Compounds studied for skin & aesthetic, ranked by the strength of the evidence — strongest at the top, research-grade and disappointing below. Grades reflect the evidence, not marketing. This is a neutral reference; nothing here is a recommendation to use, and no compound is offered for sale.
Afamelanotide is a synthetic α-MSH analog and selective MC1R agonist — and a genuinely approved, first-in-class drug (Scenesse, EMA 2015 / FDA 2019) for the rare disease…
Ceramides are the lipid molecules that make up roughly half of the skin's barrier by mass.
Glutathione (GSH) is a tripeptide that serves as the body's master antioxidant — genuinely essential intracellular chemistry.
Glycerin (glycerol) is the quiet workhorse of hydration — a small humectant the skin already makes, and one of the most studied, best-value ingredients in all of skincare.
Glycolic acid is the smallest alpha-hydroxy acid (~76 Da) and therefore the strongest and deepest-acting of the family — the gold-standard AHA for resurfacing.
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring polysaccharide that binds up to a thousand times its weight in water.
LL-37 is the body's own broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide — the only human cathelicidin — a 37-amino-acid innate-immune effector made by skin and immune cells, switched on by…
Niacinamide (nicotinamide, vitamin B3) is one of the best-evidenced cosmetic active ingredients.
Retinal — retinaldehyde on a longer label — is the retinoid one honest step ahead of retinol.
Retinol is a topical vitamin A alcohol and the best-evidenced non- prescription active for the appearance of fine wrinkles, photoaged skin texture, and hyperpigmentation.
Salicylic acid is the one everyday beta-hydroxy acid (BHA), and its whole identity rests on a single property: it is oil-soluble, so unlike the water-soluble AHAs it dissolves…
Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) is one of the best-evidenced cosmetic actives — multiple independent RCTs across two decades and a 2023 systematic review consistently show visible…
Zinc oxide is the strongest-standing UV filter in the register, and unusually for this reference, its evidence is not equivocal.
Allantoin is skincare's quiet soother, and it pulls off a rare trick: it gently smooths and calms the look of skin at the same time.
Alpha arbutin is a biosynthesised glycoside — hydroquinone bound to glucose — used as a gentle, stable brightening active.
Azelaic acid (AzA) is a dicarboxylic acid from grains and skin yeast, and one of dermatology's most versatile, best-tolerated actives — calming the look of redness, clearing the…
Bakuchiol is a meroterpene phenol from the seeds of the Indian plant Psoralea corylifolia (babchi), first isolated in 1966 and introduced as a cosmetic active (Sytenol A,…
Beta-glucan is a large glucose polysaccharide (from yeast, oat, or grain cell walls) that does three useful things at once: it draws in water, forms a thin film that slows water…
Bisabolol is the calming molecule at the heart of chamomile - a sesquiterpene alcohol used at roughly 0.1-1% to make skin look and feel softer and less reactive.
Caffeine is one of the most common cosmetic actives — the default ingredient in eye creams, antioxidant serums, and "firming" body products.
Centella asiatica — "cica," gotu kola, or tiger grass — is a rare botanical that earned its place with real clinical evidence rather than folklore: at the extract level it…
Colloidal oatmeal is the rare "natural" ingredient with a genuinely strong evidence base: finely-milled oat, it is a package of actives — beta-glucans and polysaccharides that…
Dipotassium glycyrrhizate is licorice's contribution to the soothing shelf: the water-soluble salt of glycyrrhizic acid, licorice root's main active, used at roughly 0.1-2% to…
Ectoin is a small (142 Da) amino-acid-derived "extremolyte" — a molecule that desert bacteria in salt lakes manufacture to survive extreme heat, UV, and osmotic stress.
Linoleic and linolenic acid are the two essential fatty acids — "essential" meaning the skin cannot make them, so they must come from diet or a bottle.
Ferulic acid is the quiet workhorse of the vitamin C aisle — the third name in the classic C + E + ferulic trio.
GHK-Cu is a naturally occurring copper-binding tripeptide.
Gluconolactone is the polyhydroxy acid (PHA) you'll find behind almost every "PHA" label — and the gentlest exfoliating acid there is.
Glyceryl glucoside — glycerin bound to a glucose unit — is a "smart" humectant, an osmolyte in the same broad class as ectoin.
Green tea is one of the few botanicals where "backed by research" is genuinely true — but the research is strongest for the claims marketing tends to bury and weakest for the one…
Inulin lauryl carbamate is an excellent, plant-derived emulsifier — it holds oil and water together and gives creams a light, non-sticky feel.
Jojoba is one of the best-behaved facial oils there is — and it isn't an oil.
Lactic acid is the gentler middle ground of the alpha-hydroxy acids — a mid-sized molecule (~90 Da), larger than glycolic, so it penetrates more slowly and stings less, which…
Lecithin is a genuinely useful, skin-friendly workhorse — a phospholipid emulsifier that also softens skin and can ferry other ingredients deeper.
