We know that skincare ingredients can sometimes seem like a mystery and make you hesitant to try new skincare. To help you on your journey to healthy skin, we’re demystifying common skincare ingredients one at a time.
Squalane is one ingredient you’ll find in a lot of treatment options, and for good reason. Squalane’s benefits are vast, including hydration, anti-aging, and brightening. But what is it?
In this guide, we’re breaking down the basics of squalane, from where it comes from to how you can incorporate it into your regimen, so you can expand your skincare line-up with confidence.
- What Is Squalane?
- 6 Squalane Benefits You Should Know
- How to Use Squalane in Your Skincare Routine
- Potential Risks and Considerations When Using Squalane
What Is Squalane?
Squalane is an oily substance derived from something called squalene (with an e). Squalene with an e is a lipid, aka fat, that our bodies produce naturally. It’s part of the lipid makeup of sebum that our sebaceous glands produce to help moisturize and protect our skin.
Squalene in its natural state is a beneficial hydrating ingredient that was more frequently used in the past, but it oxidizes quickly and therefore is not shelf-stable. To fix this problem, skincare scientists take squalene and through a process called hydrogenation to turn it into its saturated form: squalane with an a, which is much more shelf-stable.
This is why you’ll find many more skincare products that use squalane rather than squalene.
6 Squalane Benefits You Should Know
So, what does squalane do for skin? While it’s most widely known for its hydrating properties, squalane is no one-trick pony. Let’s dive into the major squalane skin benefits.
Anti-Aging
Squalane is great at penetrating deep into skin, so it’s able to help treatments hydrate skin at deeper levels, which can help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The ability to get deep into skin, along with its antioxidant and emollient properties, allows squalane to promote skin cell turnover and protect skin from factors that contribute to the aging process.
Hydrating
Since squalane mimics the hydrating squalene that our skin produces naturally, it tends to absorb efficiently. Squalane also acts as an emollient, which means it helps trap moisture in the skin by filling in the gaps between skin cells.
Promotes Skin Barrier Health
Squalane has antioxidant properties that help protect skin from damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are harmful oxygen-containing molecules that occur naturally in the skin but are also formed from exposure to UV radiation, smoke, and other pollutants.
Antioxidants like those found in squalane help identify these oxidized particles and neutralize their damaging effects, therefore protecting the skin barrier from the oxidative stress that causes skin cells to break down.
Brightening
Squalane does not brighten skin directly in the way that vitamin C does, but its ability to even skin texture and calm irritation can result in a more even complexion. Smoother, more even skin reflects light better, making it appear brighter and more youthful.
Non-Comedogenic
Squalane is lightweight and non-comedogenic–meaning it won’t clog your pores. This makes squalane a great ingredient for those with acne-prone and oily skin.
Helps Skin Conditions
If you have a persistent skin condition, squalane could become one of your new best friends. Squalane is great for those with acne because it’s lightweight enough to not clog pores but hydrating and helpful for repairing skin barrier, in addition to helping reduce swelling associated with acne.
Squalane can also be beneficial in treating skin conditions like:
- Eczema
- Psoriasis
- Dermatitis
- Rosacea
When the skin barrier is compromised, squalane can come to the rescue by rehydrating skin and protecting the skin barrier from further water loss. This can alleviate itching or flaking and assist in reducing inflammation.
How to Use Squalane in Your Skincare Routine
There are a multitude of ways to introduce squalane into your skincare routine. It can be added to pretty much any product. That said, not all skincare is created equal. Here are our recommendations from the Colorescience line-up.
Moisturizer
If you didn’t already know, moisturizer is essential in any skincare routine, and including squalane in moisturizers just makes sense. Squalane blends effortlessly with other classic ingredients found in moisturizers like glycerin and ceramides.
Our Barrier Pro™ Essential Moisturizer is formulated with squalane and other key ingredients like tri-molecular hyaluronic acid, goji berry extract, and snow mushroom extract to replenish and rebalance the skin’s moisture barrier.
Use this moisturizer at the end of your skincare regimen to lock in treatments and moisture.
Sun Protection
When building your skincare routine, don’t forget sunscreen. The active ingredients in sunscreen like zinc oxide, while great for protecting the skin from the damaging effects of the sun, can also cause dryness. Including an effective hydrating ingredient like squalane can counteract any drying effects and keep skin moisturized.
The squalane in the Sunforgettable® Total Protection® Sport Stick SPF 50 offers lightweight, soothing hydration while the zinc oxide protects the skin from harmful UV rays. The stick design is compact and offers a smooth application process when you’re on the go. It’s also water and sweat resistant for up to 80 minutes, perfect for sports and active lifestyles of all types.
If you love a powerhouse skincare-makeup hybrid product, you’ll want to try the Sunforgettable® Total Protection® Color Balm SPF 50. It’s a pigmented balm that also offers broad-spectrum sun protection. You can use it on your lips, eyelids, or cheeks for a moisturizing pop of color.
Under-Eye Care
Squalane is a great ingredient for use under the eyes, where we often want to brighten and reduce the appearance of fine lines. The squalane in the is formulated alongside peptides to help hydrate and brighten under-eyes.
This cream also includes caffeine, which can act like a cup of coffee for your skin. Caffeine is known as a vasoconstrictor, meaning it narrows blood vessels. Using a caffeine cream for your eyes can temporarily reduce under-eye puffiness by tightening blood vessels and make under-eyes appear brighter and more youthful by stimulating blood circulation in the area.
Combining Squalane & Other Ingredients
Squalane works well on its own, but it really shines when you combine it with other distinguished ingredients. Using squalane in collaboration with shea butter- a well-known moisturizing ingredient rich in fatty acids- can result in deeply moisturized skin and a stronger skin barrier.
Squalane also helps increase the efficacy of certain actives like retinol and vitamin C. Squalane can help stabilize vitamin c, certain forms of which are more prone to oxidation, and the two ingredients work together to neutralize those pesky free radicals that damage our skin.
When retinol is combined with squalane, it can often penetrate deeper into the skin to better promote cell turnover. If you’re on a skin cycling regimen of exfoliants and retinoids, incorporating squalane can help maximize the benefits of these ingredients in addition to hydrating skin, which is important as both exfoliants and retinoids can dry out the skin.
Potential Risks and Considerations When Using Squalane
While squalane is considered a mild, non-irritating ingredient safe for all skin types, it’s always advisable to take caution when introducing a new ingredient into your routine.
If you have sensitive skin or are prone to allergies, you may want to try a patch test by applying a small amount of the product to a less visible part of the skin, like behind the ear, and wait 12 to 24 hours to see how your skin reacts.
Harness the Benefits of Squalane with New Skincare Treatments
If you’re looking to level up your skincare routine and maximize the benefits of your products, consider giving squalane a try. It’s an impressively hydrating ingredient that soothes, improves the skin barrier, and bolsters the effectiveness of many other ingredients.
We’ve formulated many of our skincare treatments with squalane to harness its many benefits into effective solutions. The squalane in our products is responsibly sourced from sugarcane and is combined with other high-quality ingredients that join forces to help give you your healthiest, most supple skin yet. Try our skincare and sun protection solutions today.
