Less is more: the seventeen oils serum

I was looking at serums to see if anything interesting enough appeared to expand the catalog. Comparing formulas, reading INCI lists, discarding. And then this one appeared: an antioxidant and anti-aging serum from a Spanish brand, with good reviews, attractive packaging, reasonable price. And an INCI that made me stop. And re-read. And stop again.

Let me count them. Seventeen vegetable oils.

As I usually do on this blog, I won't give specific names. But I will provide enough information so that anyone curious can find it easily.

Let's analyze the INCI

The full INCI: Olea europaea fruit oil, Vitis vinifera seed oil, Sesamum indicum seed oil, Borago officinalis seed oil, Corylus avellana seed oil, Persea gratissima oil, Salvia hispanica seed oil, Simmondsia chinensis seed oil, Passiflora edulis seed oil, Prunus armeniaca kernel oil, Punica granatum seed oil, Rosa canina fruit oil, Squalene, Oryza sativa bran oil, Ascorbyl palmitate, Bakuchiol, Opuntia ficus-indica seed oil, Parfum (natural fragrance raw material), Aniba rosaeodora amazonica wood oil, Linalool, Glycine soja oil, Limonene, Tocopherol, Beta-sitosterol, Citronellol, Geraniol, Benzyl benzoate, Eugenol, Citral.

All real, all vegetable, all good active ingredients. There's no trickery in the ingredients.

No trickery, but no logic either.

Jojoba, hazelnut, and apricot do practically the same thing: emollients, moisturizers, silky texture. Borage and chia overlap in anti-inflammatory action. Olive, sesame, and rice bran share an antioxidant profile. In a serum where all compete for space and a certain prominence, many are in such low concentrations that their real contribution is anecdotal.

Bakuchiol and vitamin C, the active ingredients that justify the anti-aging claim, appear at the end. Where concentrations are minimal.

There's more: at the end of the INCI appear several declared allergens, Linalool, Limonene, Citronellol, Geraniol, Benzyl benzoate, Eugenol, Citral, carried by the natural perfume and the essential oils themselves. It's not a scandal, it's what happens when you accumulate so many oils and aromatic ingredients: allergens multiply almost unintentionally.

The market logic

There's a reason why the list is so long. A list of premium oils communicates richness, generosity, value. Consumers see seventeen names and think: they're giving me a lot. And from an SEO perspective, it also works: bakuchiol, rosehip, pomegranate oil, squalene, and vitamin C appearing in the same product is a search magnet. A formulation that guarantees covering several sales strategies at once.

But it doesn't guarantee the slightest criterion.

More ingredients, less decision

An honest formulation does the opposite: it chooses few ingredients, gives them space, assigns them a clear function. When I select for the catalog, I look for exactly that. Serums where each ingredient is present because it has a specific role, not just to add to the list. Some of the ones we have at CUIDA-T contain two or three active ingredients. Just that. And it's enough, precisely because they are in meaningful concentrations.

This serum didn't make it into the catalog, and I lost interest in the rest of the brand. Not because it's bad, but because seventeen oils shouldn't be a reason to buy a serum. They are a marketing argument disguised as a formulation.

A good formula doesn't try to impress; it tries to work. And for that, often, less is more.

Iván.

If you're interested in conscious cosmetics:

Antioxidant serum with astaxanthin, two active ingredients → View product
Niacinamide and N-acetyl glucosamine serum, three active ingredients → View product
Facial care at CUIDA-T → View collection
Minimalist cosmetics, products and routine → Read article
Minimalist cosmetics II, formulas → Read article