The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (2024)

Water

Also-called: Aqua | What-it-does: solvent

Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product.

It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water.

Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) is drying.

One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). Like this, the products can stay more stable over time.

Glycerin - superstar

Also-called: Glycerol | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

  • A natural moisturizer that’s also in our skin
  • A super common, safe, effective and cheap molecule used for more than 50 years
  • Not only a simple moisturizer but knows much more: keeps the skin lipids between our skin cells in a healthy (liquid crystal) state, protects against irritation, helps to restore barrier
  • Effective from as low as 3% with even more benefits for dry skin at higher concentrations up to 20-40%
  • High-glycerin moisturizers are awesome for treating severely dry skin

Read all the geeky details about Glycerin here >>

Dipropylene Glycol

What-it-does: solvent

A clear, colorless liquid that works as a solvent and viscositydecreasing ingredient. It also has great skin-moisturizing abilities.

1,2-Hexanediol

What-it-does: solvent

A really multi-functional helper ingredient that can do several things in a skincare product: it can bring a soft and pleasant feel to the formula, it can act as a humectant and emollient, it can be a solvent for some other ingredients (for example it can help to stabilize perfumesin watery products) and it can also help to disperse pigments more evenly in makeup products. And that is still not all: it can also boost the antimicrobial activity of preservatives.

Caprylic/​Capric Triglyceride

What-it-does: emollient

A super common emollient that makes your skin feel nice and smooth. It comes from coconut oil and glycerin, it’s light-textured, clear, odorless and non-greasy. It’s a nice ingredient that just feels good on the skin, is super well tolerated by every skin type andeasy to formulate with. No wonder it’s popular.

C14-22 Alcohols

What-it-does: emulsion stabilising

A 100% vegetable origin emulsifier that usually comes to the formulawith its buddy calledC12-20 Alkyl Glucoside. The duo is trade-named Montanov L andworks as an effective oil in water emulsifier. It creates ultra-soft, light texture, has excellent dermo-compatibility and is readily biodegradable.

Chemically speaking, it is a mixture of fatty alcohols with 14 to 22 carbon atoms in their fatty chains.

Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate

What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling

A high-molecular-weight emollient ester that makes your skin nice and smooth. It leaves a non-oily, light, "wet" feel on the skin.

Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract - goodie

Also-called: Rosemary Leaf Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing, antimicrobial/antibacterial

The extract coming from the lovely herb, rosemary. It contains lots of chemicals, including flavonoids,phenolic acids, and diterpenes. Its main active is rosmarinic acid, a potent antioxidant, andanti-inflammatory. It has also anti-bacterial, astringent and toning properties.

The leaves contain a small amount of essential oil (1-2%) with fragrant components, so if you are allergic to fragrance, it might be better to avoid it.

Sedum Sarmentosum Extract

Also-called: Stonecrop Extract | What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (1) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Cetraria Islandica Extract

What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing, emollient, soothing

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (2) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Laminaria Digitata Extract

Also-called: Horsetail Kelp Extract

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (3) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract

Also-called: Blueberry Extract | What-it-does: soothing

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (4) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Fruit Extract

Also-called: Cranberry Fruit Extract | What-it-does: astringent

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (5) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Mesembryanthemum Crystallinum Extract

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (6) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant, absorbent/mattifier

A biotechnologically derivedingredient that is produced by the fermentation of a marine bacteria living in the cold Antarctic Ocean. According to the manufacturer's info, it seems to have two different sets of magic properties:

The first set includesskin-protecting and anti-aging abilities: it can helpto protect the skin from dryness and redness due to cold weather and it also promotes skin regeneration and smoother skin surface by stimulating protein synthesis in the skin. More specifically, these proteins are type I and IV collagen and elastin, all super important stuff for wrinkle-free, young looking skin(though these results came only from in-vitrotests and might or might not apply to living human skin).

As for in-vivo (tested on real people) efficacy, 1% Antarcticine (the trade name for the diluted version of the Pseudoalteromonas Ferment Extract) cream increased skin hydration by 14.8% in cold weather and 5%Antarcticine cream decreased the depth of wrinkles by 44% around the eyes.

The second set of magic properties are all about oily skin regulation, such asreducing sebum production, shininess, and pore size. It acts through reducingMelanocortin 5 receptor, a protein important in sebum production. According to the in-vivo tests of the manufacturer, it both immediately reduces skin gloss as well as significantly reduces the number of active follicles and theirtotal surface with ongoing use (by 9.5% and 27.2% after 28 days).

Overall, an interesting, multifunctional ingredient both for anti-aging as well as oily skin control purposes.

Butylene Glycol

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant, solvent | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

Butylene glycol, or let’s just call it BG, is a multi-tasking colorless, syrupy liquid. It’s a great pick for creating a nice feeling product.