Mandelic acid is the gentlest common AHA — the largest molecule (~152 Da, from bitter almonds), so it penetrates the slowest and irritates the least.
Matrixyl (INCI Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4) is a synthetic signal peptide — a palmitoylated fragment (Pal-KTTKS) of type I procollagen — used in anti-ageing cosmetics.
Naringenin is a flavanone polyphenol naturally present in citrus fruits (concentrated in grapefruit peel).
Panthenol is provitamin B5 — inactive on its own until the skin converts it into vitamin B5, at which point it leads a double life.
Squalane is a lightweight, exceptionally well-tolerated emollient — the stable, hydrogenated form of squalene, a lipid naturally found in human sebum.
Sunflower seed oil is that rare plant oil with real human barrier data behind it — graded B for barrier support, emollience and soothing dry, reactive skin.
Syn-Ake is a synthetic cosmetic dipeptide with one of skincare's best origin stories: it mimics Waglerin-1, a muscle-paralyzing toxin from the venom of the Temple Viper,…
Vitamin E — tocopherol on an ingredient list — is skincare's quiet workhorse: the skin's own primary fat-phase antioxidant, in almost every moisturiser, rarely the hero and never…
Tranexamic acid (TXA) is a synthetic lysine analogue, originally an antifibrinolytic medication, whose topical cosmetic form is a well-tolerated option for the appearance of…
Trehalose is a sugar with a survival trick: organisms that endure near-total drying — tardigrades, resurrection plants — use it to protect their cells as water disappears,…
Urea has a branding problem — most people meet it on a heel balm — but it is a component of the skin's own Natural Moisturizing Factor (about 7% of healthy stratum corneum), one…
Acetyl heptapeptide-4 is a synthetic acetylated neuropeptide — seven amino acids — sold in the "expression-line" corner of skincare, alongside the better-known acetyl…
AHK-Cu is a copper-binding tripeptide engineered for hair (whereas GHK-Cu targets skin).
Aloe is the closest thing skincare has to a folk hero — and, read honestly, a pleasant, water-heavy soothing gel with a real-but-weak signal for minor burns and a genuine role as…
Alpha-lipoic acid (thioctic acid) is an unusual antioxidant: it is amphipathic, dissolving in both water and oil, so it can scavenge free radicals in both the water and lipid…
Lysine and arginine are amino acids — and here is the honest framing up front: being a building block of collagen in your body does NOT mean rubbing them on builds collagen in…
Argireline (INCI Acetyl Hexapeptide-8) is a synthetic six-amino-acid cosmetic peptide, a fragment of SNAP-25, popularly marketed as "topical botox." Small human studies suggest a…
Astaxanthin is a red xanthophyll carotenoid from Haematococcus microalgae and one of the most potent natural antioxidants ever measured in vitro — it quenches singlet oxygen and…
Carnosine is a dipeptide — β-alanyl-L-histidine — with genuinely interesting biology: it is an antioxidant, a metal chelator, and an anti-glycation agent in the lab.
Chinese skullcap is one of the better-evidenced antioxidant botanicals at the chemistry level — its root flavonoids, baicalin and baicalein, are genuinely potent radical…
Ellagic acid is a polyphenol from pomegranate (and berries and walnuts) used in cosmetics as a brightening antioxidant.
Exosomes are tiny lipid-membrane vesicles (roughly 30–150 nm) that cells use to communicate — a real, serious piece of biology.
Glabridin is the isoflavan in licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) that actually carries the plant''s brightening reputation — a genuine tyrosinase inhibitor with anti-inflammatory…
Glucosyl hesperidin is a citrus flavonoid — hesperidin, from oranges, chemically tweaked with a glucose unit to make it far more water-soluble and stable so it actually works in…
Grape seed extract is a proanthocyanidin-rich (OPC) polyphenol extract and one of the better-researched antioxidant botanicals — closely analogous to pine bark extract in…
Hydrolyzed wheat protein is a surface film-former that makes skin and hair feel smoother and look glossier — a real but superficial cosmetic effect, graded C.
Kojic acid (KA) is a fungal fermentation product and a long-established tyrosinase inhibitor — it works by chelating the copper the enzyme needs.
Marrubium vulgare — white horehound — is a traditional herb that shows up in skincare on soothing and antioxidant claims, sometimes stretched into "anti-pollution" and "cellular…
Melanotan II is a non-selective melanocortin agonist — the original "tanning peptide." It genuinely does induce a tan (and arousal), but it is not approved anywhere, sits in FDA…
Moringa — the "miracle tree" of wellness marketing — arrives in skincare wrapped in superfood language.
