8.88% Vitamin C. So Why Doesn’t It Feel Like It? …and why does it matter?

We get asked a version of this question often, particularly by people whose skin is reactive, eczema-prone or affected by rosacea or atopic tendencies: How can ROWANE™ contain an 8.88% triple-vitamin C complex and still be formulated with sensitive, barrier-vulnerable skin in mind?

The answer gets to something we think is often overlooked in high-performance skincare: concentration is only part of the formulation story. How much of an active ingredient is in a formula matters, but so does the form of that active, what surrounds it, how the formula is structured and, ultimately, how that ingredient meets the skin.

This matters because we have become accustomed to evaluating skincare by percentages. We see 10% vitamin C, 2% retinoid or 10% acid and instinctively use that number as shorthand for potency. But two products containing similar concentrations of an active can behave very differently on the skin. The delivery system, supporting ingredients, pH, formulation architecture and the condition of your own barrier can all influence how a formula performs and how it feels.

So the more interesting question isn’t simply “How much active is in this formula?” It is also: “How does that active get to the skin—and what happens to my barrier along the way?”

That question leads to one of the fundamental challenges of clinical skincare. Your skin is specifically designed to keep things out. To help ingredients move into or through its outer layers, formulas may use penetration enhancers (ingredients that help other ingredients move into or through the outer layers of skin). Depending on the formula, these can include alcohols, glycols, surfactants and certain free fatty acids. Some work, in part, by changing the organization or fluidity of the lipids within the stratum corneum (the skin’s protective outermost layer), temporarily making that structure easier for other ingredients to move through.

These ingredients are not inherently bad. They can be valuable formulation tools, and their effects depend on the ingredient, concentration and complete formula. But there can be a tradeoff: under some conditions, increasing penetration by disturbing the skin’s organized lipids can also increase the potential for dryness, irritation or barrier disruption. For skin that is already dry, dehydrated, sensitive, reactive or barrier-compromised, that tradeoff matters.

And this is where we arrive at what we call the “Trojan horse” of clinical skincare.

 

Instead of thinking only about how aggressively we can push an active through the barrier, what if we also think about the vehicle carrying it? What surrounds the active? How is it packaged? And can that surrounding environment be designed to have greater compatibility with the biology of the skin?

To understand why this matters, it helps to understand the barrier itself. The stratum corneum isn’t simply a wall. It is a highly organized structure made up of skin cells surrounded by a lipid matrix rich in ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids. These lipids help hold the barrier together, keep water in and protect against the outside environment. When this organization becomes compromised, water can escape more easily through transepidermal water loss, or TEWL (water escaping through the skin).

This is where biomimetic formulation (designing formulas to imitate or work with structures found naturally in the body) becomes particularly interesting. Rather than viewing the barrier only as something that needs to be overcome, we can formulate with the biological environment of that barrier in mind.

One way we approach this is through phospholipids (specialized lipids capable of organizing into structures similar to biological membranes). A phospholipid has one part that interacts with water and another that interacts with oil. Because of this structure, phospholipids can organize themselves into tiny layers and structures capable of surrounding or associating with other ingredients.

These structures can form liposomes (microscopic lipid-based carriers that can encapsulate or carry ingredients). The simplest way to understand the concept is this: the active is the passenger; the liposome is the vehicle.

Across Steinder Weisen, we use ingredients including jojoba phospholipids and other skin-compatible lipids because we’re interested in this idea of biological compatibility. The skin doesn’t literally “think” these ingredients are its own. Instead, we’re selecting materials whose structures and properties can work compatibly within the lipid-rich environment of the skin barrier.

Biomimicry can go beyond individual ingredients and influence the architecture of an entire formula. LAMELLARE™ Structural Lipid Crème, for example, uses a lamellar emulsion (an emulsion in which lipids and water are organized into repeating layers). A conventional emulsion brings oil and water together into a stable formula. A structured lamellar system creates a more organized, layered architecture—particularly interesting because the skin barrier itself depends on highly organized layers of lipids.

In simple terms, there is a difference between ingredients simply being mixed together and ingredients being organized into architecture. LAMELLARE™ combines this structured environment with ceramides, cholesterol and other skin-compatible lipids alongside targeted actives. The goal isn’t to make the skin believe the formula is skin. It is to formulate with greater consideration for the lipid architecture the barrier already uses.

And that brings us back to our Trojan horse. The active is the passenger, but the vehicle matters. Liposomes, phospholipids, structured lamellar emulsions, ceramides, cholesterol and other skin-compatible lipid systems give us different ways to think about how high-performance ingredients meet the skin.

This is particularly important to us because we formulate for skin that may already be dry, dehydrated, sensitive, reactive or barrier-compromised, as well as skin experiencing changes associated with age, hormonal shifts, environmental exposure and aesthetic interventions. For this skin, pursuing potency while ignoring the barrier doesn’t make much sense.

This is why we don’t believe potency and barrier support should sit on opposite sides of the formulation equation. Different Steinder Weisen formulas use different technologies, but the philosophy remains consistent: formulate for performance while respecting the biological architecture the skin depends upon.

So the next time you see an impressive percentage printed on a skincare bottle, look beyond the number. Ask what form of the active is being used, what surrounds it, how it is being delivered and how the rest of the formula has been designed to interact with your barrier.

Because high potency shouldn’t require barrier abandonment.

Steinder Weisen® Bioactive Concentrates™. High-Potency. Multi-Pathway. Barrier-First.

Have a question about which formula fits your skin’s specific concerns? Reply to this email—we read and answer every one.