Hanacure is a luxury skincare brand that sells cosmetic products with what they describe are the “finest grade ingredients.” The brand claims that their products can create “glowing” skin.
But are Hancure's products contain research-backed ingredients for enhancing skin quality? Does the brand use any unhealthy ingredients? Why do we take issue with the brand's health claims? And is Hanacure better or worse than popular luxury skincare brands like La Roche Posay?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in two of the brand's most popular products (Face Mask and Nano Emulsion Moisturizer) 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 concerns with some of the health claims on the Hanacure website, feature a before-and-after video, and compare Hanacure to other luxury skincare lines to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Face Mask contains many research-backed active ingredients
- Neither product reviewed contains unhealthy ingredients
- We currently recommend Hanacure
Hanacure Face Mask Review
The ingredients in Hanacure's face mask, which comes as part of a starter kit called the All-In-One Facial, are shown below:
This face mask contains a large number of research-backed active ingredients.
Camellia sinensis (tea) leaf extract was shown to have anti-aging effects in a medical review published in the Molecules journal:
“By the inhibition of lipoxygenase, metalloproteinase, hyaluronidase and collagenase, tea and its extracts significantly delay the signs of skin aging.”
This means that tea extract when applied topically can inhibit expression of enzymes produced by the body which age skin.
Nelumbo nucifera (lotus) seed extract was shown to prevent loss of elasticity in the skin, and to have a synergistic anti-aging effect when combined with tea, in a 2015 medical review.
Caffeine increases circulation of blood in the skin, and is clinically shown to have skin-rejuvenating effects, as we documented in our Particle Face Cream reviews article.
Ginkgo biloba leaf extract was found to have a synergistic effect on skin elasticity when used with tea, which is also included in Hanacure's Face Mask, in a clinical trial published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology.
Tetrapeptide-7 and dipeptide-15 are topical peptides that were shown to reduce the appearance of wrinkles in a 2009 medical review.
There are no active or inactive ingredients in this formulation that we consider to be unhealthy or unsafe.
Overall, we consider Hanacure Face Mask likely to have an anti-aging effect, and to support skin quality, because it contains a large number of research-backed active ingredients and no unhealthy inactive ingredients.
Questionable Health Claims
The below reference to a clinical trial is on Hanacure's Nano Emulsion Moisturizer product page:
The brand markets positive results from a clinical trial, but fails to link to the full trial or even publish a citation to it at the time of updating this article.
We think it's unfair to consumers to market favorable study results without making the full study clearly accessible, because it prevents consumers from making an informed purchase decision.
Further, we recommend that consumers entirely disregard results from clinical trials funded by skincare brands that aren't published in peer-reviewed journals, as the risk of bias is too high for the results to have any value in our opinion.
Hanacure also claims that their trademarked Octolift technology binds with carbon dioxide in the air to improve the aesthetic appearance of the face:
There is no citation for this claim, and we can’t locate any clinical studies suggesting that topical skincare formulations bind to ambient carbon dioxide to produce a synergistic effect that benefits the skin.
Hanacure's website also suggests that one of their products "dissolves" impurities:
We don't understand this claim at all, and we haven't come across any clinical evidence that "impurities" in the skin can be "dissolved" by topical agents.
We urge Hanacure to either cite these questionable health claims with legitimate medical research, or to remove them entirely from their website.
Hanacure Moisturizer Review
The ingredients in Hanacure Nano Emulsion Moisturizer are shown below:
Acetyl hexapeptide-8 and copper tripeptide-1 are peptides, and we explained in the previous Ingredient Review section that topical use of peptides can have anti-wrinkle effects.
Sodium hyaluronate is a sodium salt of anti-aging compound hyaluronic acid, as we documented in our Beautycounter review article.
Sodium hyaluronate has a lower molecular weight, allowing it to penetrate deeper into the skin than hyaluronic acid, and to provide greater moisturization.
Antrodia cinnamomea is a wild mushroom that’s been shown in an animal study to have anti-inflammatory effects on skin.
Like the face mask, this moisturizer contains no inactive ingredients like fragrance or synthetic dye, which are commonly used in cosmetic formulations, and which we consider to be unhealthy.
Overall, we consider Hanacure Nano Emulsion Moisturizer likely to moisturize the skin, and we consider it to be a healthy formulation free of harmful additives.
Hanacure Before-and-After Video
One of the most popular Hanacure before-and-after videos is published on the brand's YouTube channel.
The video is only 30 seconds long, and shows improvements to an individual's skin quality after using Hanacure's all-in-one treatment:
Hanacure vs. Popular Luxury Skincare
Here's how Hanacure compares to other popular luxury skincare lines in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
Genucel
This expensive skincare line claims that their products can help users achieve a more defined jawline, even though that's definitionally impossible and the jawline is determined by bone structure (source).
Hanacure is a much higher-quality brand.
Winner: Hanacure
La Roche Posay
Contains an ingredient clinically shown to be contaminated with toxic asbestos around 10% of the time, as we documented in our La Roche Posay reviews article.
Hanacure is the safer and healthier choice.
Winner: Hanacure
Thrive Causemetics
All three products we analyzed contained ingredients we consider unhealthy, including an active ingredient in the brand's sunscreen which is clinically shown to be toxic.
Winner: Hanacure
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.
Hanacure Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Both products reviewed contained research-backed active ingredients
- Both products reviewed had no unhealthy additives
- Much healthier formulations than average cosmetic brand
- Hanacure Face Mask should have anti-aging effect
- Hanacure Nano Emulsion Moisturizer should moisturize the skin
Cons:
- Expensive
- Brand's website has some questionable clinical claims
- Brand's website has some questionable health claims
