LÉ Blog

Restoring your “skin barrier” seems like a pretty hot skincare buzzword right now – and it’s actually for good reason! As much as we love our high-efficacy actives like glycolic acid and retinol, our core skincare philosophy is to always first have your skin barrier care down pat before diving into the other more glamorous skin concerns. But what even is skin barrier function and how do you take care of it? The good news is, you’re probably already doing a lot of things that are good for your...

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*Updated as of 5/17/2022 When you start dabbling in actives, you’ll easily fall into the rabbit hole of what you can and can’t layer. One of the complicated aspects of trying to figure out actives layering and why brands may not even be able to give clear answers is simply the fact it hasn’t gone through enough testing to truly know. Not to mention, the formulas these actives sit in can add another layer of complexity. The good thing is there are some active combinations that have been looked...

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One of our most popular articles of Chemist Confessions and the center of a lot of questions is combining actives. In How to Combine Actives Like a Pro Pt. 1 we shared some tips and tricks on how to combine the big 4 actives of retinol, niacinamide, AHAs, and vitamin C. But what about all the other active ingredients? And what does it all really mean when it comes to product layering? It’s finally time for How to Combine Actives like a pro part 2! *Note: We wrote this for individuals that hav...

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So you wanna get some niacinamide into your routine eh? Welp unfortunately in the past couple of years, this category has become quite the circus of products. So let’s take a stroll through the niacinamide landscape and see if we can find your next niacinamide discovery. But Wait! A Quick Recap Before We Explore If you haven’t already, we highly recommend going back to our niacinamide intro to recap what niacinamide can do for your skin. To sum up in one line, niacinamide has shown that with ...

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Let’s take a closer look at another one of the chemists’ favorite active ingredients: niacinamide (aka. vitamin B3). This is a prolific ingredient you can find in absolutely every type if skincare product imaginable — cleansers, serums, moisturizers, sunscreens, you name it. This is because it's a truly a jack-of-all trade ingredient with multiple proven skin benefits. Let’s take a look at all the things niacinamide can do for you! Barrier function First and foremost, niacinamide can improve ...

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Head over to How to Combine Actives Like a Pro Pt 2 for more. Shopping for a "big 4" product? Checkout community-favorite products here. Finding that first effective ingredient that makes a visible difference to your skin is a bit like opening pandora’s box. Encouraged, you probably can’t wait to get your hands on all the top of the line actives on the market. But wait! Not every combination works and turns out the relationship can be complicated. So let’s figure out how to combine and handle...

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