Oxyresveratrol is a stilbene from mulberry (Morus alba) — a hydroxylated relative of resveratrol — with a standout property: it is a potent tyrosinase inhibitor, frequently cited…
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 (Pal-GHK) and Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5 (Pal-KVK / SYN-COLL) are signal peptides proposed, like Matrixyl, to tell skin fibroblasts to make collagen —…
PDRN (polydeoxyribonucleotide) is a mixture of DNA fragments, usually derived from salmon or trout, marketed as "salmon DNA" skincare.
Phloretin is a dihydrochalcone antioxidant from apple, best known — like ferulic acid — as a component of branded combination antioxidant serums, classically paired with…
Pinus pinaster bark extract — best known by the branded name Pycnogenol — is a procyanidin-rich polyphenol from French maritime pine, and one of the better-researched botanical…
Plankton extract is a marine ingredient that leans hard on ocean-regeneration imagery — "sea-sourced renewal", and so on.
Polypodium leucotomos extract (branded Fernblock) is a polyphenol-rich fern extract and one of the better-researched photoprotective botanicals.
Resveratrol is a stilbenoid antioxidant from grapes and Japanese knotweed, famous from the ingestible "longevity/SIRT1" story — most of which is cell, animal and supplement…
Rice lees extract (INCI: Oryza Sativa Lees Extract) is the fermented sediment left over from making rice wine — the "sake" ingredient behind the folklore that brewers' hands stay…
Saccharomyces ferment filtrate is the filtered broth of fermented yeast — the ingredient behind the famous "miracle essence / pitera" category.
Sage is a genuinely powerful antioxidant plant with a long healing reputation and thin modern proof for skin.
Snail mucin — cosmetically, Snail Secretion Filtrate — is not one molecule but a variable blend: glycoproteins, hyaluronic-acid-like sugars, a little glycolic acid, allantoin,…
SNAP-8 (Acetyl Octapeptide-3) is an elongated version of Argireline that works through the same SNARE / SNAP-25 mechanism and is marketed as a more potent "topical botox." Its…
Soy delivers two different cosmetic stories in one botanical.
Succinic acid is one of skincare's buzzier recent arrivals — a gentle "spot treatment" in trendy blemish serums.
Teprenone is a real molecule with one honest, modest appearance study behind it — and one of the boldest unearned claims in the category bolted on top.
Tetrahydrocurcumin is the hydrogenated form of curcumin — and, for cosmetics, the better one: it is colourless (no yellow staining) and far more stable, while keeping curcumin's…
Cocoa seed extract brings chocolate's feel-good halo to a jar, and a genuine antioxidant story underneath it — cocoa is rich in flavanols, real polyphenol antioxidants, and a…
Tremella fuciformis (snow mushroom, silver ear) yields a high-molecular-weight polysaccharide with genuinely strong water-holding capacity, which is why it is marketed as a…
Blueberry seed oil is, underneath the antioxidant-berry marketing, mostly a good essential-fatty-acid oil — naturally high in linoleic and linolenic acid, plus some vitamin E.
Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is one of the oldest botanical astringents in skincare — its tannins genuinely tighten the skin surface and its polyphenols have real…
Acmella oleracea (paracress, the "toothache plant") yields spilanthol, an N-alkylamide with genuine muscle-relaxant and local-anaesthetic pharmacology — it is what makes the…
Decapeptide-12 (sold as Lumixyl) is a synthetic ten-amino-acid peptide designed to inhibit tyrosinase, the enzyme that drives melanin production.
Dihydroquercetin (taxifolin) is a flavanonol — the dihydro form of quercetin — extracted mainly from larch and conifers, with a strong in-vitro antioxidant profile and reported…
Mangiferin is a xanthonoid polyphenol from mango with a strong in-vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory profile, which is why it appears in some antioxidant cosmetic…
Methylene blue is three different things wearing one name.
Myricetin is a plant flavonol — a close relative of quercetin — with a strong in-vitro antioxidant profile: radical scavenging, anti-glycation and reported UV-protective activity…
Nonapeptide-1 (sold as Melanostatine-5) is a synthetic nine-amino-acid peptide that takes a different route to brightening than the tyrosinase inhibitors: it is designed to…
Pentapeptide-18 (sold as Leuphasyl) is a synthetic five-amino-acid peptide derived from enkephalin, marketed alongside Argireline as an "expression-line" peptide.
Quercetin is one of the most abundant and most-studied plant flavonols — a potent in-vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory found in onions, apples and many plants.
Tripeptide-29 is a synthetic cosmetic peptide built on the Gly-Pro-Hyp repeat that forms collagen's own triple helix — a collagen-mimetic rather than a matrikine signal peptide…
Vialox (INCI Pentapeptide-3) is a synthetic peptide marketed as an "expression-line" active, designed as a curare-mimetic — a competitive blocker of the acetylcholine receptor at…
Ranking is by evidence grade (A–F), the same ceiling shown on each compound page — not by popularity or margin. No dosing, reconstitution, or administration is given anywhere on Vallydia. See each entry for its full evidence table and legal status by region.
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