Calm + Cream Set for Oily/Combination Skin

What each ingredient does

• Acacia Senegal Gum: Film forming

  Also known as gum arabic, acacia gum is a natural gum consisting of the hardened sap of two species of the acacia tree. In cosmetics, acacia gum is used for it's ability to create less stringy, or slimy and sticky, gels. The acacia gum we use is ethically and sustainably handpicked in Africa, and is a 100% renewable raw material.

• Aqua: Solvent

  Water. The main vehicle for our water based products

• Avena Sativa Kernel Flour: Skin protecting

  Colloidal oatmeal. The whole oat grain, including the bran layer, is milled and sieved. This results in a light cream coloured, fine powder. The bran layer of the oat contains a high proportion of natural actives, including oat beta-glucan, avenanthramides, oil and protein, all of which are beneficial for cosmetic use on the skin. A 'colloid' or colloidal suspension is defined as a substance with dispersed insoluble particles suspended throughout. Colloidal oatmeal soothes and relieves redness, itching and minor skin irritations caused by eczema or skin rashes and is monographed by the FDA as a skin protectant. It reduces TEWL (transepidermal waterloss) and effectively forms a physical barrier on the skin surface. The oatmeal we use is made from Finnish oats.

• Avena Sativa Kernel Oil: Skin conditioning

  Oat kernel oil. This dark golden oil has a nearly 50/50 balance of oleic and linoleic acids. From a skincare point of view, it's an excellent skin softener and has some calming properties too. We source our oat oil from Fazer, a Finnish family-owned, 126-year-old food and food service company, who produce their oil in Finland, using Finnish oats. The Finnish-ness matters because a) the soil in Finland produces outstanding quality oats and b) it is quite rare for an oil producer to have a 100% local supply chain.

• Canola Oil: Emollient and skin conditioning

  Sustainably produced, deodorized and purified Swedish canola oil (from rapeseed oil) gently dissolves makeup and dirt. Canola oil is commonly used in cosmetics and is well-tolerated, skin wise. It is slightly higher in oleic acid (at around 60%), with linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids at a total of just over 30%, making it a good all-around oil for most, and especially for drier and eczema prone skins.

• Citric Acid: Buffering agent

  Citric acid is a commonly used buffering, i.e. pH adjusting, agent in cosmetics. It is made through bacterial fermentation and shifts the pH of the product into the acidic range. This is closer to the natural pH of the skin, which may range from 4 to 7, but is usually thought to be between 5 and 6, with recent studies, however, indicating it to be below 5.

• Ectoin: Skin conditioning

  Ectoin is a powerful, small, multi-tasking and natural stress-protection molecule, a so-called extremolyte. From a chemical point of view, it is a cyclic amino acid derivate. Extremolytes protect extremophilic microorganisms and plants from the extreme conditions of their habitats like salt lakes, hot springs, permanent ice or deserts. The properties of ectoin have been proven by various in-vivo studies: its benefits include long-term moisturisation, diminished skin roughness, skin barrier repair and anti-inflammatory and anti-irritant properties. We get ours from a lovely little company in Germany, where it is produced through biotechnological fermentation from a specific, non-GMO strain of the halophilic bacteria Halomonas elongata.

• Glycerin: Humectant and skin protecting

  Technically a sugar alcohol, glycerin is one of the oldest, most common and most versatile humectants used in cosmetics. It moisturises and protects the skin, accelerates skin barrier recovery and has antimicrobial properties, among other things. We use vegetable, rapeseed-derived glycerin.

• Honokiol: Antioxidant and skin conditioning

  Magnolia bark contains two potent anti-inflammatory substances, magnolol and honokiol, which synergistically inhibit the activation of NF-KB, a key inflammatory mediator. These two compunds can protect skin against chronic inflammation, and reduce skin redness. Honokiol boosts the effect of our Cream’s preservative system.

• Lecithin: Skin conditioning, emollient and emulsifying

  Lecitihin is a widely used natural emulsifier in skincare, to enable the mixing of water and oil into an emulsion. Lecitihin leaves a light powdery feel to skin when used in e.g. creams. This one is soy-derived.

