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Research
Identity & Evidence
We establish material identity, mechanism, safety context, and the strength and limits of the available evidence.
Explore Research
What touches your skin must meet a higher standard.
Every material in a Vyalure formula is evaluated for more than what it does on skin. We consider what it is, how it works, where it comes from, the strength of the evidence, and the impact its production and use may carry beyond the formula.
Explore our approachThe Standard extends beyond the ingredient.
Identity, evidence, compatibility, process, stability, and finished-product performance are read together. A promising mechanism can justify evaluation; only a material that retains its value inside the complete formula advances.
See how we evaluate materials
Selection
Compatibility & Role
We evaluate how a material functions in formula, its compatibility, intended use, and whether it meaningfully supports performance.
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Exclusion
Material Standards
We screen for conflicts with the formulation standard before a material enters development.
Explore Exclusions
Formula Merit
Performance in Formula
A material must retain its value in the finished formula, with measurable, relevant performance and a refined sensory experience.
Explore Formula MeritEvidence must withstand scrutiny.
A material’s potential is only meaningful when credible evidence is interpreted under the conditions that produced it, then tested against the way a finished cosmetic is actually formulated and used.
What was actually observed?
We begin with the finding itself rather than the headline around it. The endpoint, mechanism, direction of effect, consistency, and strength of the underlying evidence establish what the study can legitimately support.
Finding
The measured biological, clinical, sensory, or environmental outcome.
Evidence quality
Study design, controls, reproducibility, statistical interpretation, and limitations.
Uncertainty
What remains unresolved, inconsistent, indirect, or dependent on further evidence.
Under what conditions did it occur?
A finding cannot be separated from the exposure that produced it. Concentration or dose, route, duration, model, population, frequency, and test environment determine how broadly the result can be interpreted.
Exposure
How much material was present and how contact occurred.
Duration
Whether the exposure was brief, repeated, prolonged, or otherwise unlike cosmetic use.
Study context
The model, route, population, and conditions that define the boundaries of the finding.
Does the evidence translate to cosmetic use?
We examine whether the conditions behind a finding meaningfully resemble the intended cosmetic application. Route, contact time, concentration, frequency, product format, and the complete formula all influence that translation.
Human relevance
How directly the evidence speaks to people and realistic consumer use.
Cosmetic context
Whether the product format and use pattern resemble the conditions studied.
Weight of evidence
How the finding sits within the broader scientific and regulatory record.
What does the evidence mean for this formula?
Only after intrinsic properties and realistic exposure are read together does the evidence become a formulation decision. The material may advance as proposed, require refinement, or fall outside The Standard for that use.
Advance
The evidence and intended use support the proposed application.
Refine
The concentration, format, context, or use conditions require further development.
Exclude
The proposed use does not satisfy The Standard for the application.
From inherent properties to real-world relevance.
An observed effect tells us what deserves attention. It becomes meaningful for a cosmetic formula only when the conditions that produced it are compared with the conditions in which the material will actually be used. The finding stays fixed; its relevance can change.
Hazard
The finding is the starting point.
An observed effect tells us a material deserves scrutiny. We first establish what happened, at what exposure, and how strong the evidence is.
That observation stays fixed as context is applied. We neither dismiss the finding because a material is familiar nor treat it as the final answer before realistic use is considered.
What deserves attention?
Whether the observed effect remains relevant under the conditions of the proposed cosmetic use.
Context changes how the finding translates.
Choose a condition to see how the same starting finding is interpreted within the intended product.
Contact time changes the relevance of the same finding.
A leave-on product may keep a material in contact with skin for hours, while a rinse-off product creates a much shorter contact window. The intrinsic property has not changed; the realistic exposure has.
A rinse-off cleanser and a leave-on cream do not create the same exposure scenario.
A finding observed under prolonged exposure can therefore carry different weight when the intended contact time is brief.
The amount in the formula changes the comparison.
We compare the proposed concentration with the exposure levels used in the evidence. A finding observed under substantially different conditions cannot be transferred to a cosmetic formula without that comparison.
Presence is not equivalent to the conditions that produced the finding.
The finding remains part of the assessment, but its weight depends on how the intended concentration relates to the conditions in which the effect was observed.
Routine use changes cumulative exposure.
Daily or multiple-daily use creates a different exposure pattern from occasional use, even when the material and concentration are unchanged.
The same concentration can represent a different use pattern when exposure is repeated more often.
