The Cosmeceutical Brands Our Beauty Editors Can't Get Enough Of

written by: Kristen - Beauty Editorpublished on 25 Oct, 2023

Cosmeceutical Skincare

Not all skincare is created equally. Cosmeceutical skincare brands blur the lines between cosmetics and pharmaceuticals to deliver high-performance products to enhance the condition of your skin at a cellular level. The focus when developing cosmeceuticals is to deliver products that provide efficient and long-lasting results. By combining active and anti-ageing skin care ingredients such as Vitamin C, Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, AHAs and BHAs, cosmeceutical products can have a transformative effect on the skin. Think of cosmeceuticals as taking your skincare up a notch by providing advanced wrinkle correction, superior brightening of unwanted pigmentation and correction of uneven skin texture and scarring to name a few skin benefits. When cosmeceuticals are incorporated in your home skincare regimen, your skin can really thrive from the lasting, clarifying and smoothing action they provide.

What are the Best Cosmeceutical Skincare Brands?

What Can Cosmeceuticals Do for Your Skin?

Cosmeceutical brands strive to deliver high-performance skincare products that offer superior skin correction in addition to anti-ageing benefits. These products are formulated with higher potency for enhanced efficacy to really hone in on your specific skin concerns, and send those packing! Quite often, the cosmeceutical product will be equivalent or close to the potency used in a professional skin clinic treatment, which means results can be a close parallel also. Although botanical ingredients play a key role in soothing, hydrating and softening the skin, when combined with cosmeceutical ingredients they deliver enhanced and visible results.

What Are the Best Cosmeceutical Ingredients?

When it comes to cosmeceuticals, it's almost like an alphabet of active ingredients begging to transform your skin! Let us help you break these down...

Glycolic Acid & AHAs help exfoliate and smooth the skin making these cosmeceutical ingredients perfect for treating concerns of uneven or rough skin texture. Similarly, Salicylic Acid & BHAs refine and smooth the skin whilst decongesting pores, which really helps oily acneic skins. Hyaluronic Acid naturally occurs within the skin, but when featured in skincare, it works wonders to provide intense and lasting hydration. And we all should be using skincare with Vitamin C, especially at a cosmeceutical level, as this wonder antioxidant shields the skin from environmental damage, strengthens capillaries and prevents signs of premature ageing by stimulating natural collagen synthesis. Now let's not forget Retinol & Vitamin A that efficiently stimulates cellular turnover to reveal a more even, luminous and smooth skin appearance. And wrapping up our cosmeceutical hit list is Niacinamide & Vitamin B the super skin soother that helps to strengthen fragile skins, smooth fine lines and wrinkles and brightens hyperpigmentation for a more even skin tone. What a line up!

Our Favourite Active Ingredient Skincare Brands

Dermalogica

Continually at the forefront of cosmeceutical innovation, there is a reason Dermalogica is recommended by skincare professionals around the world. Founded in 1986 by Jane Wurwand, her experience as a professional skin therapist left her wanting to create a brand to restore skin health. Cosmeceutical ingredients play a key role in Dermalogica's drive to support optimal skin health. The effects of Arjun tree extract, Chia Seed Oil and Micro-Algae are combined in the Dermalogica Biolumin-C Eye Serum in addition to the hero ingredient, Vitamin C. This harmonious blend of natural extracts and other nutrient-rich actives provides gentle exfoliation from Papain to smoothe the eye contour, enabling the supercharged serum to firm and brighten the eye area. Moreover, this serum's brightening and hydrating actives are the perfect duo to fight premature ageing.

SkinCeuticals

With over 30 years of scientific research and developmement comes some of the best antioxidant and cosmeceutical products available. SkinCeuticals knows skin and the cellular functions that can be best supported through advanced formulations in hand with superior skincare. Catering for an array of skin conditions including skin care for acne, skin pigmentation skin care, hydrating skincare and skincare to reduce redness, SkinCeuticals is perhaps best known for their anti-ageing skin care. The best-selling SkinCeuticals H.A. Intensifier harnesses the wonder of Hyalurionic Acid. This super-hero ingredient draws moisture from the air to your skin and holds it there, quenching even the most dehydrated and parched skin. And the best bit? Hyaluronic Acid can hold up to 1,000 times its own weight in water keeping your skin's moisture levels topped up for longer. The result is skin that is more plump, with lines that become smoothed with enhanced firmness and elasticity.

