Tint & Tighten is a cosmetics product used to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and under-eye puffiness. The brand claims their product is “unlike anything you’ve tried before,” and that it “delivers instantly more youthful looking skin.”
But does Tint & Tighten contain ingredients shown in research studies to have anti-aging effects? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? Why do we take issue with some of the brand's clinical claims? And is Tint & Tighten better or worse than popular anti-aging creams like OneSkin?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Tint & Tighten to give our take on whether or not it's effectively formulated.
We'll also share our concerns about some of the brand's clinical claims, and compare Tint & Tighten to other popular anti-aging creams from a formulation quality perspective, to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Contains research-backed anti-aging & sunscreen ingredients
- Contains one preservative we consider potentially unhealthy
- We do not currently recommend Tint & Tighten
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Tint & Tighten are shown below:
There are several research-backed ingredients in this formulation.
Glycerin naturally hydrates the skin and improves skin barrier function according to a 1999 clinical trial.
Soluble collagen was shown in a clinical trial published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and improve skin elasticity.
Sodium hyaluronate is one of the most potent anti-aging ingredients in our opinion, and is clinically shown to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, as we documented in our review of Drunk Elephant Bronzing Drops.
Acetyl hexapeptide-8 was described as having an “anti-wrinkle mechanism of action” in a 2015 clinical trial.
Titanium dioxide was shown in a medical review published in the Journal of Cosmetic Science to be effective at blocking UV rays, suggesting that Tint & Tighten may have a sunscreen effect.
Iron oxides are the safest natural colorants in our opinion, and they also have a UV-protective effect.
There is only one ingredient in this formulation that we consider questionable from a health perspective.
Phenoxyethanol is a synthetic preservative was shown in a 2020 clinical trial to be toxic to human cells. This was an in vitro (test tube) trial, which is a weaker standard of evidence than a trial with human participants, but it’s still worth noting in our opinion.
Overall, we consider Tint & Tighten likely to be effective for reduction of the appearance of wrinkles, for moisturizing the skin and potentially as a sunscreen depending on the concentration of the iron oxides and titanium dioxide.
We do not currently recommend this product due to the inclusion of phenoxyethanol.
Questionable Clinical Claims
The Tint & Tighten website features a graphic with claims of clinical efficacy:
image source: tintandtighten.com
However, the brand fails to clearly publish (or even cite) the full clinical trial in this section, and we can't find it in any peer-reviewed journals.
The asterisk at the end of each clinical claim doesn't even correspond to a citation in the footer; just a statement that "individual results may vary."
As we've stated in many Illuminate Health articles, we recommend that consumers entirely disregard claims of clinical efficacy based on company-funded trials that are not published in peer-reviewed journals.
The risk of bias is too high for the results to have any value.
We urge Tint & Tighten to at least make the full study results clearly available to potential consumers.
Are Eye Creams a Waste of Money?
A YouTube creator and popular skincare influencer named Hyram shared his opinion on whether eye creams are a waste of money in a video with over 380,000 views:
Tint & Tighten vs. Popular Anti-Aging Creams
Here's how Tint & Tighten compares to other popular anti-aging creams in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
Insta-Tox
Contains research-backed active ingredients like magnesium aspartate, which is clinically shown to provide a skin-hydrating effect.
This formulation doesn't contain any active ingredients which protect the skin from sun, so we consider Tint & Tighten to have the advantage from a potential efficacy perspective.
Winner: Tint & Tighten
OneSkin
Like Tint & Tighten, this brand uses many research-backed active ingredients and also one inactive ingredient we consider unhealthy.
OneSkin gets the edge from the perspective of clinical backing.
OneSkin's peptide has been clinically proven to work in in vitro studies published in peer-reviewed journals, as we documented in our OneSkin review article.
Winner: OneSkin
Instantly Ageless
Contains synthetic dyes, which are harmful both orally and topically.
Tint & Tighten is dye-free, and is the healthier formulation by far.
Winner: Tint & Tighten
Our Clean Skincare 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.
Tint & Tighten Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Many research-backed active ingredients
- Should reduce wrinkles
- Should improve skin quality
- May provide protection from UV rays
- Relatively affordable given the quality
Cons:
- Doesn’t appear clinically tested
- Mediocre Amazon reviews
- Contains phenoxyethanol
- Eye creams may be overpriced per-serving
