What a clinical dose actually means

Almost every serum on the shelf lists the same handful of actives. Far fewer contain enough of them to matter.

Why the list misleads

INCI lists run in descending order by weight only down to one percent. Below that, a brand can arrange the remainder however it likes. An active sitting after the preservative is present in a quantity you will never feel.

Numbers worth knowing

Niacinamide earns its reputation between four and five percent. Lactic acid resurfaces from about five percent, and starts to sting well before ten. Panthenol supports the barrier from two. Urea softens at five and begins to exfoliate closer to ten.

More is not better

Past those ranges the benefit flattens and the irritation does not. A twenty percent vitamin C is a marketing number, not a clinical one.

What we do

We print the percentage of the hero active on the front of the bottle and publish the full INCI on the back. If a number is missing, that is usually the answer.