• Madecassoside: Anti-oxidant and skin-conditioning

  Madecassoside is a highly purified glycosylated triterpen of the Centella Asiatica or Gotu Kola plant, also known as tiger grass, which has a long history of use in Eastern medicine. It has skin soothing, anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties, reduces redness and flaking, and increases skin hydration. The madecassoside we use is sustainably (UEBT/Nagoya Protocol) wild-harvested on Madagascar and processed in France. Our Calming Serum contains 1.5% madecassoside.

• Magnolol: Antioxidant

  Magnolia bark contains two potent anti-inflammatory substances, magnolol and honokiol, which synergistically inhibit the activation of NF-KB, a key inflammatory mediator. These two compounds can protect skin against chronic inflammation, and reduce skin redness. Like honokiol, magnolol boosts the effect of our Cream’s preservative system.

• Papaver Somniferum Seed Oil: Emollient

  Poppy seed oil. A sustainably sourced virgin oil containing sterols and Vitamin E, and with a high linoleic acid content. It is a 100% UK product, fully traceable and with a sustainable supply chain: the oil is a pharmaceutical byproduct. Our chemist Jaana has actually met the guy living next to the field of poppies from which the oil is harvested by a 5th generation family farm. Poppy seed oil has excellent skin barrier recovery properties, and is especially suitable for sensitive skin. The oil is obtained by lightly pressing the seeds of the White Poppy.

• Polyglyseryl-6 Distearate: Emulsifying

  An emulsifier, put simply, enables the mixing of water and oil into an emulsion. This one is gentle on the skin and skin barrier, as it is of the non-ionic variety. It is derived from RSPO certified palm oil.

• Propanediol: Solvent and humectant

  Apart from being an excellent, non-irritating solvent, the glycol propanediol has excellent hydrating and preservative boosting properties. The one we use is made from fermentation of glucose, from corn.

• Pullulan: Film forming

  A natural and commonly used filmformer in cosmetics, pullulan is a polysaccharide, and produced by fermenting corn, potato and tapioca starch syrup with the yeast Aureobasidium Pullulans.

• Rhamnose: Humectant

  Rhamnose is a plant-based sugar with hydrating, anti-inflammatory, skin soothing and skin rejuvenating properties.

• Sclerotium Gum: Thickening, skin conditioning and emulsion stabilising

  A natural and commonly used thickener in cosmetics, sclerotium gum too is a polysaccharide produced from sugars through fermentation. This one gets its name from the Sclerotium rolfsii bacteria species. Origin: glucose syrup from wheat/corn.

• Silica: Thickening

  Silica is a mineral found abundantly in sandstone, clay, and granite, as well as in parts of plants and animals. It’s often used as an absorbent powder, i.e. a mattifying agent, in cosmetics. It is derived from sodium silicate which is acidified, then filtered, washed and dried.

• Sodium Anisate: Antimicrobial, flavouring agent and preservative

  The salt form of star anis derived organic acid.

• Sodium Dehydroacetate: Preservative

  Sodium dehydroacetate is the sodium salt of dehydroacetic acid. It is chemically synthesized through a multi-step reaction, starting with acetylene. Although it is not plant derived, it is approved by natural certification institutes such as COSMOS and the Soil Association, thanks to its mildness on the skin and body as well as the absence of any alternative registered (approved) natural preservatives under the EU’s cosmetic regulation.

• Sodium Levulinate: Skin conditioning and preservative

  Sodium levulinate is the sodium salt of levulinic acid, which is an organic acid derived from in this case sugarcane.

• Sodium PCA: Humectant and skin conditioning

  Sodium PCA is a widely used humectant in skincare. Chemically speaking an amino acid derivative, it is the sodium salt of pyroglutamic acid, which in turn is naturally present in human skin, and a part of the so-called NMF (natural moisturizing factor) of the skin. It has excellent moisture-binding capacity. The one we use made by the cyclization of beetroot derived L-glutamic acid. The sodium hydroxide used in the process is synthetic.

• Xanthan Gum: Thickening, gel forming and emulsion stabilising

  A natural and commonly used mainly thickener and gelling agent in cosmetics, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide produced through Bacterial fermentation of pure culture Xanthomonas Campestris with protein and carbohydrate sources, in this case from soy or corn.