Welcome to Ingredient 101 with Volition Beauty! Where we break down some of your favorite skincare ingredients, give you the facts and figures, and answer commonly asked questions.
Today, let's talk squalene vs squalane. First off, what's the difference between the two...?
Squalene – with an –e after the l – is a fat that can be found in humans, animals, and plants. We all produce it naturally from our skin’s sebaceous glands. Squalene helps to keep our skin moisturized along with wax esters and triglycerides that are also secreted by sebaceous glands. However, as we age, our sebaceous glands become less efficient at producing this sebum which contains squalene. So we produce less and less of this valuable skin moisturizing lipid.
Historically this squalene was produced from shark livers. But now there are a lot of vegan sources for squalene: rice bran, olive, amaranth, and sugarcane. Choose vegan formulas and vegan products to be sure shark livers are not the original source of this ingredient.
Squalane – with an –a after the l – is the result of squalene undergoing hydrogenation, a chemical process that stabilizes the ingredient making it suitable for use in skin care formulations. If squalene were used directly in a skincare formula it would oxidize fast and greatly diminish its moisturizing function. What’s great about squalane is that it is odorless, colorless, rarely irritating for even sensitive skin types, and a superb emollient for reinforcing skin’s natural barrier function.
Vegan squalane is a key ingredient in Volition’s super-moisturizing Hibiscus Unspottable Correcting Oil and Detoxifying Silt Gelée Mask.
