What's actually in your skincare.
Most skincare marketing leans on the active ingredient as a headline without explaining what it does, what concentration matters, or how it fits in a routine. These ten guides do. Each is a complete editorial breakdown — what the ingredient is, the evidence base for it, who should use it, what to buy in Australia, and the honest answers to the most-asked questions.
Skincare is a chemistry category dressed as a beauty category. The brands that work are the ones with credible active concentrations and credible evidence bases for what they're putting in the bottle. The brands that don't are the ones spending more on packaging than formulation. The ten ingredients below are the actives that drive results across the full Glow editorial archive — the same actives our editors look for first when assessing a new product.
Read by ingredient. Then cross-reference against the products on your shelf. Most readers are surprised by what's not there.
AHA + BHA.
Two categories of chemical exfoliant. AHAs work on the surface, BHAs penetrate the pore. The standard intervention for dull skin (AHA) or congestion (BHA).
Ceramides.
The lipids that hold your skin barrier together. Replenish them via topicals to recover from over-exfoliation, retinol introduction, or compromised skin states.
DHA.
Dihydroxyacetone — the sugar-derived compound that makes self-tan work. Reacts with skin's outermost dead cells to produce temporary brown pigment. The active behind every credible self-tanner.
Hyaluronic acid.
The standard hydration humectant. Binds water at up to 1,000× its weight. Works on every skin type, every age. The most universally compatible ingredient in skincare.
Niacinamide.
Vitamin B3 — the most-studied multi-active topical. Reduces sebum, fades hyperpigmentation, supports the barrier, calms inflammation. Works at 5–10% concentrations.
Peptides.
Short amino-acid chains that signal cells to produce collagen, elastin, or relax expression-line muscles. The gentler alternative to retinol — slower visible change, far fewer tolerance issues.
Retinol.
Vitamin A derivative — the single most evidence-backed anti-ageing topical available without prescription. Drives cell turnover. Trade-off: introduction-period irritation.
Salicylic acid.
The oil-soluble BHA that penetrates pores. Standard topical treatment for oily, congested, or acne-prone skin. Use at 0.5–2% in cleansers, treatments, or leave-on solutions.
SPF actives.
The mineral and chemical filters that block UV. Daily SPF is the single most evidence-backed anti-ageing intervention available. Australian filters are ahead of US standards.
Vitamin C.
The standard daytime antioxidant. L-ascorbic acid at 10–20% delivers brightening, hyperpigmentation-fading, and free-radical protection. Pairs with sunscreen for extended photoprotection.
Where these ingredients show up in our reviews.
The Glow's product reviews and category rankings reference these ingredients constantly. If a product underperforms in our testing, it's almost always because the active concentration is too low or the formulation is built around marketing claims rather than evidence. If a product is one of our top picks, it's almost always because the active is present at clinically meaningful concentrations.
Useful next reads:
- Best retinol in Australia — the seven retinol products we'd actually buy.
- Best anti-ageing skincare in Australia — across retinol, peptides, and antioxidants.
- Best retinol for beginners — the buffered, low-irritation entry points.
- Best vitamin C serum in Australia — evidence-backed antioxidants.
- Peptides vs retinol — choose between, or use both.
- The Glow Formulation Index — our methodology for assessing ingredient transparency.
- How we review — the five-pillar rubric every product is scored against.