OneSkin Review: A Magic Peptide for Skin?

OneSkin Review: A Magic Peptide for Skin?


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OneSkin is an anti-aging cosmetic brand. The company claims to sell “the first skin longevity treatment scientifically proven to target the root cause of skin aging.”

But is OneSkin actually proven to work in research studies, or is it a waste of money? Does the brand use research-backed ingredients? What about questionable additive ingredients? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of OneSkin?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we review medical studies on OneSkin to give our take on whether the brand is likely to be effective or not.

We’ll analyze the ingredients in one of OneSkin’s top products, and feature unsponsored customer reviews of the brand.

Is OneSkin Proven to Work?

OneSkin claims on their website that the peptide used in their formulations, called “OS-01,” is proven to reverse the skin’s biological age.

The company cites a 2023 clinical trial which found that this peptide “promoted a healthy skin phenotype with structural and molecular resemblance to young ex vivo skin.”

It’s important to note that this was an in vitro (test tube) study, which is a weaker standard of evidence than an in vivo (live human patient) study.

Nevertheless, this early-stage research is highly impressive and the study authors concluded that this peptide can reduce the biological age of human skin.

The only other research citation on the OneSkin “Science” page is a medical review published in the Clinical Therapeutics journal that outlines a novel research process for identifying potentially effective anti-aging compounds.

Overall, we consider OneSkin’s peptide somewhat likely to work, given that it was shown in a test tube study to have an anti-aging effect.

However, this peptide does not appear to have been proven to work yet in live human subjects.

But what other ingredients are in OneSkin and are they effective? We’ll analyze all of the ingredients in the next section.

Ingredient Analysis

OneSkin OS-01 Face ingredients

The ingredients in “OS-01 Face,” which is the anti-aging facial cream sold by OneSkin, are shown above.

There are a number of research-backed ingredients in this formulation beyond the OS-01 peptide.

Glycerin is clinically shown to increase skin moisture content, suggesting it has a hydrating effect.

Sorbitan olivate and cetearyl olivate may have synergistic effects to naturally hydrate the skin, according to a clinical trial published in the Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology journal.

Carapa guianensis seed oil was shown to promote collagen synthesis in a 2018 clinical trial.

Niacinamide is a type of B-vitamin that’s been shown in research studies to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, as we documented in our Agency Skincare reviews article.

Bentonite is a mineral-rich clay that was shown to have a healing effect on skin in a 2017 medical review.

There are other active ingredients in this formulation with research backing, but for the sake of brevity we’ll simply state that it’s clear this cream has a large number of effective ingredients.

Phenoxyethanol is the only inactive ingredient in OS-01 that may be questionable from a health perspective, as this synthetic preservative was found in a 2020 in vitro clinical trial to be toxic to human skin cells.

Overall, we consider OneSkin’s facial cream likely to be effective not only for anti-aging but also for skin hydration and skin barrier repair given its numerous effective active ingredients.

We don’t currently recommend this product due to the inclusion of phenoxyethanol, but we do consider it to be of above-average quality.

But how do real users rate and describe the effects of OneSkin products? We’ll feature unsponsored customer reviews in the next section of this article.

Real People Try OneSkin

A YouTube creator named “Aging Naturally With Jodylynn” shared her experience using OneSkin in an unsponsored video that includes before-and-after images:

A YouTube creator named Hannah Louise Poston reviewed all of her skincare products including OneSkin. We’ve timestamped the below video to start at the point she begins discussing her experience using OneSkin:

Where to Get the Best Price

OneSkin appears to only be sold on the brand’s website and Amazon. Here are the current prices for OS-01:

One-Time Purchase

Brand website: $120 (free shipping, link)

Amazon: $120 (free shipping, link)

Subscription

Amazon: $120 (free shipping, link)

Brand website: $99 (free shipping, link)

Real Customers Review OneSkin

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

OneSkin OS-01 has been reviewed 38 times on Amazon at the time of publishing this article, with an average review rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

The top positive review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “AKPaula” who gives the cream a 5/5 star rating and appreciates the effects and convenience:

“It's only been about a week, but I'm very happy with the results of the OneSkin OS-01 essential moisturizer and the OS-01 eye cream. An added bonus is that after purchasing the starter bottle, I can purchase a refill to insert into the container.”

The top negative review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Just me and my zoo” who gives the cream a 1/5 star rating and claimed to experience both side effects and negative aesthetic effects:

“After using the supplement twice a day for 5 days, my skin started getting getting itchy, and I had a dry patch on my jawline so I added my night cream. My skin still felt awful so next I decided to add my serum back into my routine. I also started to notice that the fine lines around my eyes were starting to look more pronounced so I added my eye cream back into my routine.”

OneSkin has an average review rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars on Facebook.

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.

Pros and Cons of OneSkin

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

Pros:

  • Novel technology
  • May actually reverse aging in skin
  • Many research-backed active ingredients

Cons:

  • Expensive
  • Doesn’t appear clinically tested in humans
  • Contains phenoxyethanol
  • Mediocre online customer reviews
Stay up-to-date on our research reviews

Conclusion

OneSkin appears to be developing legitimate proprietary anti-aging technology, which is a refreshing change from most cosmetic brands we review on Illuminate Health that use similar active ingredients and just brand them differently.

This company has developed a peptide that reverses aging in skin in test tube studies.

We haven’t found any clinical trials in humans proving these results, but we’re hopeful that the company will fund such studies in the future.

We don’t currently recommend this brand due to the lack of studies with human participants, as well as the inclusion of synthetic preservatives.

Online customer reviews of the brand are unimpressive, but involve a small number of total users.

For consumers interested in trying OneSkin, the brand’s website has the best price on subscription orders.