Expected frequency can change how much weight the original finding carries and the margin required before the material advances.
The material is judged inside the complete system.
Product format, pH, vehicle, supporting materials, delivery, and stability can influence availability, performance, and tolerability. The complete formula therefore matters to how the evidence is interpreted.
Appropriate in isolation is not enough.
A material still has to remain appropriate in the system that delivers it and under the conditions in which the finished product will be used.
Risk is interpreted only after the finding and realistic exposure are read together.
Context does not erase a finding. It determines how much weight that finding should carry for the intended use. When meaningful uncertainty remains, the use can be refined, the formula reconsidered, or the material can be excluded from that development path.
Formula fit earns selection.
Once evidence justifies evaluation, the question changes: can the material earn a functional place inside the system we are actually building? Selection is made at the formula level—not by ingredient reputation, trend, or mechanism alone.
A material needs a defined job—and a justified use level.
We establish what the material is expected to contribute, then evaluate the concentration required to produce that contribution. More is not automatically better, and a fashionable ingredient does not earn space simply because it can be added.
FunctionWhat specific technical, sensory, or performance role is it expected to serve?
Use levelIs the proposed concentration supported by evidence, technical documentation, formulation need, or development testing?
RedundancyDoes it add value the system does not already deliver, or only add complexity?
Compatibility is tested against the architecture of the formula.
A material may be compelling in isolation yet unsuitable for the pH, phase structure, surfactant system, polymer network, or solubility conditions required by the product. Formula architecture determines whether it can be incorporated without compromising the system.
pH windowDoes the material remain appropriate and functional at the formula’s intended pH?
Phase behaviorCan it be dissolved, dispersed, emulsified, or suspended where the formula requires it?
ArchitectureDoes it support rather than destabilize the surfactant, emulsion, polymer, or gel structure?
The material has to tolerate the way the product is actually manufactured.
Heat exposure, shear, order of addition, hydration time, neutralization, and cool-down conditions can change whether a material performs as intended. A selection that only works under impractical handling conditions is not a strong manufacturing choice.
TemperatureCan the material tolerate the heat or cool-down conditions required by the process?
SequenceDoes order of addition or pre-dispersion materially affect incorporation or performance?
ScalabilityCan the process remain controlled and repeatable as development moves beyond a small bench batch?
No material enters an empty formula.
Preservation, ionic load, chelation, surfactants, emulsifiers, polymers, solvents, oils, and other actives can alter behavior. We evaluate the material as part of a network of interactions rather than assuming its isolated properties will remain unchanged.
Surrounding materialsDo neighboring components alter solubility, charge, viscosity, delivery, or stability?
PreservationDoes the addition complicate the conditions needed to maintain microbiological integrity?
System loadDoes it introduce salts, solvents, acids, bases, or other factors the formula must absorb?
Selection has to survive beyond the day the batch is made.
We look for evidence that the material and the formula can maintain physical structure, chemical integrity, color, odor, and intended function through expected storage and packaging conditions. Instability can erase the value that justified the material in the first place.
Physical integrityDoes the system resist separation, precipitation, unacceptable viscosity drift, or other structural change?
Chemical integrityAre oxidation, hydrolysis, pH drift, or other degradation pathways material to the decision?
Package fitCan packaging and storage conditions support the formula without creating a new weakness?
The finished product has to gain something meaningful.
The final question is not whether a material sounds impressive on an ingredient list. It is whether the complete product gains relevant performance, sensory quality, or technical value from its inclusion without introducing a larger compromise elsewhere.
PerformanceDoes the finished formula deliver the intended benefit under realistic use conditions?
Sensory qualityDoes the material support the texture, movement, absorption, after-feel, or rinse character the product requires?
TradeoffsIs the gain large enough to justify any added complexity, instability, processing burden, or sensory cost?
Selection is provisional until the complete formula proves it.
A material can enter development and still be refined, replaced, or removed when bench work, stability, packaging, sensory evaluation, or finished-product testing reveals a better decision.
From assessment to formulation decision.
The assessment has to change what happens next. Evidence, exposure, compatibility, finished-formula performance, and meaningful uncertainty are read together before a material earns a place in development.
A formulation decision takes shape across five dimensions.
None of these dimensions decides the outcome alone. The judgment comes from how they hold together in the proposed formula and use conditions.
Is the evidence strong enough—and relevant enough—to support the proposed use?
We look at study quality, conditions, applicability, and whether the evidence remains meaningful inside the formulation context.
