Your skin is a self-sustaining organ, equipped with everything it needs to stay healthy: lipids, ceramides, humectants, and other molecules that build a strong barrier and lock in hydration. This system, powered by the skin’s natural moisturizing factor (NMF) and protective oils, keeps skin supple and resilient in youth. But production slows with age, especially after your 30s, leaving skin more prone to dryness, thinning, and fine lines.[1]
That’s where skin-identical ingredients come in.
What Are Skin-Identical Ingredients?
Skin-identical ingredients are exactly what they sound like: ingredients either naturally produced by the skin or those that function just like the compounds your skin already makes. Because their structures closely match the skin's needs, they are perfect for sensitive skin.[2,3]
Why Do Skin-Identical Ingredients Matter More as Skin Ages?
As skin ages, it becomes less efficient at producing the most important compounds for structural integrity, skin barrier function, and even skin longevity. This is driven by many factors, including hormonal changes like menopause and intrinsic aging processes like cellular senescence.[1]
Some areas, like the lips, are especially at risk. With no oil glands and a very thin barrier, they dry out faster and show signs of aging sooner. That’s why replenishing them with skin-identical ingredients can be so effective; they replace what’s missing and help the lips stay smooth, resilient, and protected.[4]
What Are The Benefits of Using Skin-Identical Ingredients?
Because they align so closely with the skin’s biology, these ingredients can have a number of benefits over other actives. Here’s what they can do:
Enhanced Skin Barrier Function
Your skin barrier relies on lipids like ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids to seal in hydration, but with age or damage, these levels drop. Replenishing them with ceramide blends has been shown to restore hydration, reduce TEWL, and repair even compromised skin faster than standard moisturizers. This makes them an excellent option for those with eczema-prone and sensitive skin.[5] Because lips have very few oil glands and lose water more easily, these ingredients are especially effective in keeping them hydrated and resilient.[4]
Improved Hydration
The skin stays hydrated thanks to its natural moisturizing factor (NMF): a mix of water-binding molecules like sodium PCA, amino acids, and urea. With age and harsh cleansing, these molecules diminish, leading to dryness. Replenishing them with a skin-identical version helps restore the skin’s flexibility and comfort.[6,7]
Rejuvenating Effects
By replenishing compounds lost during aging, some skin-identical ingredients counteract signs of skin aging like fine lines and reduced elasticity. Since some of these ingredients are directly used in pathways associated with collagen repair or skin longevity, they can have significant “anti-aging” effects.[8]
Better Compatibility with the Skin
Additionally, their structures closely match what the skin naturally produces, so skin-identical ingredients are exceptionally well tolerated, even on sensitive or compromised skin. Clinical studies consistently show skin-identical formulations not only improve hydration and barrier integrity but also minimize irritation compared to harsher actives. This compatibility makes them a safe and effective choice for long-term use.[9,10,11]
How Does OneSkin Use Skin-Identical Ingredients to Improve Lip Health
While many OneSkin products contain skin-identical ingredients, like niacinamide or hyaluronic acid, OS-01 LIP Mask leads with them, helping restore the thin, drier skin on the lips. Unlike facial skin, the lips have a fragile structure and no sebaceous glands, making them uniquely vulnerable to barrier breakdown and accelerated aging.[4] OS-01 LIP Mask answers this challenge with a synergistic formulation: skin-identical lipids and humectants combined with the patented OS-01 peptide, which empowers your skin cells to produce collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid on their own for even more bioidentical support.
Ceramides
Ceramides make up almost half of the lipids in the stratum corneum and form the lamellar “mortar” that limits moisture loss and shields against irritants. Multiple subclasses exist (NP, AP, EOP), and shifts in their ratios correlate with barrier health.[12] On lips, which exhibit ~3× higher TEWL than cheek skin and minimal sebaceous support, ceramide replenishment is particularly beneficial for chapping and barrier repair.[13] OS-01 LIP Mask contains ceramide NP to help prevent moisture loss from the lips. This allows for restored hydration levels and even calms irritation, especially when lips feel dry or compromised. For chapped lips, this can be a game-changer for speeding up recovery.[14,15]
Squalene
Squalene is a major sebum lipid that maintains barrier integrity and suppleness, but your natural production of it declines after your 30s. Stabilized squalane is widely used in skincare as a lightweight emollient. Beyond hydration, squalene functions as a potent singlet-oxygen quencher, protecting against UV- and pollution-driven lipid peroxidation, with oxidized squalene itself serving as a marker of environmental stress.[16,17] Clinical studies of squalane-containing formulations show improvements in hydration and barrier quality, making it especially useful for lips, which have limited sebaceous support and elevated TEWL.[4,16,18]
Glycerin
Glycerin, a key component of the skin’s natural moisturizing factor, attracts and holds water while supporting lipid organization. Research shows it restores hydration for at least 24 hours and speeds barrier recovery after damage, making it one of the most reliable humectants in skincare. Its small molecular size allows deep penetration for lasting softness. Glycerin is often more effective when mixed with lipids, like in the OS-01 LIP Mask formulation.[19,20]
Sodium PCA
A key humectant of the NMF, Sodium PCA (a proline derivative), maintains hydration by binding water and regulating skin cell plasticity. As you age, or after too much cleansing, levels of Sodium PCA drop, leaving skin dry and tight. Adding it back through skincare helps restore smoothness and elasticity. For lips, which dry out faster and lack oil glands, Sodium PCA is especially effective at keeping them soft and comfortable.[21,22,23]
Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid is one of the skin’s best natural hydrators, able to hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water.[24] As you age, your natural levels drop, leaving your skin drier and less plump. Using it topically helps lock moisture into the skin’s surface, making it feel smoother, softer, and more elastic. OS-01 LIP Mask uses sodium hyaluronate, the salt form of hyaluronic acid, which has a smaller molecular size that allows deeper penetration, providing long-lasting hydration and improved smoothness.[25,26]
Together, these ingredients, found in OS-01 LIP Mask, are why 98% of our beta-testers agreed that their lips feel hydrated and moisturized for over 8 hours after application.
Key Takeaways:
- Declining levels of skin’s own protective molecules with age weaken the barrier, leaving skin vulnerable to dehydration and irritation.
- Skin-identical ingredients are powerful because they mimic the compounds your skin already makes, ensuring better absorption, bioavailability, and effectiveness.
- Ingredients like ceramides and squalene rebuild the skin’s protective barrier, locking in hydration and defending against irritants.
- Humectants like glycerin, sodium PCA, and hyaluronic acid bind water to the skin, restoring comfort and elasticity.
- Because they mirror skin’s natural molecules, these ingredients are often well-tolerated even by sensitive or compromised skin.
References:
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10647560/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6303115/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11243632/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8251770/
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26277914
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38834224/
- https://jddonline.com/articles/natural-moisturizing-factor-enriched-formulations-compared-ceramide-based-cream-S1545961624P8172X
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11047333/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6197824/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11915079/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8322246/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7269764/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507900/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34348350/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10747297/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6253993/
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ics.12208
- https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9284/8/1/18
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10598752/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19690451/
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1396-0296.2004.04S1005.x
- https://jddonline.com/articles/natural-moisturizing-factor-enriched-formulations-compared-ceramide-based-cream-S1545961624P8172X
- https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/17/6139
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2778417/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36710533/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8347214/
