floodgate hyaluronic acid serum reviews

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floodgate hyaluronic acid serum reviews

Now I will say, I’m generally not a fan of ingredients with dimethicone, as I find they make my skin feel dehydrated—strange, because the ingredient is used in skin care products generally to help trap moisture. But this goes against my typical preferences and really works for some reason.

Hi/Lo Beauty: Hyaluronic Acid Serums

Welcome to Hi/Lo Beauty! In this franchise, I’ll be comparing products on the pricier, and on the more affordable, ends of the spectrum in various categories. In each post I’ll compare and contrast the products, and let you know what I think is worth the splurge, and what’s not. And this week, it’s all about hyaluronic acid serums.

I’m comparing two options—the high-end Skin Medica HA5 Rejuvenating Hydrator, and the Ghost Democracy Floodgate Hyaluronic Acid Serum. I’ll give you some basic info on the products, and a quick review. Then you can decide what sounds worth it!

For the answer to that vexing questing, as I most often do, I turned to the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team for insights. There’s a superb piece on the Paula’s Choice site titled, What is Dehydrated Skin & How to Choose the Best Products. Here is an excerpt:

Jan 22 PRODUCT REVIEW: GHOST DEMOCRACY FLOODGATE HYALURONIC ACID SERUM – BEST HYALURONIC ACID SERUM, BEST HYDRATING SERUM

GHOST DEMOCRACY | FLOODGATE HYALURONIC ACID SERUM

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This review was originally part of my blog article titled, My Favorite Humectant Serums From Paula’s Choice, The Inkey List, Ghost Democracy and More! You can catch the full piece here.

Throughout the colder months between October and March, I really struggle with keeping my skin from becoming dry and dehydrated.

In November, I kicked off the annual dry skin season with a pair of articles on the best face creams for dry skin and all skin types in the cold, leading with a piece titled, Winter Moisturizers Part I – Some of the Best Face Creams for Dry Skin and All Skin Types in Cold Weather. A week later, I rounded out my list of the best dry skin moisturizers in Winter Moisturizers Part 2 — available to read here.

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Richer face creams and hydrating mists are indispensable, essentials in every winter skincare routine. And, at least with the moisturizers, are fairly common. But the one true essential for maintaining skin health in the harsh cold months is a really good humectant product, usually a Hyaluronic Acid serum.

While Hyaluronic Acid is far and away the most popular and most sought-after of humectants, it is by no means the only one. Humectant ingredients that are also effective at preventing trans-epidermal water loss and subsequent dehydration include: Beta Glucan, Butylene Glycol, Centella Asiatica, Polyglutamic Acid, Glycerin, Aloe Vera, Snow Mushroom and even seaweed.

I think it’s just that Hyaluronic Acid was the new, sexy humectant popularized in one-note serums — treatments focused on a single potent active ingredient. Brands like Deciem’s The Ordinary and The Inkey List were founded on ingredient education and super affordable one-note serums. Among the most sought after are The Ordinary’s $6 Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% and the $8 Hyaluronic Acid Serum from The Inkey List — which I include in the line-up below.

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Maintaining proper hydration levels year-round is essential if skin is going to function at its peak. Healthy functioning skin is better able to defend against external aggressors like pollution, UV, and free radical attacks. And healthy skin is better fortified against aging. So while it may seem slick to say that a humectant serum that helps keep skin hydrated is an effective anti-aging product, it’s not really a stretch at all.

Dry, dehydrated skin is certainly unhealthy; it can’t behave as it should. You may be asking yourself, as I once did, what the difference is between dry skin and dehydrated skin. Well, permit me to explore those differences.

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How Does Floodgate Hyaluronic Acid SerumWork?

Skin hydration is crucial for the strength, flexibility, and elasticity of your skin. Dry skin fastens the process of aging, which may cause various skin concerns like wrinkles and fine lines. Floodgate Hyaluronic Acid Serum contains science-backed ingredients like 2% pure hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and white tea extract.

Hyaluronic acid and glycerin moisturize and hydrate the skin to overcome skin dryness and related skin issues. Niacinamide works to reduce skin pigmentation, red patches, and wrinkles. This serum has a quickly absorbing, lightweight, and non-irritating formula that may suit all skin types.

These include: Amodimethicone, Behenoxy Dimethicone, Bis-Aminopropyl Dimethicone, Cetearyl Methicone, Cetyl Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Dimethicone Copolyol, Dimethiconol, Methicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Stearoxy Dimethicone, Stearyl Dimethicone, Trimethylsilylamodimethicone.

Floodgate Hyaluronic Acid Serum

Parabens are a large group of preservatives which are used to prevent bacteria growing in cosmetic formulations. There has been some healthy controversy surrounding them due to a few studies finding paraben presence in breast tumours and breast tissue. However, the majority of the scientific community have deemed these findings non-conclusive due to the limitations of these studies. There’s still a lot of support for avoiding parabens following the better safe than sorry route. If you do we completely support you! If you are concerned about the health safety of parabens, then feel free to avoid them by looking out for the Paraben-Free icon. If not, don’t worry about it – they do have had one of the longest safety records as preservatives!

