Grooming Editor

Ingredient Focus: Squalane

Overtime, your skins natural functions may slow down. This can be due to many reasons including stress, ageing and environmental aggressors. Knowing the benefit of a certain ingredient can help you strengthen your skincare routine to more effectively combat your concerns, so let’s take a look at squalane.

What is Squalane?

Squalane is one of the most common lipids produced by the human skin, it’s a natural moisturiser and helps keep your skin supple. Your skins squalane levels peak in your 20’s and then quickly start to decline, so if you notice that your skin is drier than normal, it could be worth finding a skincare product with it in to add back to your routine. You’ll quickly notice that any product with squalane in, tends to have the ability to absorb into your skin at a rapid rate. As it’s a lipid that is found naturally in your skin, your skin recognises it as a compatible oil. The good thing is, it occurs naturally in many sources, including olives and sugarcane.

Why Does Squalane in Skincare Do?

Squalane has many benefits in skincare, which makes it a very popular option. It’s an antioxidant, which helps to protect your skin against any free radicals. It also helps to prevent UV damage and age spots, helps speed up skin cell renewal and is an antibacterial. Can you believe how many benefits it has? Another benefit is that it keeps your skin hydrated and moisturised, which has made it a popular treatment for eczema. As well as being super effective in skincare, squalane also has benefits when ingested. These include protecting the body from arthritis, psoriasis, shingles and even cancer.

Mankind Recommends

Our Final Thoughts

If you search for any further information on squalane, we’re sure you’re going to get into a whole whirlwind of opinions. As well as being found in many plant forms, squalene is also found in the liver of sharks. Shark livers have a high density of squalane, which has made them frequently hunted for this ingredient. Thankfully, many of the most well-known skincare manufactures, including L’Oreal and Unilever, do not use squalane from sharks. It’s more common for squalane in skincare to be sourced from olive oil, however if you are concerned, contact the manufacturer and they’ll be completely open. But we’re sure you’ll have nothing to worry about.

Have you used a product with squalane in before? Let us know over on Twitter @mankindcouk.



Vanessa

Vanessa

Writer and expert

Creative storyteller. Believer in the power of natural ingredients and cruelty-free formulas. Always puts skincare first for a no-makeup look.