Do concentration, format, frequency, and use conditions support this application?
Amount and use pattern change what the available evidence means in practice.
Does the material remain technically compatible with the complete system?
Formula pH, phase structure, process, surrounding materials, and finished-product stability all matter.
Does it create meaningful value in the finished formula?
A compelling mechanism is not enough if the finished product does not gain useful technical, sensory, or performance value.
What remains unresolved—and what does that uncertainty require?
Some uncertainty can be addressed through development or testing. Other uncertainty can prevent a material from advancing.
The pattern determines the development path.
The combined assessment leads to one of three next actions. The path can change as formulation work produces better evidence.
Advance
The evidence and use conditions support the application, and the material holds its value inside the formula.
Next: Continue development and verify performance in the complete formula.
Refine
The concept remains viable, but concentration, format, process, or use conditions require further development.
Next: Change the formulation decision, then reassess the affected dimensions.
Exclude
The proposed application does not satisfy The Standard when the assessment is read as a whole.
Next: Remove it from that development path and pursue another solution.
Our responsibility extends beyond skin.
A material decision also carries an upstream and downstream story. We examine origin, transformation, product use, and environmental fate as one lifecycle—especially when comparable technical options differ meaningfully in resource dependence, release pattern, degradation, or persistence.
Origin can distinguish two materials that perform similarly.
We consider where the material begins and what resource system supports it before performance is treated as the only criterion.
What enters the assessment
Feedstock origin, renewable or non-renewable dependence, upstream sourcing burden, and whether credible alternative pathways can meet the same formulation need.
How it can change selection
If two options can deliver comparable technical performance, a material with a better environmental fit at the source can become the stronger formulation choice.
How a material is transformed remains part of its profile.
Processing is not treated as inherently negative. We look at whether the transformation route and its demands are justified by what the material contributes to the formula.
What enters the assessment
Relevant transformation steps, processing intensity, process-related impurities or byproducts where applicable, and environmental considerations material to the intended use.
How it can change selection
A technically effective route can still be less compelling when another pathway produces comparable formula value with a better overall fit.
The product format determines how materials leave the formula.
A rinse-off cleanser, leave-on serum, and body cream create different use and release patterns. Environmental context therefore depends partly on the product that carries the material.
What enters the assessment
Leave-on or rinse-off use, expected amount and frequency, direct wash-off, residual product, and whether a meaningful portion is likely to enter wastewater after use.
How it can change selection
The same material can carry different environmental relevance when the format changes the amount, timing, or pathway of release.
What happens after use can remain relevant long after performance ends.
Where evidence makes environmental fate material to the decision, we examine whether a substance is expected to degrade, persist, accumulate, or contribute to environmental exposure.
What enters the assessment
Degradation, persistence, accumulation potential, environmental exposure, and available regulatory or scientific context relevant to the material.
How it can change selection
Downstream behavior can distinguish materials that perform similarly on skin but do not carry the same environmental profile after use.
Performance remains essential, but it does not define the material decision on its own.
Environmental context does not replace formulation science or consumer performance. It becomes another decision input when the evidence is relevant and a different material route can meet the formula’s technical requirements with a better overall fit.
Research References
Scientific and regulatory sources help establish the context behind our material decisions. This Vyalure reference guide groups vetted resources by the question they help answer before you choose whether to visit the original source.
Peer-reviewed literature
Published research can help establish mechanism, exposure relationships, human relevance, and environmental behavior. Study design and applicability determine how much weight a paper should carry.
FDA guidance & safety information
FDA resources provide U.S. regulatory context for cosmetic ingredients, product testing, safety substantiation, and the legal framework governing cosmetics.
SCCS opinions
The European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety publishes independent opinions and guidance used in European cosmetic safety assessment.
CIR safety assessments
Cosmetic Ingredient Review publishes ingredient-specific assessments and supporting documents that help place cosmetic-use evidence into context.
Toxicology & exposure references
Toxicology resources help distinguish hazard identification from exposure-based interpretation and clarify the strengths and limits of the evidence behind a concern.
Environmental & regulatory references
Environmental and chemical-regulatory resources help place persistence, environmental fate, restriction activity, and lifecycle concerns into a broader context.
Exclusions
Some materials can perform well but still fall outside The Standard we set for our formulas. The decision is based on the material, its intended role, the available evidence, and the broader formulation or environmental context.
PEGs
A process-choice standard. The exclusion concerns the manufacturing pathway and Vyalure’s material direction; it is not a claim that every PEG-containing cosmetic is unsafe.