Which Ingredients are classified as Paraben?

A product will be paraben-free if it does not contain any of the following parabens:

  • Sodium Isobutylparaben
  • Sodium Ethylparaben
  • Sodium Butylparaben
  • Propylparaben
  • Isopropylparaben
  • Isobutylparaben
  • Sodium Propylparaben
  • Butylparaben
  • Ethylparaben
  • Sodium Methylparaben
  • Methylparaben
Sulfate-Free

Ghost Democracy Floodgate Hyaluronic Acid Serum is free from SkinCarisma flagged Sulfates

Understanding Sulfates

Sulfates are a large group of ingredients which act as cleansing agents in Cosmetics. They help loosen up the dirt and grime from your skin and hair to allow for water to wash it away with ease. However some sulfates are so good at their job, they can wash off your skin’s own natural oils that keep it moisturised and protected which can lead to dryness and irritation. Most people will find no issues with sulfate, however if you find your skin doesn’t like sulfates then free feel to avoid them by looking out for the sulfate-free icon on Skincarisma.

Which ingredients are classified as sulfates?

We’ve taken the Sulfates which are considered more harsh for our Sulfate-Free status. A product will be Sulfate-Free if it does not contain any of the following Sulfates:

  • TEA-Dodecylbenzenesulfonate
  • Ammonium Laureth Sulfate
  • Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
  • PEG-15 Cocamine
  • Sodium Laureth Sulfate
  • Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate
  • Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
  • Dioctyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate
  • Ammonium Xylenesulfonate
  • Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate
  • Sodium Xylenesulfonate
  • Sodium Myreth Sulfate
  • Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate
Alcohol-Free

Ghost Democracy Floodgate Hyaluronic Acid Serum is free from SkinCarisma flagged Alcohols

Understanding Simple Alcohols

Alcohol ingredients are widely used in cosmetics and come in different types. For the most part alcohols are not problematic at all. However one type of alcohols, simple alcohols can be quite drying to the skin because it evaporates very quickly. This can cause irritation which can also lead to other skin complications. These alcohols should never be used alone on your skin, but combined with other cosmetic ingredients, they are normally without issue. However, for some people with sensitive and easily irritable skin, avoiding products with these simple alcohols may be beneficial. If you find your skin doesn’t like these simple alcohols, then free feel to avoid them by looking out for the Alcohol-Free icon.

Which Ingredients are classified as Alcohol?

A product will be alcohol-free if it does not contain any of the following alcohol ingredients:

  • SD Alcohol
  • Alcohol Denat
  • Isopropyl Alcohol
  • Alcohol
Silicone-Free

Ghost Democracy Floodgate Hyaluronic Acid Serum is free from SkinCarisma flagged Silicones

Understanding Silicones

If you’ve ever used a skincare, makeup or beauty product that’s made your skin look and feel smoother tempoarily – it’s likely contained Silicone. They are a popular class of ingredients found in cosmetics due to their smooth, soft, easy-to-spread and smooth properties that help creates an artificial layer/barrier on top of skin or hair (commonly found in conditioners).

For the same reasons they are popularly used, they are also commonly avoided. Anecdotally, many individuals have reported that Silicones cause/excerbate breakouts, irritation, cause a feeling of skin being unable to breathe, cause clumping of cosmetic products and find it difficult to wash off. As a result, those who find them problematic are avoiding them and increasingly, cosmetic companies are avoiding them as well.

If you have had bad experiences with Silicones in the past, or suspect they are problematic then look out for the tick on the Silicone-free label.

Disclaimer

The Silicone-free label only includes the most common Silicone ingredients that have indentified been reported by individuals that could potentially cause issues.

These include: Amodimethicone, Behenoxy Dimethicone, Bis-Aminopropyl Dimethicone, Cetearyl Methicone, Cetyl Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Dimethicone Copolyol, Dimethiconol, Methicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Stearoxy Dimethicone, Stearyl Dimethicone, Trimethylsilylamodimethicone.

Note, that this does not include all ingredients part of the Silicone class of ingredients.

EU Allergen-Free

Ghost Democracy Floodgate Hyaluronic Acid Serum is free from SkinCarisma flagged Allergens

Understanding the Identified Contact Allergens

The EU’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) has identified and established 26 cosmetic ingredients that are likely contact allergens (potential to cause skin allergies) as demonstrated in clinical or epidemiological studies. The EU’s SCCS have recommend cosmetic companies to disclose them on the labels if used and in cases where the concentration exceeds 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products, then they must be labelled.

Look out for the tick on the EU-Allergen free label to know your cosmetic is free from any of the 26 identified cosmetic ingredients.

For more information regarding the EU’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, please visit their official website.

