LifeCell is an anti-aging skincare brand. The company describes their most popular product as “6 Skincare Products Now Fit Into One,” and it costs an unbelievable $189 for under 3 ounces.

But does LifeCell contain ingredients proven in research studies to have anti-aging effects? Is it really worth nearly $1,000 per pound, or is it overpriced compared to similar products? Does LifeCell contain any unhealthy ingredients? And is it better or worse than popular anti-aging creams like Insta-Tox?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in LifeCell’s most popular anti-aging cream to give our take on whether or not it’s likely to be effective, and whether or not it's healthy.

We'll also share our thoughts on whether or not LifeCell is overpriced, and compare the brand to other popular anti-aging creams to pick our winners (and losers)

Key takeaways:

• Extremely potent formulation which should have anti-aging effects
• Contains two preservatives we consider unhealthy in combination
• We do not currently recommend LifeCell

Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in LifeCell All-In-One Anti Aging Cream (which is the brand's most popular product) are shown below:

This cream contains a number of research-backed ingredients.

Retinol has been shown in a meta-review published in the Advances in Dermatology and Allergology journal to both reduce wrinkles and hydrate the skin.

Shea butter is clinically shown to repair the skin barrier.

Soybean oil was shown in a 2015 medical review to both stimulate collagen production and provide natural protection against damaging UV rays, when applied topically.

Ceramide 2 should have an anti-aging effect, because as we referenced in our review of another skincare brand called DRMTLGY, ceramides are clinically shown to have a wide range of positive effects on skin.

Palmitoyl tripeptide-5 and acetyl hexapeptide-3 are two of the five peptide ingredients in this product.

Peptides were shown in a medical review published in the Pharmaceuticals journal to have anti-aging effects, and to be especially effective for sensitive skin.

There are two inactive ingredients in this formulation that we consider to be unhealthy when used in combination. 

Phenoxyethanol is a common synthetic preservative that was shown in a clinical trial to be toxic to human cells.

Ethylhexylglycerin is a synthetic preservative shown to potentiate the toxic effects of phenoxyethanol in a 2016 medical review.

Overall, we consider LifeCell All-In-One Skin-Tightening Treatment highly likely to have anti-aging effects, and also likely to improve skin hydration and support skin barrier repair.

We don't currently recommend this product due to the preservative combination highlighted above. 

LifeCell vs. Popular Anti-Aging Creams

Here's how LifeCell's anti-aging cream compares to other popular anti-aging creams in terms of potential effectiveness and healthiness, in our opinion:

Insta-Tox

This product is advertised as a "botox cream," and contains an active ingredient which is clinically shown to have a "remarkable anti-wrinkle effect."

Contains phenoxyethanol (like LifeCell's cream), but not ethylhexylglycerin.

We consider the two products equivalently effective, but give Insta-Tox the (slight) edge in terms of healthiness due to the one fewer synthetic preservative.

Winner: Insta-Tox

Miami MD Age-Defying Lift & Firm Cream

This cream contains parabens, which are clinically shown to be endocrine-disrupting, as we documented in our is Miami MD a hoax article.

We recommend avoiding parabens entirely, and consider LifeCell to be healthier for this reason.

Winner: LifeCell

StriVectin

At least one anti-aging cream sold by this brand contains an inactive ingredient that's the subject of an FDA warning letter regarding potentially severe side effects.

LifeCell seems safer in light of this information.

Winner: LifeCell

Is LifeCell Overpriced?

LifeCell garners a lot of attention due to its high prices.

While the brand's formulations are potent, we do not consider the price to be justified without clinical test (published in peer-reviewed journals) proving it to be effective.

There are many cosmetic brands that contain research-backed active ingredients for anti-aging, and without clinical data as proof, it's challenging to say whether or not LifeCell is more effective than any of them.

LifeCell also contains two ingredients we consider to be unhealthy when used in combination, as we documented in our Ingredient Analysis section.

We believe it's possible to find healthier anti-aging cream formulations at a fraction of the price.

Our Clean Anti-Aging Pick

MindBodyGreen Best Skin+ is our top anti-aging skin supplement.

It contains orange extract which is clinically shown to increase skin moisturization, skin elasticity and skin radiance.

This supplement also contains astaxanthin which is clinically shown to cause "wrinkle formation reduction."

This supplement is free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.

LifeCell Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Highly effective formulation
• Highly likely to have anti-aging effects
• Likely to improve skin hydration
• Likely to support skin barrier repair
• Mostly positive Amazon reviews
• Free shipping from brand's website

Cons:

• Contains questionable synthetic preservative combination
• Very expensive
• Doesn't appear to be clinically tested
• May not be more effective than competitors

Conclusion

LifeCell’s anti-aging cream has one of the best formulations of any anti-aging cream we’ve reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.

If it weren’t for the inclusion of a synthetic preservative combination that we consider to be unhealthy, we would likely recommend it.

Some of the active ingredients in LifeCell’s All-In-One Skin-Tightening Cream have been clinically shown to reduce wrinkles, improve the skin barrier, increase skin hydration, and protect the skin from UV rays.

This cream is incredibly expensive, costing more than one-third of the price of gold per ounce at the time of updating this article.

We consider LifeCell to be relatively overpriced, particularly when evaluating the brand from a healthiness perspective.

We consider LifeCell to be a better anti-aging option than StriVectin and Miami MD, but less healthy than Insta-Tox.