What we consider
Chemical identity, manufacturing pathway, potential process impurities, intended function, and whether another system can meet the same technical requirement.
Why it matters
FDA notes that 1,4-dioxane can occur in trace amounts as an unintended byproduct when certain cosmetic ingredients are manufactured through ethoxylation. Modern processing can substantially reduce that contaminant, but Vyalure prefers to avoid the pathway when other systems can meet the formula’s needs.
Vyalure approach
We build solubilization, emulsification, cleansing, and slip through non-PEG systems selected for the requirements of each formula.
SLS
A cleanser-design decision centered on detergency, contact time, and post-rinse feel rather than a blanket safety claim.
What we consider
Cleansing strength, contact time, rinse conditions, surfactant interactions, foam character, and the after-feel required from the finished cleanser.
Why it matters
CIR concludes that SLS can be safe in formulations designed for brief, discontinuous use followed by thorough rinsing. Vyalure does not need its detergency profile to reach the cleansing performance and conditioned after-feel we want.
Vyalure approach
Our cleansers use mixed-surfactant systems selected around cleansing efficiency, foam quality, rinse performance, and skin feel.
Formaldehyde-Releasing Preservatives
Preservation is non-negotiable. The chemistry used to achieve it is still subject to the same material standard as the rest of the formula.
What we consider
Microbiological protection, formula composition, pH, packaging, manufacturing controls, sensitization context, and the chemistry used to maintain product integrity.
Why it matters
SCCS has specifically evaluated free formaldehyde released from these systems in the context of sensitized consumers. Vyalure chooses preservation systems that do not rely on formaldehyde-donor chemistry.
Vyalure approach
We select non-formaldehyde-donor preservation systems around the requirements of the complete formula rather than treating preservation as an isolated ingredient choice.
Phthalates
A fragrance-material standard. The category is excluded by Vyalure policy even where current regulatory assessments do not require a blanket prohibition.
What we consider
Specific chemical identity, intended role, fragrance-system requirements, exposure, current regulatory context, and whether the function is necessary.
Why it matters
FDA reports that DEP is the phthalate still commonly used in cosmetics and states that current information does not raise safety concerns for DEP as presently used. Vyalure still chooses a phthalate-free fragrance direction so the material standard remains consistent through the scent system.
Vyalure approach
Fragrance systems are developed without phthalates while maintaining the olfactive character, stability, and performance expected from the finished product.
Hydroquinone
This exclusion is both regulatory-contextual and philosophical: Vyalure does not formulate skincare around overall skin lightening or bleaching.
What we consider
Regulatory status, intended cosmetic claim, treatment context, material mechanism, and whether the desired outcome aligns with Vyalure’s approach to visible tone.
Why it matters
In the United States, OTC skin-lightening products containing hydroquinone are not legally marketed without an approved drug application. Separately, that treatment direction does not match Vyalure’s approach to visible tone.
Vyalure approach
We formulate for the appearance of clarity, radiance, and more even-looking tone while respecting natural skin tone.
BHA & BHT
Here, BHA means butylated hydroxyanisole, not the beta hydroxy acid category used in skincare. Salicylic acid and related cosmetic hydroxy acids are chemically distinct.
What we consider
The exact antioxidant, intended concentration, exposure, toxicology, oxidative-stability needs, packaging, and the availability of other protection strategies.
Why it matters
IARC classifies butylated hydroxyanisole in Group 2B and BHT in Group 3. Those classifications address hazard, not cosmetic-use risk at a specific exposure. Vyalure chooses a different antioxidant strategy for formula protection.
Vyalure approach
Oxidative stability is addressed through the complete formula: raw-material quality, antioxidant selection, chelation where appropriate, packaging, and process control.
PFAS
Persistence and environmental fate are material-selection criteria for Vyalure, especially when the intended cosmetic function can be achieved without this chemistry.
What we consider
Chemical identity, persistence, bioaccumulation potential, environmental fate, intended cosmetic role, and whether that role can be achieved without fluorinated chemistry.
Why it matters
EPA notes that many PFAS break down very slowly and can build up in people, animals, and the environment over time. Vyalure does not need PFAS chemistry to create the sensory or functional performance expected from our formulas.
Vyalure approach
We select other material systems for slip, film formation, wear, and sensory performance rather than relying on PFAS chemistry.
