PCA SKIN ExLinea Peptide Smoothing Serum 30th Anniversary LImited Edition
- Anti-aging
- Moisturizing
- Anti-oxidation
- Exfoliation
- +1 more
- gluconolactone
- acetyl hexapeptide-8
- phytosterols
- sodium hyaluronate
- +4 more

Price comparison
Can the product deliver on its promises?
Promise
What does the product description say?WIMJ summary for anti-aging
This product can help reduce and prevent fine lines and wrinkles, improve skin elasticity and firmness because it contains gluconolactone.
These ingredients in the product can also be helpful, even though there is less evidence for their effectiveness: acetyl hexapeptide-8, tocotrienols.
Keep in mind that it typically takes at least 6 weeks to notice any results because the changes that are needed to improve fine lines and elasticity happen in the deeper layers of the skin. No topical anti-aging product can “erase” wrinkles or fully reverse signs of aging.
Ingredient | Effectiveness | Concentration | Irritancy |
---|---|---|---|
HIGH | |||
MEDIUM
| |||
MEDIUM
|
Promise
What does the product description say?WIMJ summary for moisturizing
This product can help improve hydration of the skin with the two types of ingredients.
The first type is called “humectants”:
these ingredients help attract water.
When humectants are on the surface of the skin, they “pull in” the moisture from the outside environment, or from
within deeper layers of the skin. The following ingredients in this product do the job:
dipotassium glycyrrhizate, sodium hyaluronate.
This product also contains ingredients called “occlusives”. They help reduce the speed with which our skin loses moisture to the outside environment. These ingredients also help soften the upper layer of the skin, so it feels less tight and nicer to the touch. The following ingredients in this product do the job: squalene, caprylyl glycol.
The following ingredients in this product are especially good for supporting the skin barrier and helping with the hydration level: acetyl hexapeptide-8
Ingredient | Effectiveness | Concentration | Irritancy |
---|---|---|---|
HIGH | |||
HIGH | |||
HIGH |
WIMJ summary for evens skin tone
This product can help reduce hypepigmentation and even out the skin tone because it contains the following effective ingredients: gluconolactone
The following ingredient (ingredients) in this product might be helpful, but there is no evidence to confirm that it actually can help even out the skin tone: dipotassium glycyrrhizate.
Keep in mind that you would need to apply any topical skincare targetted at hypigmentation consistently for a couple of months to get a result. No topical skincare product can help get rid of hyperpigmentation (including post-acne marks and age spots) instantly.
Ingredient | Effectiveness | Concentration | Irritancy |
---|---|---|---|
HIGH | |||
LOW
|
WIMJ summary for exfoliation
This product can help exfoliate the skin. In other words, it helps break down the bonds between dead cells on the surface of the skin and speed up the skin turnover. Skin often appears softer and brighter after exfoliation, but overdoing it can result in disrupted skin barrier. The following ingredient is doing the exfoliating job in this product: gluconolactone.
Ingredient | Effectiveness | Concentration | Irritancy |
---|---|---|---|
HIGH |
WIMJ summary for anti-oxidation
This product contains antioxidants (tocotrienols) that can help neutralize free radicals in skin. By doing so, they can lessen the damage the skin gets from the UV light (sun).
The following ingredients - gluconolactone, squalene also can have an antioxidant effect, but there is less evidence to confirm their effectiveness in skin.
Ingredient | Effectiveness | Concentration | Irritancy |
---|---|---|---|
HIGH | |||
MEDIUM
| |||
MEDIUM
|
How honest is this product?
Promise | Can it deliver? |
---|---|
Anti-aging | |
Moisturizing | |
Anti-oxidation | |
Exfoliation | |
Evens skin tone |
Potential irritants

Ingredient | Irritancy | Skin Benefit |
---|---|---|
aloe barbadensis leaf juice | ||
hydroxyethyl acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer | ||
gluconolactone |
Ingredients by volume
Ingredient | Estimated concentration |
---|---|
Plain old water
| 40% - 60% |
Traditionally used to treat sunburns, dermatitis and inflammation, but evidence for its effectiveness is lacking. The extract can contain humectants that help attract water into the skin
| 5.2% - 7.9% |
A gelling agent that thickens the product consistency and leaves the skin with a velvety finish
| 3% - 4.5% |
Show more |
Questions
Skincare resources
Scientific Sources
- A comparative study of gluconolactone versus benzoyl peroxide in the treatment of acne
- The Polyhydroxy Acid Gluconolactone Protects Against Ultraviolet Radiation in an In Vitro Model of Cutaneous Photoaging
- Applications of hydroxy acids: classification, mechanisms, and photoactivity
- The efficacy of glycolic acid, salicylic acid, gluconolactone, and licochalcone A combined with 0.1% adapalene vs adapalene monotherapy in mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris: a double-blinded within-person comparative study
- A polyhydroxy acid skin care regimen provides antiaging effects comparable to an alpha-hydroxyacid regimen
- The use of polyhydroxy acids (PHAs) in photoaged skin
- Blackwell Publishing, Ltd. Alpha-hydroxyacids and carboxylic acids
- An evaluation of a polyhydroxy acid skin care regimen in combination with azelaic acid 15% gel in rosacea patients
- Aging Skin: Causes, Treatments, and Prevention
- Clinical and cosmeceutical uses of hydroxyacids
- Polyhydroxy Acids (PHAs) Provide Conditioning Effects to Skin Without Increasing Sensitivity to UV Light
- Ameliorating effect of dipotassium glycyrrhizinate on an IL-4- and IL-13-induced atopic dermatitis-like skin-equivalent model
- Final report on the safety assessment of Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Potassium Glycyrrhetinate, Disodium Succinoyl Glycyrrhetinate, Glyceryl Glycyrrhetinate, Glycyrrhetinyl Stearate, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate, Glycyrrhizic Acid, Ammonium Glycyrrhizate, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Disodium Glycyrrhizate, Trisodium Glycyrrhizate, Methyl Glycyrrhizate, and Potassium Glycyrrhizinate.
- Hyaluronic acid: A key molecule in skin aging
- Hyaluronan (Hyaluronic Acid): a natural moisturizer for skin care
- Safety Assessment of Citrus-Derived Peel Oils as Used in Cosmetics
- Oxidized citrus oil (R-limonene): A frequent skin sensitizer in Europe
- Air oxidation increases skin irritation from fragrance terpenes
- Vitamin E in dermatology
- Vitamin E and Skin Health
- Safety Assessment of Tocopherols and Tocotrienols as Used in Cosmetics
- Tocotrienol‐rich fraction attenuates UV‐induced inflammaging: A bench to bedside study
- Tocotrienols: Vitamin E beyond tocopherols
- Clinical evaluation of photoprotective effect by a topical antioxidants combination (tocopherols and tocotrienols)
- Tocotrienols: the unsaturated sidekick shifting new paradigms in vitamin E therapeutics
- Squalene and its potential clinical uses
- Biological and Pharmacological Activities of Squalene and Related Compounds: Potential Uses in Cosmetic Dermatology