Particle is an anti-aging cream designed for men. The company describes their product as a “6-in-1 anti-aging cream for men that fixes eye bags, dark circles and wrinkles.”
But does Particle Face Cream contain research-backed ingredients for anti-aging? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? Why do we take issue with some of the brand's marketing claims? And is Particle better or worse than popular men's cosmetic brands like Caldera + Lab?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Particle Face Cream to give our take on whether or not this cream is likely to be effective for anti-aging, and whether or not it's healthy.
We'll also highlight some questionable marketing claims on the Particle website, and compare the brand to other popular men's skincare brands in terms of formulation quality to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Contains research-backed anti-aging ingredients
- Contains two inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy
- We do not currently recommend Particle Face Cream
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Particle Face Cream are shown below:
One major red flag about the brand is that the full ingredient list is not published on the product page at the time of publishing this article, but rather on the FAQ page.
The good news is that this formulation does contain a number of research-backed active ingredients.
Jojoba oil has been shown in clinical studies to increase skin moisture content.
Niacinamide is a type of vitamin that has also been clinically shown to improve skin moisture, as we documented in our review of Urban Skin Rx.
Caffeine “increases the microcirculation of blood in the skin” when applied topically, according to a medical review published in the Skin Pharmacology and Physiology journal. This suggests that it can have rejuvenating effects.
Squalane was described as an emollient in a 2009 medical review, which suggests it can help moisturize and protect the skin.
Sodium hyaluronate is a potent anti-aging compound, as it’s a lower-molecular-weight sodium salt of hyaluronic acid, which means it can penetrate deeper into the skin.
A 2018 medical review described hyaluronic acid as “a promising skin rejuvenating biomedicine.”
There are two inactive ingredients we consider to be unhealthy.
Chlorphenesin is a synthetic preservative shown to be toxic to human cells in at least one clinical trial, as we documented in our The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Lash and Brow Serum reviews article.
Fragrance is a catch-all term for a wide variety of chemical compounds used to provide scent, and a 2016 medical review concluded that fragranced product emissions are a serious concern to human health.
Overall, we consider Particle Face Cream likely to have an anti-aging effect, but we don’t currently recommend this product due to the inclusion of the two inactive ingredients highlighted above.
Questionable Marketing Claims
There are several questionable marketing claims on the Particle website that we disagree with.
As shown below, in a comparison chart the company suggests that they have “Verified Results” but their competitors do not:
We don’t know how Particle could claim to have “Verified Results” if their face cream has not been subjected to a clinical trial (which it doesn’t appear to have been).
If the brand is claiming positive user feedback is “Verified Results,” every single other cosmetic brand we’ve ever reviewed to date on Illuminate Health has positive user feedback on their website, so we’re unsure how Particle could suggest this is a unique value proposition of their brand.
Particle also suggests that they are the only anti-aging product “engineered for men:”
However, it took us one Google search to find an article with 10 different anti-aging creams for men.
Particle also suggests that their competitors do not offer free shipping:
This is a very strange claim to make across-the-board. Particle is certainly not the only cosmetic brand that offers free shipping.
Again, it took us all of five seconds to find another anti-aging skin cream for men that comes with free shipping at the time of updating this article (link).
Particle vs. Popular Men's Skincare
Here's how Particle Face Cream compares to other popular men's skincare brands in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
Caldera + Lab
This brand sells one of the most popular men's moisturizers, with exotic active ingredients like Caesalpinia spinosa fruit extract, which is clinically shown to have potent antioxidant effects.
We consider the two products equivalent from a potential efficacy standpoint, and Calera + Lab's moisturizer contains fragrance but not chlorphenesin, so it gets the slight edge from a health perspective.
Winner: Caldera + Lab
Dr. Squatch
One of the earliest adopters of men's cosmetic marketing, Dr. Squatch personal care products contain fragrance but not chlorphenesin, as we documented in our Dr. Squatch reviews article.
For this reason, we consider the brand a slightly healthier option than Particle.
Winner: Dr. Squatch
Dove Men+Care
This is a drugstore men's cosmetic, so unsurprisingly it contains a host of inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy, including BHT, coumarin, fragrance and more.
Winner: Particle Face Cream
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.
Particle Face Cream Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Many research-backed ingredients
- Health claims seem well-supported
- Should have anti-aging effect
- Should improve skin moisture content
- Should enhance skin appearance overall
Cons:
- Contains fragrance
- Contains chlorphenesin
- Questionable marketing claims on brand's website