Medik8

Medik8 are truly pioneers when it comes to cosmeceutical skincare. As a brand, they have embraced the power of technology to expertly formulate their products with medical-grade ingredients. Not only this, having the ability to customise your Medik8 regime makes it perfect for those with specific skin concerns. Ideal for those with easily irritated skin looking to incorporate more cosmeceutical ingredients, minus the irritation. Medik8 has always been focused on delivering active ingredients in a comfortable way, without having to sacrifice on potency. Retinol is an active ingredient that has been clinically shown to combat the common signs of ageing. With this understanding, Medik8 have developed their Medik8 Crystal Retinal 6, proven to stimulate collagen and hyaluronic acid production whilst smoothing wrinkles, refining uneven texture and clearing the complexion. In line with Medik8's values, their product technology of this overnight retinol serum ensures the benefits of retinal are delivered without the irritation of traditional retinol products without compromising on efficacy. The entire Medik8 range has been developed using the latest understanding in cosmeceutical technology, shown through their incredible results that last!

CosMedix

Concentrating on delivering the perfect mix of clinical actives and pure botanicals, CosMedix have taken luxurious cosmeceutical skincare to a new level. With the understanding that each skin concern has its own unique solution, CosMedix have adopted a gentle approach to restoring your skin to its optional condition. Products such as the CosMedix Define treatment combine three exfoliating AHAs with Vitamin A to drastically improve the appearance of sun-damaged, dull or blemish-prone skin. L-Lactic, L-Malic and L-Tartaric Acids join forces to refresh and renew the skin's texture leaving a more brightenend and clarified skin appearance as a result. The smallest amount of this treatment goes a long way! Soothing botanicals calm your complexion to reveal a refreshed complexion. The continued advancements in cosmeceutical development allow CosMedix to deliver beneficial actives to your skin in more efficient and potent ways than ever before.

Environ

Encompassing the alphabet of cosmeceutical active ingredients in their various formulations, Environ takes a step up approach to skincare, enabling you to achieve impressive results in the most gentle manner. Offering increasing potencies of Retinol in addition to skin firming Peptides, Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid, this superior skincare brand delivers impressive anti-ageing results but is in no way limited to this. The best-selling Environ Focus Care Clarity+ Sebu-Wash Gel Cleanser is far from your basic daily face wash, and here's why. Within this formulation you'll discover cosmeceutical Salicylic Acid & BHA partnered with natural Tea Tree oil and Glycerin. This winning combination purifies and decongests the pores to minimise their appearance whilst balancing excess oil which is a godsend for blemish-prone skin. Skin feels refreshed but not at all stripped making it ideal for oily skins and those concerned with breakouts.

ASAP

This home-grown Australian cosmeceutical brand is a globally renowned skincare brand, with an outstanding reputation for their advanced anti-ageing, super hydrating, skin refining, wrinkle smoothing and skin soothing benefits. What a mouthful! Leveraging the potent efficacy of Vitamin C, Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, AHAs and BHAs, ASAP is able to treat an array of skin types and concerns to rebalance the skin and reveal a refreshed and more youthful skin appearance as a result. The fan-favourite brightening serum, ASAP Super B Complex is almost like skin first-aid as it expertly soothes, protects and strengthens the skin... and that's just the start! Niacinamide & Vitamin B within this powerhouse serum dramatically diminishes the appearance of enlarged pores, brightens hyperpigmentation, boosts hydration levels, balances skin tone, soothes inflammation, refines fine lines and wrinkles plus reduced breakout activity. It's almost like all of your skincare dreams have come true in one cosmeceutical bottle!

Aspect

When a skincare brand just works time and time again to reveal your best skin, then it's well worth sticking with it. Saying this, there is no wonder that Aspect has somewhat of a cult following, from professional skin therapists to home care skin enthusiasts alike. Here is another supreme cosmeceutical brand that takes on the plethora of benefits from pure Vitamin C, Vitamin B, Retinol, Ceramides, AHAs, BHAs and Hyaluronic Acid in their formulations to promote a more refined, luminous and youthful complexion. And speaking of skin firming, the power of Peptides in the Aspect Eyelift 3 helps smooth crows feet, soften under eye bags and firm the skin around the eyes as this eye cream expertly nourishes to plump and smooth.

As the world of cosmeceutical skincare continues to grow and expand, our team of Beauty Editors know which brands will stand the test of time. With their continued innovation and expansive product ranges, these cosmeceutical brands will continue to line our beauty shelves for many years to come.