Petroleum Distillates
A sourcing and environmental decision, not a skin-safety judgment. The concern begins upstream with crude-petroleum origin and the burden associated with extraction and refining.
What we consider
Feedstock origin, refining pathway, intended function, environmental burden, and whether a non-petroleum system can provide equivalent performance.
Why it matters
Refined petroleum-derived materials can be functional in cosmetics. Their exclusion reflects the fossil-resource feedstock and upstream environmental burden, not an assertion that properly refined cosmetic materials are inherently unsafe on skin.
Vyalure approach
When the same formulation role can be achieved without petroleum-derived feedstocks, we choose a different material pathway that better aligns with Vyalure’s sourcing and environmental standard.
Mineral Oil, Petrolatum & Paraffin Wax
These materials have extensive histories of cosmetic use and can be highly refined and effective. Vyalure’s concern begins before they reach the skin: with fossil-resource sourcing and upstream environmental burden.
What we consider
Cosmetic function, degree of refinement, feedstock origin, resource dependence, environmental burden, and whether alternative emollient or occlusive systems can meet the same need.
Why it matters
Their exclusion is not a skin-safety claim. Cosmetic-grade mineral oil and petrolatum are highly refined materials with established cosmetic use. Vyalure chooses not to build its emollient systems around materials sourced from crude petroleum because that upstream origin does not align with The Standard we want the finished product to carry.
Vyalure approach
We build emollience, structure, and moisture retention through non-petroleum material systems selected for each formula.
Cyclic Silicones
The distinction matters: cosmetic safety data and environmental regulation answer different questions. Vyalure’s exclusion is driven by material direction and environmental context.
What we consider
Specific siloxane identity, exposure, product format, environmental persistence, regulatory context, sensory role, and whether another material can achieve the intended glide and finish.
Why it matters
SCCS has considered D5 safe at reported cosmetic concentrations with specific spray exceptions, while EU REACH restrictions address D4, D5, and D6 from an environmental perspective. Vyalure chooses not to rely on these volatile cyclic systems for sensory performance.
Vyalure approach
Glide, spread, and after-feel are developed through alternative emollients and sensory modifiers selected for the needs of each formula.
Animal-Derived Ingredients
An established Vyalure formulation standard applied at material selection, not an attribute added after the formula is complete.
What we consider
Material source, composition, processing aids where relevant, and documentation supporting alignment with the vegan standard applied to development.
Why it matters
Vyalure formulas are developed without animal-derived ingredients. Source and composition are reviewed as part of material qualification before a material enters development.
Vyalure approach
The vegan standard begins with material selection and is maintained through formula development and independent certification.
Animal-Tested Ingredients
Cruelty-free review extends beyond the finished product to the testing status and documentation associated with materials entering the formulation process.
What we consider
Material documentation, testing status, sourcing changes, and the independent requirements associated with Vyalure’s cruelty-free certification.
Why it matters
Vyalure does not support animal testing for cosmetics. Documentation and third-party cruelty-free verification are part of how The Standard is maintained as materials are evaluated.
Vyalure approach
The cruelty-free standard is applied before formulation and maintained as sourcing and formulas evolve.
Restricted or Prohibited Materials
Regulatory compliance is the floor, not the ceiling. A material must be legally appropriate before questions of performance or brand fit are considered.
What we consider
Applicable law, product category, concentration limits, warnings, intended market, toxicology, and the conditions attached to any permitted use.
Why it matters
Materials prohibited for the intended cosmetic use are excluded outright. Restricted materials are evaluated against the applicable conditions before they can be considered.
Vyalure approach
Regulatory status is reviewed alongside toxicology, formulation context, and the requirements of the markets in which the product is intended to be sold.
The Standard, independently verified.
Independent certification makes two parts of The Standard visible: vegan formulation and a cruelty-free program with external verification.
PETA Approved Vegan
Vyalure is recognized through PETA Approved Vegan. Our finished products are vegan and formulated without animal-derived ingredients.
Leaping Bunny Certified
Vyalure is Leaping Bunny certified through the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics, independently verifying our cruelty-free commitment.
The Material Library examines what earns a place in the formula.
The Ingredient Approach explains how Vyalure evaluates a material. The Material Library moves into selected materials themselves—their chemistry, evidence, behavior in formula, and the role they play in the finished product.
Explore the Material LibraryMaterial Library
Explore the scientific and formulation context behind selected materials used across Vyalure.
Material identity & chemistry
Evidence in context
Behavior inside the formula