharide inulin which is combined with lecithin derived liposomes that efficiently improve skin hydration.”

As I often am with The Inkey List’s new product offerings, I’m so intrigued by their imaginative use of skincare ingredients. As with the Succinic Acid in the brand’s Succinic Acid Acne Treatment, even something as simple as a non-stripping, non-drying facial cleanser teaches me something new about ingredient efficacy.

As a non-stripping cleanser, the Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser is formulated with a coconut-derived surfactant, Coco-glucoside, formed through a chemical reaction between glucose, or sugar, and coconut oil-derived ingredients.

I’m not kidding when I say that this new cleanser barely foams. If you love a foaming cleanser, this one isn’t for you. But if you appreciate the gentle benefits of a low-foaming cleanser like I do, the Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser will blow you away.

Cleansers don’t have to foam to be effective. They can do so just as effectively by breaking down surface oils, dirt and bacteria more gently. And this is the most gentle and pleasurable cleanser I’ve come across since the Josie Maran Pineapple Enzyme Pore Clearing Cleanser, which I reviewed on the blog here.

If you’re looking for a gentle hydrating cleanser, The Inkey List’s Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser is an ideal option.

What I like about it: The Inkey List Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser is one of the most gentle cleansers I’ve experienced. I love its complex of hydrators that helps to prevent skin dehydration and trans-epidermal water loss. And its low-foaming quality is truly ideal in a cleanser. At least for me! Plus, it’s just $9.99.

What I don’t like about it: I like everything about this hydrating gel cleanser.

Who it’s for: All skin types.

SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase The Inkey List Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser for $9.99 here.

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