At Glow Recipe, we’ve embraced the idea that every skincare routine is unique and personal, and it’s our goal to give you the tools to treat your skin based on its changing needs. We also work closely with our labs, who do a great job of keeping us in the loop on all the development and trends in the beauty world, so that we can bring you products that are both gentle and effective. 

We worked hand in hand with our labs during our product development stage, knowing that we wanted to include active ingredients that were powerful but still incredibly gentle. Together, we came to the perfect solution: encapsulation.

What is encapsulation?

Not to get too science-y, but encapsulation is a modification that occurs at the molecular level. Molecules of ingredients are coated in a polysaccharide shell—think of it as a shiny, slippery, protective coating. This encapsulated coating serves as a carrier system for the active ingredients in your skincare, i.e. the ingredients that are capable of transforming your skin. When a skincare product with encapsulated ingredients is applied to your skin, the coating starts to fade away, and the active ingredients are released slowly over time.

What are the benefits of encapsulation?

Adding a protective encapsulated coating to active ingredients has a ton of benefits. First and foremost, it makes ingredients even more gentle and effective. Instead of activating all at once on the surface, encapsulated coatings protect your actives and release them slowly over time. This allows it to sink to deeper layers of your skin, where you can benefit most from active ingredients. As the shell coating fades away, ingredients are released little by little, which means it’s also working on improving your skin for a longer period of time. And since there’s less activity all at once, encapsulated ingredients are a lot more gentle on skin.

Encapsulation also stabilizes molecules by protecting them from environmental factors, like UV light, that causes them to break down or lose their effectiveness. Free retinol, for example, breaks down and becomes ineffective when exposed to the UV rays in sunlight, which is one reason why it’s been delegated as a nighttime-only kind of product.

The moral of the story? Don’t shy away from strong actives, even if your skin is a little sensitive. Thanks to modern science and amazing developments in the world of skincare, all of us are able to benefit from ingredients that work to heal and transform your skin.

You can find encapsulated retinol, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide in our new Avocado Melt Eye Sleeping Mask (launching exclusively on the Sephora app 8/7), and encapsulated retinol and hyaluronic acid in our new Avocado Melt Sleeping Mask (launching 8/8).