All scans / Moisturizers / Drunk Elephant Protini™ Polypeptide Cream
Drunk Elephant Protini™ Polypeptide Cream ingredients: is it worth it?
A competent, elegant moisturizer inflated by peptide hype rather than a transformative anti-aging formula.
A competent, elegant moisturizer inflated by peptide hype rather than a transformative anti-aging formula.
READ MORE
The efficacy score is 4.0/5: glycerin appears third, the formula supplies sodium hyaluronate, sodium PCA, sodium lactate, amino acids, emollients, and fatty acids for credible hydration and conditioning, while the peptide blend may provide modest supportive benefits; however, the formula lacks ceramides and cholesterol, peptide concentrations are undisclosed and mostly positioned after the primary base, and the marketed growth-factor-style ingredients are not enough to justify a premium treatment score. The fragrance-free, non-acidic cream base supports a strong 4.3/5 safety score, with preservation systems and botanical extracts presenting the main—generally limited—sensitization considerations. The official product page lists the same complete ingredient sequence.
We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Links never influence scores.
DemythSkin rates Drunk Elephant Protini™ Polypeptide Cream 4.0/5 for efficacy and 4.4/5 for safety.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS BY TIER
Gold Standards
High clinical proof | Skin-transformativeReliable
Proven resultsPotent
Developing evidenceOverhyped | Marketing
Hype | Limited dataDocumented Irritants
Evidence-backed flagFORMULATION BASE (19)⌄
FULL INGREDIENT LIST⌄
Water/Aqua/Eau, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Bacillus/Folic Acid Ferment Filtrate Extract, Nymphaea Alba Root Extract, sh-Oligopeptide-1, sh-Oligopeptide-2, sh-Polypeptide-1, sh-Polypeptide-9, sh-Polypeptide-11, Copper Palmitoyl Heptapeptide-14, Heptapeptide-15 Palmitate, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Alanine, Arginine, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Serine, Threonine, Valine, Acetyl Glutamine, Coconut Alkanes, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Aspartic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Lecithin, Butylene Glycol, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Sodium Lactate, Sodium PCA, PCA, Sorbitan Isostearate, Carbomer, Polysorbate 20, Polysorbate 60, Lactic Acid/Glycolic Acid Copolymer, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Xanthan Gum, Isomalt, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopherol, Sodium Benzoate, Phenylpropanol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Symphytum Officinale Callus Culture Extract
WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES (24)⌄
- Water/Aqua/Eau
- Solvent and formula base
- Dicaprylyl Carbonate
- Light emollient
- Glycerin
- Humectant and water binder
- Cetearyl Alcohol
- Fatty alcohol and thickener
- Cetearyl Olivate
- Olive-derived emulsifier
- Sorbitan Olivate
- Olive-derived emulsifier
- Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil
- Emollient seed oil
- Bacillus/Folic Acid Ferment Filtrate Extract
- Ferment-derived skin conditioner
- Nymphaea Alba Root Extract
- Botanical skin conditioner
- sh-Oligopeptide-1
- Signal peptide
- sh-Oligopeptide-2
- Signal peptide
- sh-Polypeptide-1
- Signal peptide
- sh-Polypeptide-9
- Signal peptide
- sh-Polypeptide-11
- Signal peptide
- Copper Palmitoyl Heptapeptide-14
- Copper peptide complex
- Heptapeptide-15 Palmitate
- Palmitoylated peptide
- Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
- Signal peptide
- Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
- Signal peptide
- Alanine
- Skin-conditioning amino acid
- Arginine
- Amino acid and pH adjuster
- Glycine
- Skin-conditioning amino acid
- Histidine
- Skin-conditioning amino acid
- Isoleucine
- Skin-conditioning amino acid
- Phenylalanine
- Skin-conditioning amino acid
EXTERNAL CITATIONS
Glycerin: Established topical humectant that increases stratum-corneum water content.
Sodium Hyaluronate: Hyaluronic-acid salt used as a topical humectant and water-binding agent.
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1: Signal peptide with limited but plausible topical-support evidence.
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7: Signal peptide with limited topical anti-aging evidence.
DISCLAIMER: THIS ANALYSIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. AI-GENERATED DATA BASED ON PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INGREDIENT LISTS. VERIFY WITH A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.
A cheaper moisturizer that scores as high or higher
A different formula for the same concern (hydration) that scores at least as high on both efficacy and safety.
Drunk Elephant Protini™ Polypeptide Cream: common questions
Is Drunk Elephant Protini™ Polypeptide Cream worth it?
Drunk Elephant Protini™ Polypeptide Cream scores 4.0 out of 5.0 for efficacy (Effective) and 4.4 out of 5.0 for safety (Gentle) on DemythSkin's independent ingredient analysis. A competent, elegant moisturizer inflated by peptide hype rather than a transformative anti-aging formula.
What are the key active ingredients in Drunk Elephant Protini™ Polypeptide Cream?
Drunk Elephant Protini™ Polypeptide Cream contains no gold-standard actives. Its formula is built on supporting and base ingredients rather than clinically transformative actives.
Does Drunk Elephant Protini™ Polypeptide Cream contain fragrance or known irritants?
DemythSkin flags these ingredients in Drunk Elephant Protini™ Polypeptide Cream as documented irritants: Phenylpropanol.
How is Drunk Elephant Protini™ Polypeptide Cream scored?
DemythSkin grades every product on two independent scores: efficacy (whether the ingredients have clinical evidence of working) and safety (irritation and sensitisation risk). Ingredients are graded S through D against a database of over 3,000 compounds. Brand and price are not part of the score, and no brand pays for one.
Free scores for every product in the database, or see them on Sephora, Ulta and Amazon with the Chrome extension.