BG’s main job is usually to be a solvent for the other ingredients. Other tasks include helping the product to absorb faster and deeper into the skin (penetration enhancer), making the product spread nicely over the skin (slip agent), and attracting water (humectant) into the skin.

It’s an ingredient whose safety hasn’t been questioned so far by anyone (at least not that we know about). BG is approved by Ecocert and is also used enthusiastically in natural products. BTW, it’s also a food additive.

Glyceryl Stearate

What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1-2

A super common, waxy, white, solid stuff that helps water and oil to mix together, gives body to creams and leaves the skin feeling soft and smooth.

Chemically speaking, it is the attachment of a glycerin molecule to the fatty acid calledstearic acid. It can be produced from most vegetable oils (in oils three fattyacidmolecules are attached to glycerin instead of just one like here) in a pretty simple, "green" process that is similar to soap making. It's readily biodegradable.

It also occurs naturally in our body and is used as a food additive. As cosmetic chemistColins writes it, "its safety really is beyond any doubt".

Methyl Trimethicone

What-it-does: solvent

Methyl Trimethicone is a very light, volatile silicone (it evaporates from the skin rather than absorbs into it) that's similar to super commonly used Cyclopentasiloxane but it dries even faster when applied to the skin.

Vinyl Dimethicone

What-it-does: viscosity controlling

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (7) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Dicaprylyl Carbonate

What-it-does: emollient

A clear, colorless, almost odorless oil that spreads nicely and easily and givesa velvet dry skin feel. It is good friends with sunscreen agents and helps to solubilize them. Also, it makes sunscreens feel lighter and spread easier.

Propanediol

Also-called: Zemea | What-it-does: solvent, moisturizer/humectant

Propanediol is a natural alternative for the often usedand often bad-mouthed propylene glycol. It's produced sustainably from corn sugar and it's Ecocert approved.

It's quite a multi-tasker: can be used to improve skin moisturization, as a solvent, to boost preservative efficacyor to influence the sensory properties of the end formula.

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate

What-it-does: emollient

An odorless and colorless emollient ester (cetylalcohol + ethylhexanoicacid) that gives a velvety and silky feel to the skin. It has great spreadability and a non-oily feel. It's a popular ingredient in makeup removers.

C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside

What-it-does: emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing

A 100% vegetable origin emulsifier that usually comes to the formula with its buddy called C14-22 Alcohols. The duo is called Montanov L and two together help to createultra-soft light formulas.

Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate

Also-called: Aristoflex Silk | What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (8) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Palmitic Acid

What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, emollient, emulsifying | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 2

A fatty acid that can be found naturally in the skin. In fact, it's the most common saturated fatty acidfound in animals and plants.

As for skincare, it can make the skin feel nice and smooth in moisturizers (emollient) or it can act as a foam building cleansing agent in cleansers. It's also a very popular ingredient in shaving foams.

Stearic Acid

What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 2-3

A common multi-tasker fatty acid. It makes your skin feel nice and smooth (emollient), gives body to cream type products and helps to stabilize water and oilmixes (aka emulsions).

Tromethamine

What-it-does: buffering

It's a little helper ingredient that helps to set the pH of the products to be right. It has an alkaline pH and can neutralizeacidic ingredients.

Cetearyl Alcohol

What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsifying, emulsion stabilising, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 1 | Comedogenicity: 2

An extremely common multitasker ingredient that gives your skin a nice soft feel (emollient) and gives body to creams and lotions. It also helps to stabilize oil-water mixes (emulsions), though it does not function as an emulsifier in itself. Its typical use level in most cream type formulas is 2-3%.

It’s a so-called fatty alcohol, a mix of cetyl and stearyl alcohol, other two emollient fatty alcohols. Though chemically speaking, it is alcohol (as in, it has an -OH group in its molecule), its properties are totally different from the properties of low molecular weight or drying alcohols such as denat. alcohol. Fatty alcohols have a long oil-soluble (and thus emollient) tailpart that makes them absolutelynon-drying and non-irritating and are totally ok for the skin.

Hydrogenated Polydecene

Also-called: Alphaflow | What-it-does: emollient, perfuming, solvent

A hydrocarbon-based emollient that can come in different viscosities from silky-light through satiny-smooth to luxurious, rich. It forms anon-occlusive film on the surface of the skin and brings gloss without greasiness to the formula. It's a very pure and hypoallergenic emollient that's also ideal forbaby care products.

Acrylates/​C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer

What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising

Though its long name does not reveal it, this polymer molecule (big molecule from repeated subunits or monomers) is a relative to the super common, water-loving thickener, Carbomer. Both of them are big molecules that contain acrylic acid units, butAcrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer also contains some other monomers that are hydrophobic, i.e. water-hating.

