Augustinus Bader The Daily Essential Duo The Cream

Judging from the ingredient list, "Augustinus Bader - The Daily Essential Duo The Cream" works well for improving skin hydration To work well, any moisturizer needs to include a combination of water-binding and emollient ingredients. Augustinus Bader - The Daily Essential Duo The Cream ticks this box. Humectants in this product (panthenol, alanyl glutamine, arginine, dextran and glycerin) help to increase the water content in the upper layer of the skin. (These ingredients do so by "capturing" water molecules from the outside air or from within the deeper layers of the skin). Ceramide ng, ceramide np, cholesterol, arginine and butyrospermum parkii butter in this product help decrease the water evoporation from the skin, so that it stays hydrated for longer. These ingredients also soften the skin and take away the feeling of tightness and dryness.

Ingredient callouts

• This product also contains Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid). It can be an effective active for anti-aging and evening out the skin tone, but in this moisturizer it is used for stabilizing other ingredients in the formulation. In this concentration (0.25% - 0.45%) it cannot have a noticeable benefit for the skin.
• This moisturizer includes a form of Retinoids (vitamin A) - retinyl palmitate 0.20% - 0.40%, but this type of vitamin A is not very effective. It could in theory help with fine lines and wrinkles, but the effect is most likely minimal.
• As a plus, this moisturizer also contains Ceramides (ceramide ng 0.25% - 0.50% and ceramide np 0.30% - 0.55%). Ceramides are a type of lipids that our skin produces itself. They are a building block of the skin's barrier. Ceramides used in skincare are synthetic or extracted from plants. They work well for softening the skin surface and "patch holes" in the skin's barrier.
• We like that this moisturizer contains peptides (palmitoyl tripeptide-8 0.25% - 0.45%). There are many different kind of Peptides and they are naturally present in our skin. They all are a combination of aminoacids. Some of them work as natural antibiotics, promote wound-healing and production of collagen. The science is still not settled on how effective Peptides are in skincare, but it is very likely that they have a benefit. Peptides might help restore the skin barrier and fight the signs of aging. At the very least, Peptides work as humectants: they attract water to the upper layer of the skin and improve its hydration.
• Panthenol (pro-vitamin B5) at about 0.55% - 0.80% concentration. In this concentration, Panthenol works effectively to improve the skin barrier and reduce inflammation.

Irritation risk

This moisturizer contains some common irritants, including those without a benefit for the skin. We assess the overall irritancy of this moisturizer to be medium. For a detailed overview of all potential irritants: click here

You can see the detailed formula review with the breakdown of all actives in the product and the full ingredient list with estimated concentrations in the tables below.