The Ordinary

Allergy can be one of the problems with propylene glycol, but the main problem is its irritation potential which can occur at concentrations as low as 1-2% (link). In that regard, I totally disagree with Paula Begoun (she rates it as good). Pentylene Glycol, Hexylene Glycol may be somewhat irritating as well, but not as much as propylene glycol.

This book explains a bit more in detail what damage phototoxic plant extracts do inside your cells, link, p634.

You still don’t believe me that the Buffet (or matrixyl) doesn’t contain copper A peptide isn’t automatically a copper peptide, the Buffet of The Ordinary contains peptides bound to palmitic acid (in stead of copper). Deciem does have copper peptide serums, but there’s no problem with combining The Ordinary Buffet with the Ascorbic Acid because it doesn’t contain copper. It is true in general that vitamin C doesn’t absorb very well, that’s why you need to use such extreme high amounts for it to be effective. But 23% anhydrous vitamin C will definitively give you the anti-aging benefits of Vitamin C. And also consistent use will give you kind of a reservoir of Vitamin C in skin. I just received all the other Vitamin C serums of The Ordinary. The 23% Ascorbic Acid is really something for PM use, I think its very good, but I like to use multiple products so then a derivative might be better.

The Moogoo Super Vitamin C serum looks good, squalane is also a photoprotective ingredient. Although its more expensive than The Ordinary 20% Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate. And I’m wondering about the 25% Tocopherol, if that’s true, it really is too high, Tocopherol is fine anywhere between 1-2%, but any higher can be detrimental to skin. I guess the A’kin contains a rather low percentage of Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, also it contains the irritant Rosemary Leaf Extract.

According the safety tests all glycols are safe and not irritating at the typical concentration at which they are used. But according my dermatologist Propylene Glycol has been an issue since decades, it can be irritating for skin at concentrations as low as 1-2%. So well, I really would like to know the truth about the other glycols. Glycols are used very often these days, because they also function as preservatives. So companies can formulate “preservative free” products this way.

Although the respond of the ordinary is quite logical, they’re not going to say anything negative about themselves of course. Even if the products were unstable, they wouldn’t admit that. But if an airless pump is not necessary for the stability of the active ingredients, it indeed is only a marketing trick which the other companies play. I really don’t know, what to believe, Paula’s Choice doesn’t use many airless pumps either and claims to produce stable products. The Ordinary also put some of their products in bottles with UV-protective glass, if they didn’t care about stability at all, they wouldn’t bother doing that either. 

I must say looking at this interview with Brandon Truaxe, I can’t deny I think he is more focused on making money and expanding worldwide, than about formulating stable products. If a costumer is fine with dropper bottles, and only looks at the percentage of the active, and not at the other ingredients it’s fine with him I guess. But maybe I’m evil now It’s so hard for a consumer to know who is honest, and what the truth is, and there is so much controversy regarding stability of ingredients. I’m planning on reading more on Brandon, to get to know his motives. I have frequently met with Jetske Ultee, the founder of Uncover Skincare, and I must say I think she is quite honest about everything. She believes you can’t formulate with those kind of anti-oxidants if they are not packaged in airless pumps, but well, her own products are packaged airless, so there is a conflict of interest, could this be a marketing trick as well?

Here’s a movie about their international shipping, I must admit it’s quite fast, about 4-5 days!