All scans / Moisturizers / Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream with Squalane
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream with Squalane ingredients: is it worth it?
Solid barrier moisturizer, but not a true treatment cream.
Solid barrier moisturizer, but not a true treatment cream.
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The efficacy score is driven by a strong moisturizer base: glycerin high in the list, plus squalane, dimethicone, fatty alcohols, multiple plant oils, and a small amount of barrier-supporting lipid material. It loses points because the marketed extras like pseudoalteromonas ferment extract and the salicylic acid are likely present at low levels, so they add far less than the hydration/barrier base does.
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DemythSkin rates Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream with Squalane 4.2/5 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 (16)⌄
FULL INGREDIENT LIST⌄
Aqua / Water, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Squalane, Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane, Sucrose Stearate, Stearyl Alcohol, PEG-8 Stearate, Myristyl Myristate, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil / Apricot Kernel Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Persea Gratissima Oil / Avocado Oil, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Oryza Sativa Bran Oil / Rice Bran Oil, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil / Olive Fruit Oil, Chlorphenesin, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Carbomer, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil / Sweet Almond Oil, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Tocopherol, Glycine Soja Oil / Soybean Oil, Pseudoalteromonas Ferment Extract, Myristic Acid, Hydroxypalmitoyl Sphinganine, Salicylic Acid, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil / Sunflower Seed Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract / Rosemary Leaf Extract, Citric Acid.
WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES (24)⌄
- Aqua / Water
- solvent
- Glycerin
- humectant
- Dimethicone
- silicone emollient
- Squalane
- emollient
- Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane
- texture enhancer
- Sucrose Stearate
- emulsifier
- Stearyl Alcohol
- fatty alcohol
- PEG-8 Stearate
- emulsifier
- Myristyl Myristate
- emollient
- Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil / Apricot Kernel Oil
- plant oil emollient
- Phenoxyethanol
- preservative
- Persea Gratissima Oil / Avocado Oil
- plant oil emollient
- Glyceryl Stearate
- emulsifier
- Cetyl Alcohol
- fatty alcohol
- Oryza Sativa Bran Oil / Rice Bran Oil
- plant oil emollient
- Olea Europaea Fruit Oil / Olive Fruit Oil
- plant oil emollient
- Chlorphenesin
- preservative
- Stearic Acid
- fatty acid
- Palmitic Acid
- fatty acid
- Carbomer
- thickener
- Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
- thickener
- Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
- chelator
- Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil / Sweet Almond Oil
- plant oil emollient
- Xanthan Gum
- thickener
EXTERNAL CITATIONS
Glycerin: Well-established humectant that improves stratum corneum hydration.
Squalane: Widely used emollient that helps reduce moisture loss and improve skin feel.
Hydroxypalmitoyl Sphinganine: Barrier lipid ingredient; support is stronger for barrier-friendly moisturizing than for dramatic treatment claims.
Salicylic Acid: Keratolytic beta-hydroxy acid with true exfoliating activity, but likely at a low supportive level here.
DISCLAIMER: THIS ANALYSIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. AI-GENERATED DATA BASED ON PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INGREDIENT LISTS. VERIFY WITH A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream with Squalane: common questions
Is Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream with Squalane worth it?
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream with Squalane scores 4.2 out of 5.0 for efficacy (Effective) and 4.4 out of 5.0 for safety (Gentle) on DemythSkin's independent ingredient analysis. Solid barrier moisturizer, but not a true treatment cream.
What are the key active ingredients in Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream with Squalane?
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream with Squalane contains these gold-standard actives with strong clinical evidence: Salicylic Acid.
Does Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream with Squalane contain fragrance or known irritants?
DemythSkin flags these ingredients in Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream with Squalane as documented irritants: Myristyl Myristate.
How is Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream with Squalane 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.