Squalane

You wonder where squalane comes from? Well, it is actually a hydrogenated version of squalene, which is an oily substance found in people, animals, and plants. Due to the hydrogenation process, the unsaturated oil turns into a saturated oil. Consequently, squalane is more shelf-stable than squalene and, therefore, easier to use in skin-care products. However, animal squalene is mostly too unstable to be used in skincare products. It often becomes spoiled when exposed to oxygen.

You may have noticed that many CBD products in the cosmetics industry contain the ingredient squalane. This is no coincidence because compared to other emollients, squalane is perfectly suited to transport the cannabidiol to the receptors of the skin that absorb the active ingredients of a product. In addition, CBD and squalane have similar effects on the skin.

Just like squalane, CBD also has moisturizing and anti-inflammatory properties. It boosts cell renewal, effectively reducing blemished and dry skin - so why not combine these two ingredients? Many of our products also take advantage of the positive properties of this combination. For example, you will find squalane in our Hydrating Day Cream, our Superseed Beauty Balm and Overnight Mask, our Premium Eye cream, and many more.

Traditionally, companies got the oily substance from shark livers, in which high amounts of squalene can be found. Mitsumaru Tsujimoto was the first to discover squalane in a shark liver in 1906. About 10 years later, he managed to isolate the material as a pure substance. In 1935, squalene was found in olive oil for the first time, i.e. in a plant product. Luckily, over the past years, most companies turned away from using shark-derived squalane. Instead, they mainly source their squalene from plants such as wheat germ oil, rice oil, or as just mentioned, olive oil. Don't worry, we obviously don't source the squalane for our products from sharks. Instead, our squalane comes from high-quality olive oils.

Most of the time, squalane is associated with facial cosmetic products. However, it can also be perfectly used in other areas. For example, it is ideal to moisturize your hair, making it easy to comb and giving it a healthy shine. Therefore, it can often be found in conditioners, leave-in treatments, hair oils, or serums.

Due to the moisturizing effect of squalane, it also has a positive effect on the extensibility and elasticity of the skin. So if you would like to prevent your skin from having stretch marks during pregnancy for example, you may look, for oils that contain squalane.