A Breakdown of Our Favorite Skincare Ingredients

florence is here to help by creating products that are clean, super easy, and always fun. Mills made florence to create better options for us and our friends, especially when it comes to skincare.

We keep it clean! In other words, we say no to parabens, sulfates, animal testing, or animal by-products, and yes to vitamins, antioxidants, botanicals, and other clean ingredients. 

After filtering through all the bad stuff, we’re left to choose from only good, clean, and vegan skincare ingredients. Let’s get into our favorite ingredients, why they’re good for us, and why they’re good for you!

What’s The Tea On Our Ingredients?

Creating effective skincare means using the best ingredients for helping our skin feel its best. It’s important that we’re transparent about the ingredients we use and why we use them. Many of our products are designed to help your skin glow, relax, and feel how you want it to.

What does this all mean?

Vitamins

Everyone grows up hearing about the different vitamins and minerals that affect our bodies in different ways. Think about all the times your parents pestered you about getting in your vitamin C or D. Skincare’s a lot more fun than milk and orange juice though!

Antioxidants 

Antioxidants have the power to help neutralize free radicals. Free radicals are molecules created when oxygen is metabolized, let’s just say they’re not the good guys (eek!). Antioxidants are the good guys of skincare. 

Botanicals

A botanical is a plant or plant part valued for its medicinal or therapeutic properties, flavor, and/or scent.

At florence, we feel that addressing how skincare is designed is the best way to help us all. We use different extracts, acids, oils, waters, and other ingredients because we believe in them.

Extracts

We love a good extract. Extracts are made by taking part of a raw material and mixing it with a solvent like water or oil. At florence, we use extracts from various trees, plants, and flowers to bring natural goodness to all skin types.

We love extracts so much that we use a blend of 6 extracts from antioxidant-rich fruits to create our Feed Your Soul Berry In Love Pore Mask. With blackberry, cranberry, blueberry, pomegranate, black currant, and sweet cherry, this cooling pore mask helps revitalize, soften, and visibly brighten skin and protect us against environmental stressors.

We use over 35 different extracts across florence skincare products to enhance their scents and benefits. Let’s dive into the whole picture on some of our favorites:

Plankton Extract

This extract comes from vegan algae that help defend against the damaging effects of artificial blue light coming from our electronic devices. Find this moisturizing extract in our Up In The Clouds Blue Light Protection Moisturizer.

Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Extract

This extract comes from the peel of a lemon, bringing freshness and toning power to our Clean Magic Face Wash and Dreamy Dew Moisturizer.

Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract 

This extract comes from apples. The fruit is a source of antioxidants, which lets it tackle multiple types of free radicals. Find this fruit-filled extract in our Zero Chill Face Mist.

Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Extract 

This may sound like a bunch of big and scary words, but Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) is a complicated way of saying chamomile flower. This dainty flower helps calm and moisturize your skin, perfect for our Clean Magic Face Wash.

We can make some life-changing skincare with the proper extracts and the right combination of clean ingredients.

Acids

The term ‘acid’ may sound daunting, but acids have some pretty incredible benefits when it comes to skincare. From dullness to uneven skin tones, acids can be miracle-workers.

Let’s dispel the reputation behind the term acid and shine a light on our favorite skin-loving ones:

Palmitic Acid

Palmitic acid was the perfect addition to the Look Alive Eye Balm, designed to bring a super-charged rush to tired eyes! *yawns*

Salicylic Acid

Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid (BHA) that helps exfoliate the skin and keep pores clear. That’s why we put salicylic acid in our Spot A Spot Acne Patches, the ultimate tool for every spot, dot, or blemish peeking out of our skin.

Phytic Acid

This acid is a gem for parched skin. Find phytic acid in the florence Blue Light Protection Toner designed for when our skin is feeling most dry.

Not all acids are the same, and when used at the right concentrations, they can take our skincare routines up a notch. All of our ingredients are clean, but a bit of research can always help you find what works best for your skin.

Oils

Similar to extracts and acids, oils come with their own properties and benefits.

You may have heard of coconut and tea tree oils, but our florence faves are less often hyped-up:

Apricot Kernel Oil 

Pressed from the oil-rich kernel of apricots comes this oil. This friendly oil is typically used on chapped skin, making it the perfect ingredient for our Hit Snooze Lip Mask. The jelly lip mask works overnight to help nourish our parched lips and help seal in moisture.

Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil 

Jojoba oil is extracted from seeds of a desert shrub native to California, Arizona, and Mexico. We figured, if this oil-packed seed keeps a desert-shrub moist, then it’s a no-brainer for our Glow Yeah Hydrating Lip Oil.

Lavandula Hybrida Oil 

Lavandula is a species of lavender used in skincare because of its soothing scent and softening properties. This oil is for those moments when you need to take a deep breath in, a deep breath out, and hit reset with some Moisturizing Face Mask Pearls.

Water

Last for today, but certainly, not least, is a key ingredient in formulating most skincare: water. When it comes to skin and water, they’re practically besties.

At florence, we take water so seriously that we even took it to the next level:

Chamomile Water

Like sleepy tea for your skin, chamomile treats our skin to a burst of soothing moisture—transforming our skin from totally stressed to totally chill.

Cucumber Water

Like a trip to the spa, cucumber helps skin cool off and relax.

Lavender Water 

Like meditation for your skin, lavender helps calm and balance oils weighing down your skin.

Soothing and relaxing water blends are essential to our Episodes 1, 2, and 3 toners. Each toner helps liven up your skin and retain naturally occurring moisture. We can’t emphasize enough how important water is for your skin, whether you include it in your skincare routine or hydrate throughout the day.  

Why We Care About Clean Skincare

All of our besties should have access to safe and straightforward skincare that they don’t have to think twice about. 

Creating clean products is important for all skin types and all lifestyles. With the perfect combination of clean ingredients, we can enhance moods and design products made for us all. 

We know that crazy clean skincare nourishes our skin, helps us glow, and makes us feel good.