This means that our molecule is part water- and part oil-loving, so it not only works as a thickener but also as an emulsion stabilizer. It is very common in gel-type formulas that also contain an oil-phase as well as in cleansers as it also works with most cleansing agents (unlike a lot of other thickeners).

Carbomer

What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

A big molecule created from repeated subunits (a polymer of acrylic acid) that magically converts a liquidinto a nice gel formula. It usually has to be neutralized with a base (such as sodium hydroxide) for the thickening to occur and it creates viscous, clear gels that also feel nice and non-tacky on the skin. No wonder, it is a very popular and common ingredient. Typically used at 1% or less in most formulations.

Tricholoma Matsutake Extract

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (9) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Trideceth-10

What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (10) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Disodium EDTA

What-it-does: chelating

Super common little helper ingredient thathelps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time. It does so by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes.

It is typically used in tiny amounts, around 0.1% or less.

Hydrolyzed Cicer Seed Extract

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (11) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (12) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Rhododendron Chrysanthum Leaf Extract

What-it-does: soothing

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (13) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (14) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Ceramide NP - goodie

Also-called: Ceramide 3 | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient

One of the many types of ceramides that can be found naturally in the upper layer of the skin. Ceramides make upabout 50% of the goopy stuff that's between our skin cells and play a super important role in having a healthy skin barrier and keeping the skin hydrated. It works even better when combined with its pal, Ceramide1.

We wrote way more about ceramides at ceramide 1, so click here to know more.

Hydrogenated Lecithin - goodie

What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying

It's the chemically chopped up version of normal lecithin. Most often it's used to create liposomes and to coat and stabilizeother ingredients.

Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (15) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Hyaluronic Acid - goodie

What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant

  • It’s naturally in our skin and behaves there like a sponge
  • It can bind up to 1000 times its own weight in water
  • It is a big molecule from repeated subunits (polymer) so different molecular weight versions exist (unfortunately there is no way to determine MW from INCI list only)
  • High-molecular-weight-HA (>500 kDa) is an excellent surface hydrator, skin protectant and can act as an osmotic pump helping water-soluble actives to penetrate deeper into the skin
  • Low-molecular-weight-HA (< 500 kDa) can hydrate the skin somewhat deeper though it is still a big molecule and works mainly in the epidermis (outer layer of the skin)
  • Low-molecular-weight-HA might also help the skin to repair itself by increasing its self-defense (~ 200kDa used in the study)
  • Ultra-low-molecular-weight-HA (<50kDa) is a controversial ingredient and might work as a pro-inflammatory signal molecule

Read all the geeky details about Hyaluronic Acid here >>

Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid - goodie

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid is a low molecular weight, chemically chopped upversion of the naturally big molecule and current IT-moisturizer, Hyaluronic Acid(HA).The TL; DR version of HA is that it's a huge polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) found in the skin that acts as a sponge helping the skin to retain water, making it plump and elastic. As HA is a polymer, the subunits can be repeated many times (as a high-molecular-weightversion), or just a few times (asa low-molecular-weight version).

We wrote in detail at HA about how different molecular weight versions do different things both as a componentof the skin and as a skincare ingredient, so click here and read about all the details.Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid can also come in different molecular-weight versions with different properties:

  • 100-300 kDa version: apart from moisturizing, this sizemight also help the skin to repair itself by increasing its self-defense. It is also claimed to boost the wound healing process and is especially helpful for sensitive skin types (acne, rosacea, inflammation-related skin diseases).
  • 50k Da version: this is the size that is claimed to be able to absorb into the skin and plump up wrinkles, so it is used mainly as an "anti-aging ingredient"
  • below 50k, around 10k Da version: there is a Japanese version trade namedHyalo-Oligo that has only a 10k molecular weight and is claimed to penetrate the skin very well, have a unique touch and give deep and long-lasting moisturization. Based on the Evonik-research and the natural role of LMW-HA in the body working as a pro-inflammatory signal molecule, this ultra-lowmolecular weight version is a controversial ingredient.

If you wanna become a real HA-and-the-skin expert, you can read much more about the topic at hyaluronic acid (including penetration-questions, differences between high and low molecular weight versions and a bunch of references to scientific literature).

Myristic Acid

What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing, emulsifying, perfuming | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 3

A 14 carbon length fatty acid that can be naturally found innutmeg,palm kernel oil, coconut oil and butter fat. It's used as a foam building cleansing agent. Paula Begoun writes that it can be a bit drying to the skin.

Sodium Hyaluronate - goodie

What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

It’s the - sodium form - cousin of the famous NMF,hyaluronic acid(HA). If HA does not tell you anything we have a super detailed, geeky explanation about it here. The TL; DR version of HA is that it's a huge polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) found in the skin that acts as a sponge helping the skin to hold onto water, being plump and elastic. HA is famous for its crazy water holding capacity as it can bind up to 1000 times its own weight in water.

