Decoding Labels
Autocomplete now puts hyaluronic acid serum and hyaluronic acid injection side by side, but the FDA regulates one as a medical device and treats the other as a cosmetic. Filler serum marketing has learned to blur that line.
5 min read
Decoding Labels
Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide remain the only two UV filters the FDA lists as generally recognized as safe and effective, so most of the fixes for that gray-white finish had to happen in the pigment, not the filter.
5 min read
Decoding Labels
A Reddit thread keeps comparing TIRTIR and SKIN1004 as if both azelaic acid serums sit at 12%, but only one of them does. Here is what each label actually says, why azelaic acid is unusually hard to formulate at high strength, and why the percentage on the front of the bottle tells you less than shoppers assume.
5 min read
Decoding Labels
The white crumbs under sunscreen are not niacinamide and zinc fighting each other. They are two film layers meeting before either has finished setting, and the fix is timing, not a new serum.
5 min read
Decoding Labels
Eye-area retinol formulas top out around 0.1 percent while facial serums run up to 1 percent, and the gap traces to a measurable difference in skin thickness, not a marketing trick.
5 min read
Decoding Labels
New shelf-scan data puts niacinamide in over half of US skincare routines, but the concentration race from 2 percent up to 12 percent has outrun the research that built the ingredient's reputation. Here is what the actual studies tested.
5 min read
Decoding Labels
The number on a salicylic acid cleanser bottle is capped by federal rule, but it does not predict how much acid actually reaches a pore before the product gets rinsed away. Here is what the label is telling you, and what it leaves out.
5 min read
