Biossance Review: Does Squalane Reverse Aging?

Biossance Review: Does Squalane Reverse Aging?


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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 questionable additives? Which retailer sells Biossance for the best price? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of this brand?

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 publish a price comparison documenting which retailer sells this brand for the best price, and feature real Biossance customer reviews.

Eye Cream Ingredient Analysis

Biossance Eye Cream ingredients

The ingredients in Biossance Squalane + Marine Algae Eye Cream, which is the brand's most popular product, are shown above.

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 discussed above.

A doctor with a YouTube channel called “Doctor Anne” reviewed this eye cream and shared her thoughts on whether or not it was effective for her, along with what skin types she’d recommend it for:

Sunscreen Ingredient Analysis

Biossance Squalane + Zinc Sheer Mineral Sunscreen ingredients

The ingredients in Biossance Squalane + Zinc Sheer Mineral Sunscreen are shown above.

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.

A TikTok creator named Tanupa did a live product demonstration to show that there is no white cast from this product, and claims to be happy with the product texture:

@tanupaskincare @biossance truly impressed with the texture :) #skincare #sunscreen #mineral ♬ Open - Khalid feat. Majid Jordan

Our Clean Anti-Aging Picks

Annie Mak Vitamin C Serum is our top anti-aging serum.

It contains hyaluronic acid which was described as a "skin-rejuvenating biomedicine" in a medical review due to its ability to reduce wrinkles and signs of facial aging.

YOUARESUNSHINE from CLEARSTEM is our top sunscreen pick.

It's an SPF 50+ physical sunscreen that green tea extract, which is clinically shown to moisturize the skin and reduce wrinkles.

Ritual HyaCera is our top anti-aging skin supplement.

It contains wheat oil extract which is clinically shown to "improve skin damages induced by aging."

All of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.

Skincare Influencer Reviews Biossance

A skincare influencer named Hyram reviewed several products from the Biossance line, and shared ethical concerns regarding one of their ingredients in a video with over 500,000 views.

Customers Rate Biossance

Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand’s website in our opinion.

At the time of updating this article, Biossance Squalane + Marine Algae Eye Cream has been reviewed over 600 times on Amazon, with an average review rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars.

A top positive review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named "Caithlin" who gave the product a 5/5 rating:

"I have really bad bags under my eyes and they’ve visibly reduced in size and darkness! I’m a mom of 3 and I nursed all my babies resulting in a lot of sleepless nights."

A top negative review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named "Jessica Fowler" who gave the product a 1/5 rating:

"This made me break out in my eye area. I stopped and started this eye cream twice to make sure it was the cause of my break out and it was."

Biossance Squalane + Marine Algae Eye Cream currently has an average review rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars on Google.

Where to Get the Best Price

Biossance products are sold at a variety of online retailers.

Here’s a price breakdown for the two products reviewed in this article, at the time of updating this article:

Squalane + Marine Algae Eye Cream

Brand website: $56 (free shipping, link)

Amazon: $56 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)

Squalane + Zinc Sheer Mineral Sunscreen

Kohl's: $34 (plus shipping, link)

Brand website: $32 (plus shipping, link)

Sephora: $32 (free shipping, link)

Biossance Pros and Cons

Here are the pros and cons of Biossance in our opinion:

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
  • Positive Amazon reviews
  • Positive Google reviews
  • Beautiful branding & packaging

Cons:

  • Eye cream contains synthetic preservative combination
  • Brand's website charges for shipping on orders under $50
Stay up-to-date on our research reviews

Conclusion

Biossance is a high-quality skincare brand.

We consider this brand's formulations to be superior to that of the average skincare brand we’ve reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.

The eye cream sold by Biossance contains a large number of research-backed active ingredients.

While we don’t currently recommend it for health reasons, we do consider it likely to have an anti-aging effect.

The brand’s sunscreen is likely to be effective for UV protection and we consider it a much safer choice than chemical sunscreen, because it uses zinc oxide as the active ingredient which should be non-toxic.

There are no ingredients in the sunscreen that we consider to be unhealthy otherwise questionable.

Sephora and Amazon currently have the best prices on Biossance products when factoring in shipping fees.