Our skincare formulation approach

Better together

Does your bathroom cabinet currently resemble a laboratory? Creating your own bespoke cocktail of individual actives can be a good way to trial ingredients, but is ultimately a more time-consuming and costly alternative to purchasing one sophisticated formula.

The risk of irritation is higher too, as often there is nothing to buffer the actives. Ingredients like alpha-hydroxy acids and retinoids can cause redness and flaking, which is why it’s so important to pair them with supportive ingredients that help maintain the integrity of our skin. If the skin is not properly supported, new skin problems can arise, leaving your complexion in a poorer condition than before. It’s a bit like buying a fancy hairdryer – you’re not going to see its true benefits if you’re not also using a good conditioner or heat protect spray.

At Trinny London, we have done the hard work for you, harnessing the knowledge of our in-house chemists to create efficacious skincare products that will leave your skin not only looking great, but feeling it too.

A note on percentages

The active ingredients in our products are all at high-performing, efficacious levels. However, we don’t believe that the percentages of individual ingredients is the best measure of our products' overall efficacy.

When formulating, ingredients are available in either concentrated forms or a solution where it’s diluted by something else. Technically, two different products could be listed as containing 1% of the ingredient, when in reality one contains just 0.1% of the active. Just one reason why percentages are not an indicator of a product's strength.

Instead of leading with just one hero, or focusing on a single ingredient, all our formulations contain a curated blend of more than one active. This is why you won’t just find one type of AHA, BHA or PHA in our exfoliants, but multiple. By using carefully curated combinations, we have been able to supercharge their efficacy, as well as helping to reduce the risk of irritation.

We could, for example, have used a super high dose of glycolic acid for Reveal Yourself, our liquid exfoliant. It would definitely have delivered impressive glow-giving results, but would also have carried a far higher risk of irritation, and made it too punchy for all but the most tolerant of skin. By instead selecting alpha-hydroxy acids lactic and malic acid, as well as energy-boosting succinic acid, moisture-maintaining amino acids and peace-making plankton, skin gets all the gain with none of the pain.

Building long-term resilience

Our skin is a reflection of how we feel on any given day, as well as our unique life experiences. It can show both our greatest joys and our toughest moments, whether that’s laughter lines from time spent with friends or dark circles from losing a loved one.

Over time, it’s not just the big things that count. The ongoing stresses of daily life – things like work, family, lack of sleep and poor diet – can all change the way our skin genes work. All of these stress factors have the ability to switch on the genes that can amplify skin concerns like acne and hyperpigmentation, and accelerate the ageing process.

As we know, we can’t always control what’s happening in our lives. But, what we can do is reset the impact stress has on our skin. We have developed skincare products that will have a transformative effect on the skin as well as improving its long-term quality and health.

The overall experience

Skincare should feel like a treat, not a chore. The kind of things that elevate your products from staple to sensorial are things like their texture and scent. And of course, the more joyous the experience, the more likely you are to use your skincare regularly, and therefore fully reap the benefits.

At Trinny London we have taken everything from how the products feel on your fingertips to how they look on your bathroom shelf into account. We hope you have as much fun using them as we did making them.