Behind the range: Q&A on Concentrated Serums

Have you heard about our Concentrated Serums yet? These are six different products designed to boost your skincare routine and target specific skin concerns.

All natural yet effective, here is the line-up of our Concentrated Serum range:

• Intense Hydration - Hyaluronic Acid to help plump, soothe and restore moisture.
• Wrinkle Rescue - Natural Retinol Alternative to help minimise the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
• Eye Perfect - Peptides to reduce the look of puffy eye bags and dark circles.
• Skin Tone Perfector - Niacinamide to help clear congested skin, redness and blemishes.
• Advanced Brightening - Vitamin C to help restore radiance and brighten.
• Sensitive Support - Ceramides to cool discomfort and help soothe dry skin.

A quick chat with Vanessa, the brand manager behind the development of essano Concentrated Serums

Vanessa sits on our marketing team and is one of the essano superstars behind our Concentrated Serums range. We were able to grab her insights into the development of these products.

1. Firstly, can you tell us the initial thoughts behind the concept of these extraordinary skincare serums?

I’m a skincare/beauty addict myself and I always have friends and family asking me for advice. They’re always wanting to know what to use for a particular skin problem, as they couldn’t decipher all the different products on the market. When you’re not constantly involved in skincare or have a wide knowledge of products, it can be really intimidating and confusing.

We saw a gap in the market – no one else was making it easy. We wanted to create a simplified range of products to add into a simple (and realistic) skincare routine that wouldn’t cost too much or be confusing.

2. Hyaluronic Acid sounds quite harsh! Is it safe to put acid on your face? 

Although Hyaluronic Acid sounds scary, it’s naturally produced by the body and is present in the skin where it binds to water to help retain moisture. Hyaluronic Acid in your body can diminish due to the natural ageing process or from things like exposure to the sun, smoke or pollution.

Hyaluronic Acid helps to attract more moisture to help soothe dry and dehydrated skin.

3. Wrinkle Rescue is a natural alternative to retinol. Why did you choose Bakuchiol instead of retinol?

Retinol (Vitamin A) has long been touted as the ultimate anti-ageing miracle worker. Despite the amazing benefits, the side effects can include flaky skin, dryness and increased sensitivity to the sun (not good especially for those living in NZ & Australia!). This is often described as “retinol burn”.

Retinol is quite a complex ingredient too – you have to slowly build up tolerance or avoid it altogether if you have sensitive or easily irritated skin.

We wanted to offer a product that was worry-free with the benefit of anti-ageing but without the added risks, and also could be used on all skin types.

Bakuchiol is a 100% plant-based natural alternative to retinol that is vegan-friendly and gentle on skin. It functions similar to retinol by increasing skin cell turnover thereby stimulating collagen production and helping to diminish the signs of ageing such as fine lines and wrinkles.

We suggest using our Wrinkle Rescue serum at night time as it may not sit well under makeup… but this is definitely safe to wear all times of the day!

4. We’ve heard of Niacinamide as a magical multitasking must-have in every skincare kit. Why is this?

Niacinamide, otherwise known as Vitamin B3, is a powerful ingredient as it helps to minimise pore size and dramatically improve uneven skin tone, texture and redness. It doesn’t strip the skin, therefore it keeps skin hydrated (not oily), so skin doesn’t overproduce oil. Niacinamide gently hydrates the skin to avoid these breakouts.

We chose to add Acetyl Glucosamine as an antioxidant into this formulation to help work against the signs of ageing. Also, when combined with Niacinamide, they work together to help brighten your skin – perfect for those wanting to avoid shiny skin!

5. Peptides is a huge buzzword in skincare, but what are they exactly? And why are they good for your eyes?

Peptides are amino acids and can be found in all living organisms, for example, naturally in your food. They are used for anti-ageing purposes in skincare as they rebuild and repair damaged cells.

We have used two different types of peptides in our Eye Perfect concentrated serum. Our chosen peptides work to reduce puffy eye bags and dark circles while helping to slow down the visible signs of ageing.

Eye Perfect helps to plump the sensitive skin around the eyes and prompt collagen production – they basically tell your skin that you’re younger than you are!

6. We love Vitamin C! Will the Advanced Brightening Serum make our skin sun-sensitive though?

Our Vitamin C is really stable - we made sure that the Vitamin C in our formula wouldn’t oxidize before coming into contact with your skin (which is where skin sensitivity can then happen).

We have used a specific type of Vitamin C that absorbs better into the skin without reactions you’d typically get, and our formula is not too acidic and has been designed to penetrate the deep levels of skin to help brighten dark spots and pigmentation.

 7. Can people with sensitive skin use these concentrated serums?

Of course! Our serums have been formulated to be stable when layered together. They are gentle and natural. However, for sensitive skin that’s experiencing a bit of discomfort, I recommend cutting back all active serums and using our Sensitive Support Ceramides.

Similar to Hyaluronic Acid, Ceramides are found naturally in the skin. They are lipids, which are fatty acids that help to support your skin’s water retention and barrier function.

This is a key ingredient in our Sensitive Support concentrated serum, as it helps to soothe and strengthen compromised skin. Once your skin has settled down, you can start pairing it with other concentrated serums that target other skin concerns.

8. Lastly, we know you’ve put a lot of passion into developing all of these serums… But, if you were stuck on a deserted island, what is the one serum you’d definitely bring with you and why? 😉

This is a hard one because I love each and every serum but I would say the Vitamin C serum, only as I know that sun is going to cause havoc with my skin. I know I would be glowing by the time I was finally rescued 😊