Humectants: A Friend to Your Skin

The Backstory on COMPEL’s Formula

I (Tricia) formulated the base components in the COMPEL recipe, while my husband and co-formulator, Chad, did most of the research for the moisturizers. If I wanted to understand the source and use of the ingredients he chose, I had some catching up to do! Here's what I learned about humectants.

A Brief Lesson on Your Skin

The job of any personal care skin product starts with the human body's largest organ: the skin! I know "skin-deep" sounds shallow, but trust me, it's more complicated than it seems.

The skin barrier is made up of layers upon layers, much like an onion, with, hopefully, a more pleasant scent. The top layer of skin is called the epidermis. Having sixth grade science flashbacks yet? The outermost layer of the epidermis is called the stratum corneum. It is made up of dead skin cells and a lipid layer and is usually 20 cell-layers thick! These components function like a brick wall with the dead skin cells acting as bricks and the lipid layer as the mortar.

This structure performs the tough, crucial jobs of regulating your body temperature and moisture level all while protecting the layers of skin underneath. When the stratum corneum is functioning properly, it should:

• Keep your temperature at a healthy level
• Defend you against bacteria and toxins
• Prevent the loss or absorption of water that can lead to dehydration

That's a pretty impressive resume!

Why Hugh-meck-tants?

The problem of dry skin occurs when even healthy practices, like washing your hands with soap and water, weaken that vital barrier. Genetics, hormonal changes, and environmental factors can also play a role. This is where moisturizers come in handy, humectants in particular. 

Humectants pull moisture from the dermis (deeper skin layer) up to the stratus corneum. When humidity levels are greater than 50%, they also have the ability to draw water vapor from the air! Gluconolactone is naturally derived from corn, designated as safe by the FDA, and is COMPEL's humectant of choice.

Like any over-achiever, the stratum corneum sometimes needs help. It gets by with a little help from its friends. It just so happens that COMPEL is a great friend. Let’s put humectants to good use for your skin. Purchase your own bottle of COMPEL today!

There’s a lot more to COMPEL than just humectants. If you’re interested in learning more about COMPEL’s ingredients visit our science page.