Disclaimer

The EU Allergen Free label is for the 26 ingredients identified by the EU SCCS and products will be only flagged if a suspected ingredient is on it’s ingredient list. It is possible for cosmetics to contain one of the suspect ingredients without it appearing on the ingredient list due to it not reaching the concentration threshold to disclose it and cosmetic manufacturers choice to not disclose it.

Also note, the EU Allergen Free label is not personalized for your own allergies you may have and it does not constitute as medical advice. For your specific case, always consult your medical professiona such as dermatologist, physician, pharmacist, or health care provider – please read our medical disclaimer for more information.

Fungal Acne (Malassezia) Safe

Ghost Democracy Floodgate Hyaluronic Acid Serum is free from SkinCarisma flagged potentially Fungal-Acne feeding Ingredients

Understanding Fungal Acne (Pityrosporum Folliculitis/Malassezia Folliculitis)

Pityrosporum Folliculitis/Malassezia folliculitis or simply known as Fungal Acne is a persistent acne-like condition that commonly responds poorly to traditional acne-treating methods. Unlike most cases of Acne where bacteria is the culprit, Fungi is the culprit of Fungal Acne (Hence the name!). There are certain classes & groups of ingredients that have been shown to promote and feed the growth of the Fungal Acne, Fungi such as fatty acids, oils, esters, polysorbates and fermented ingredients.

For more information regarding Fungal Acne, please visit Simple Skincare Science (f.c) – #3 of our Recommend Skincare Resources for an amazing comprehensive guide!

Please Read: How to use the Fungal Acne (Malassezia) Label

At SkinCarisma, we’ve done our best to identify as many ingredients as possible but note the fungal-free label may not be 100% accurate due to the complexconditions and combination of ingredients that malezzeria can thrive on.

Additionally, products that may contain ingredients that have shown to feed Malassezia may not neccessarily exacerbate the condition due to concentration of ingredient used in the product, this information is simply not available on the products.

As a result, please note this is only an experimental label that can be best used to possible identify problematic products you have used in the past. It is in no way a perfect identifier nor a predictor in whether or not it will exacerbate or cause fungal acne. It will continue to be worked on as more information and research comes to light.

If you find any ingredients you believe should be included, please email us at [email protected].

Disclaimer

Due to the lack of substantial research into this area it is very likely there are other ingredients and class/groups of ingredients that could feed Fungal Acne which have not been indentified.

The Fungal-Safe label does not constitute as medical advice. For your specific case, always consult your medical professiona such as dermatologist, physician, pharmacist, or health care provider – please read our medical disclaimer for more information.

Water, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Propanediol, Sodium Hyaluronate (Hyaluronic Acid), Tilia Cordata (Linden) Flower Extract, Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract, Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract, Glycerin, Phytic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin

  • Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
  • Occupational hazards
  • Use restrictions
MODERATE
  • Endocrine disruption
  • Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
  • Enhanced skin absorption
  • Ecotoxicology

• Allergies/immunotoxicity (low)
• Use restrictions (moderate)
• Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)
• Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (high)
• Occupational hazards (high)

• Cancer (low)
• Enhanced skin absorption
• Endocrine disruption (low)
• Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (high)

• Use restrictions (moderate)

• Use restrictions (moderate)

• Endocrine disruption (low)
• Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)
• Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low)

• Allergies/immunotoxicity (low)
• Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)
• Ecotoxicology (low)
• Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (high)

Phenoxyethanol
Preservative

Ghost Democracy
Floodgate Hyaluronic Acid Serum

Water, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Propanediol, Sodium Hyaluronate (Hyaluronic Acid), Tilia Cordata (Linden) Flower Extract, Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract, Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract, Glycerin, Phytic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin

Notable Ingredients

Potential Hazard / Side Effects

Positive effects

  • Propanediol # 3
  • Glycerin # 8
  • Phytic Acid # 9
  • Xanthan Gum # 10
  • Phenoxyethanol # 11
  • Ethylhexylglycerin # 12
  • Tilia Cordata (Linden) Flower Extract # 5
  • Glycerin # 8
  • Ethylhexylglycerin # 12
  • Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) # 2
  • Phytic Acid # 9
  • Xanthan Gum # 10
  • Phenoxyethanol # 11
  • Ethylhexylglycerin # 12
  • Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) # 2
  • Phytic Acid # 9

Hazard Report

Organic / Synthetic Ratio

Ingredients List 12

Water
Solvent
Niacinamide (Vitamin B3)
No information
Propanediol
Emollient, Solvent
Tilia Cordata (Linden) Flower Extract
No information
Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract
No information
Glycerin
Emulsifier, Solvent, Cosmetic active
Phytic Acid
Emulsifier
Xanthan Gum
No information
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ethylhexylglycerin
Emollient, Cosmetic active, Skin conditioner, Antimicrobial agent

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COSMILY – Beauty and self-care products ingredients checker. Product reviews written by real customers.

Disclaimer: All the information on the website is not a strict guide. It is provided to attract your attention to potential threats. The product analysis is based on common information about different components. It’s also not a medical advice. Visit a doctor for professional assistance.