Why do brands claim higher percentages?Updated a year ago
Learning this trick might raise a big question:
Why do some brands claim to use 10% of an ingredient, when the ingredient list reveals a different story?
That’s where those derivatives we mentioned earlier play a big role. The easiest way to claim a higher percentage is to use stable but ineffective derivatives of the star ingredient that bolster your percentage claim.
Then, if you feel so inclined, you can sprinkle in just a few drops of the actually effective format so you can claim it’s in there. We see this happen with high-end brands a lot more often, while budget brands simply opt for only using a derivative format.
Wanna skip the guessing games? Shop Protocol Skincare products - effective percentage levels, guaranteed:
We’re talking skincare here, Bernie
We’re not big fans of the 1% but we do enjoy identifying the 1% skincare line. It gives a glimpse into how skincare is made and, more importantly, helps us identify useless, overpriced products.
There are a few other things to keep in mind when shopping for skincare, though.
First, some ingredients don’t need to be used in high percentages - take retinaldehyde, for instance, which is plenty effective at 0.1%.
Second, there are other factors that impact efficacy. Some ingredients are very picky about pH (looking at you, AHA) and others need airtight containers to stay active.
But why are we so passionate about these nitpicky factors? Because we like skincare that works. We bet you prefer the same.