As far as skincare goes, sodium hyaluronate and hyaluronic acid are pretty much the same and the two names are used interchangeably. As cosmetic chemist kindofstephenwrites on reddit "sodium hyaluronate disassociates into hyaluronic acid molecule and a sodium atom in solution".

In spite of this, if you search for "hyaluronic acid vs sodium hyaluronate" you will find on multiple places that sodium hyaluronate is smaller and can penetrate the skin better. Chemically, this is definitely not true, as the two forms are almost the same, both are polymers and the subunits can be repeated in both forms as much as you like. (We also checkedProspector for sodium hyaluronate versions actually used in cosmetic products and found that the most common molecular weight was 1.5-1.8 million Da that absolutely counts as high molecular weight).

What seems to be a true difference, though, is that the salt form is more stable, easier to formulate andcheaper so it pops up more often on the ingredient lists.

If you wanna become a real HA-and-the-skin expert you can read way more about the topic at hyaluronic acid(including penetration-questions, differences between high and low molecular weight versions and a bunch of references to scientific literature).

Glucose - goodie

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

A fancy name for sugar. Luckily when you put it on your skin it's good for you not like when you eat it. :) It has water-binding properties, which means that it helps to keep your skin nice and hydrated.

Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract

What-it-does: emollient

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (16) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (17) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (18) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Corallina Officinalis Extract

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (19) We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract - goodie

Also-called: Turmeric Root Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing, skin brightening, perfuming

Turmeric is the yellow spice you probably know from curry and Indian food. It's also a traditional herbal medicine used inAyurveda for its bunch of anti-something magic abilities including being anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticarcinogenic.

As for turmeric and skincare, we have good news: studies show that the root extract and its main biologically active component, curcumin can do multiple good things for the skin. Thanks to its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity, it shows some promise for acne-prone skin and a small study from 2013 showed that it might be able to regulate sebum production.

It's also a potent antioxidant and skin-brightening agentso it often shows up in anti-aging and/or radiance-boosting products.

Tocopherol - goodie

Also-called: Vitamin E | What-it-does: antioxidant | Irritancy: 0-3 | Comedogenicity: 0-3

  • Primary fat-soluble antioxidant in our skin
  • Significant photoprotection against UVB rays
  • Vit C + Vit E work in synergy and provide great photoprotection
  • Has emollient properties
  • Easy to formulate, stable and relatively inexpensive

Read all the geeky details about Tocopherol here >>

Xanthan Gum

What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising

It's one of the most commonly used thickeners and emulsion stabilizers. If the product is too runny, a little xanthan gum will make it more gel-like.Used alone, it can make the formula sticky and it is a good team player so it is usually combined with other thickeners and so-calledrheology modifiers (helper ingredients that adjust the flow and thus the feel of the formula). The typical use level of Xantha Gum is below 1%, it is usually in the 0.1-0.5% range.

Btw, Xanthan gum is all natural, a chain of sugar molecules (polysaccharide) produced from individual sugar molecules (glucose and sucrose) via fermentation. It’s approved by Ecocert and also used in the food industry(E415).

Glyceryl Caprylate

What-it-does: preservative

A 100% plant derived, natural (Ecocert approved) multi-functional ingredient that has emollient and moisturizing properties, can work as a co-emulsifier (meaning that next to other emulsifiers it can help water and oil to mix) and even more importantly has a strong antimicrobial activity.

Thanks to this last thing, it allows a lower percentage of traditional preservative or it might even be able to completelyreplace them.

Ethylhexylglycerin

What-it-does: preservative, deodorant

If you have spottedethylhexylglycerinon the ingredient list, most probably you will see there also the current IT-preservative,phenoxyethanol. They are good friends becauseethylhexylglycerincan boost the effectiveness of phenoxyethanol (and other preservatives) and as an added bonus it feels nice on the skin too.

Also,it's an effective deodorant and a medium spreadingemollient.

Fragrance - icky

Also-called: Fragrance, Parfum;Parfum/Fragrance | What-it-does: perfuming

Exactly what it sounds: nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. Fragrance in the US and parfum in the EU is a generic term on the ingredient list that is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average (but it can have as much as 200 components!).

If you are someone who likes to know what you put on your face then fragrance is not your best friend - there's no way to know what’s really in it.

Also, if your skin is sensitive, fragrance is again not your best friend. It’s the number one cause of contact allergy to cosmetics. It’s definitely a smart thing to avoid with sensitive skin (and fragrance of any type - natural is just as allergic as synthetic, if not worse!).

The Saem Iceland Aqua Gel Cream ingredients (Explained) (2024)
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