Hanacure Review: Better Skin Science or Just Hype?

Hanacure Review: Better Skin Science or Just Hype?


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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 really better-formulated than cheaper options, or are they just priced like they are? Does Hanacure use ingredients shown in clinical studies to improve skin quality? Does the brand use any questionable additive ingredients? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of Hanacure products?

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 based on clinical studies, to give our take on whether or not they're likely to be effective, and whether or not they're healthy.

We'll review Hanacure's face mask and Hanacure's Nano Emulsion Moisturizer.

We'll also feature unsponsored customer reviews including before-and-after images, share our concerns about Hanacure's research, and provide a cost comparison to show which retailer sells Hanacure products for the best prices.

Hanacure Face Mask Review

Hanacure Face Mask ingredients

The ingredients in Hanacure's face mask, which comes as part of a starter kit called the All-In-One Facial, are shown above. This is arguably Hanacure's most popular product.

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.

A YouTube creator named Cooper Neu reviewed and demoed Hanacure's face mask:

Questionable Health Claims

Hanacure clinical claims

The above 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:

Hanacure questionable health claim 2

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:

Hanacure questionable health claim 3

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

Hanacure Nano Emulsion Moisturizer ingredients

The ingredients in Hanacure Nano Emulsion Moisturizer are shown above.

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.

A YouTube creator named "padeetinakong" reviewed Hanacure, and we timestamped the below video to start at the moisturizer review section:

Real Customers Review Hanacure

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

Hanacure's Face Mask Kit is currently the brand's most-reviewed product on Amazon, with over 500 total reviews and an average review rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars. 

The top positive review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named "CaliVal" who gives the product a 5/5 star rating, and suggests that it has anti-aging effects:

"It’s temporary but it’s really awesome and the more you smile, the more you use the muscles to soften your face and look younger...This stuff is real and it works like magic!" 

The top negative review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named "Katherine" who gives the product a 1/5 star rating, and who claims that it caused minor side effects:

"I was excited because my face was literally frozen! Unrecognizable! 20 min later, I was itching bad prior, but I pushed through! I rinsed and my skin was VERY smooth! Not clear or helped with color, and less bloat. It was just disappointing. It did bring out more red on the flaws on my nose."

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:

Our Clean Skincare Picks

There are skincare products containing ingredients shown in clinical trials to be effective for reducing wrinkles and improving skin quality.

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.

Ritual HyaCera is our top skin supplement.

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

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

Where to Get the Best Price

Hanacure 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:

Hanacure Face Mask

Amazon: $125 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)

Bergdorf Goodman: $110 (free shipping, link)

Brand website: $110 (free shipping, link)

Hanacure Nano Emulsion Moisturizer

Bergdorf Goodman: $100 (free shipping, link)

Brand website: $100 (free shipping, link)

For consumers planning to purchase from this brand, we recommend shopping at the official Hanacure website, given that it currently offers equal or superior prices to third-party retailers.

Pros and Cons of Hanacure

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

Pros:

  • Both products reviewed contained research-backed active ingredients
  • Both products reviewed had no unhealthy additives
  • Much healthier formulations than average cosmetic brand
  • Beautiful branding/packaging
  • 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
Stay up-to-date on our research reviews

Conclusion

From a formulation perspective, Hanacure is one of the best skincare brands that we've reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.

Both of the Hanacure products we reviewed (face mask and moisturizer) contained a large number of research-backed ingredients to support the aesthetic goal, and were entirely free of unhealthy inactive ingredients.

Many cosmetic formulations that we review contain unhealthy additives like synthetic preservatives and fragrance, and it's quite rare for a brand to use none of these additives, so we commend Hanacure for that.

The Hanacure website has some clinical claims that are currently uncited. We urge the brand to publish the full clinical study for consumers to review.

The Hanacure website has some questionable health claims that are currently uncited, like the suggestion that one of the active ingredients used reacts with carbon dioxide in the air to improve the appearance of the face.

We think it's unfortunate that Hanacure markets their products in this manner, because the formulations are impressive enough to not require it in our opinion.

At the time of updating this article, Hanacure's website has the best prices on the brand's products.