Biossance is an award-winning clean skincare brand that sells products for anti-aging, hydration, skin repair and more. The brand claims that their products can help users “kick fine lines to the curb.”
But do Biossance products contain ingredients proven to reduce wrinkles and other signs of aging? Does the brand use any unhealthy ingredients? What was our Product Tester's honest experience trying Biossance for a month? And is the brand better or worse than popular anti-aging brands like DRMTLGY?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in two of Biossance’s most popular products (eye cream and sunscreen) to give our take on whether or not they’re likely to be effective, and whether or not they're healthy.
We'll also share our Product Tester's experience trying this brand for a month, and compare Biossance to other popular anti-aging skincare brands in terms of formulation quality to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Brand uses many research-backed ingredients
- We don't currently recommend the eye cream
- We do currently recommend the sunscreen
Eye Cream Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Biossance Squalane + Marine Algae Eye Cream are shown below:
The brand claims this product can "Instantly lift and visibly improve the look of fine lines and wrinkles."
Squalane is included in many Biossance products. A medical review published in the Molecules journal reports that squalane has hydrating properties when applied to skin.
Jojoba esters and glycerin are an effective combination.
A clinical trial published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology found that these two ingredients work synergistically to increase skin moisture content.
Sodium hyaluronate is one of the most well-studied anti-aging ingredients, and as we referenced in our review of K-beauty brand Depology, this ingredient is clinically shown to reduce wrinkles.
Tocopherol, or vitamin E, was shown in a medical review to reduce skin damage due to UV exposure.
Astaxanthin is a chemical compound typically derived from fish (it gives salmon its pink color), which was shown in a medical review published in the Nutrients journal to significantly reduce wrinkle depth and also to have an anti-inflammatory effect.
There are two inactive ingredients in this formulation 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 Biossance's eye cream highly likely to have an anti-aging and moisturizing effect.
From an efficacy perspective, this is one of the best eye cream formulations we've reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.
We don't currently recommend this product due to the preservative combination highlighted above.
We Tested Biossance
One of our product testers named Jodie Steinberg tried Biossance sunscreen (the ingredients of which we analyze in the next section). Here's her experience:
The packaging is solid with a securely tight cap you can easily open and close.
The smell was a typical sunscreen smell. I did not notice any artificial fragrance.
I wore Biossance sunscreen numerous times on my face, neck and hands. I believe it did adequately protect me from the sun, as I experienced zero color when I was out in the sun while wearing this product.
Unfortunately, I did not like this product.
At first, it blends into the skin very nicely, as you can see on the photograph of my hand immediately taken after application:
However, I did notice a little lightening of my face, and I am pretty pale to begin with, so I don’t think this would work for darker skin tones.
Also, I noticed that while at first it seemed to soak into the skin nicely, after about twenty minutes, there were white specks on areas of my face where the product seems to be sticking to dry patches of skin.
This happened when I used skincare under the sunscreen and when I did not use skincare so I know the issue is with the sunscreen.
The product also sank into very minor neck lines I have and accentuated them so anyone with fine lines and wrinkles will likely not like this product.
Moreover, as time went on the product looked oilier and oiler and I have oily to combination skin. It felt greasy, and I have concerns under makeup it would cause the makeup to not last as long due to its oily feel and finish.
Overall, I'd rate this sunscreen 4/10.
Sunscreen Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Biossance Squalane + Zinc Sheer Mineral Sunscreen are shown below:
Zinc oxide is the active sunscreen ingredient, and is a safe and non-toxic choice.
A medical review published in the Journal of Cosmetic Science found that zinc oxide is effective at blocking UV rays and does not absorb into the body.
As we documented in our review of Supergoop Sunscreen, many "chemical" sunscreen brands contain active ingredients shown in medical studies to be hormone-disrupting and toxic, so the choice to use zinc oxide as the active ingredient already makes this a better-than-average sunscreen.
Ectoin was described as a "natural cell protectant" that's useful in "preventing skin aging" in a medical review published in the Clinics in Dermatology journal.
Hedychium coronarium root extract may have antioxidant and anti-wrinkle effects according to a 2023 clinical trial.
There are no ingredients in this formulation that we consider to be unhealthy.
Overall, we consider Biossance Squalane + Zinc Sheer Mineral Sunscreen highly likely to protect the skin from UV rays.
Biossance vs. Popular Anti-Aging Brands
Here's how Biossance compares to other popular anti-aging skincare brands in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
DRMTLGY
Anti-aging serum contains a very similar formulation to Biossance.
Biossance wins in the sunscreen comparison, because DRMTLGY's sunscreen contains an active ingredient which is banned in some jurisdictions because of how toxic it is.
Winner: Biossance
Byoma
The anti-aging moisturizer we reviewed by this brand contained research-backed active ingredients and was entirely free of unhealthy ingredients, as we documented in our Byoma reviews article.
We give Byoma the edge from a healthiness perspective, because Biossance's eye cream contains some inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy.
Winner: Byoma
Fièra Cosmetics
Research-backed active ingredients and (slightly) fewer inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy than Biossance.
Winner: Fièra Cosmetics
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.
Biossance Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Many research-backed active ingredients
- Eye cream should reduce wrinkles
- Eye cream should hydrate skin
- Sunscreen contains zinc oxide
- Sunscreen should protect skin from UV rays
- Sunscreen may have anti-aging effect
- Beautiful branding & packaging
Cons:
- Eye cream contains synthetic preservative combination
- Our Product Tester disliked the sunscreen
