"At least four units of scienceness" is a phrase I will use forever.

Having spent the last 5 years trying to learn as much as possible about cosmetic science to manage my acne and eczema, I've come to the conclusion that skincare marketers are some of the most anti-consumer people in marketing. It's just rude how they treat consumers like ignorant fools who want to hear certain things -- no matter how illogical or nonsensical -- so they will buy the products. Transparency is more than disclosing some facts. It's also abstaining from half truths, omissions, misdirection and noise. I honestly don't know how scientists in these companies can deal with the unethical garbage their marketing departments produce. It would make me sick to my stomach to work in that kind of environment.

Responses to common questions: *Couldn't 100.4% be a rounding error?* Potentially, but unlikely IMO given that (A) the rest of their products don't have this error and (B) the top 4 ingredients end with nice round digits (.0 and .5), unlike their other products. I would guess it's because they didn't recalculate the percentages after they did adjusted the pH. Cosmetic formulas usually add up to 100%, then have something like "pH adjuster added to pH 5.2". Tromethamine is a common pH adjuster and is at 0.3%, which would give 100.4% with a small rounding error. *That doesn't mean their products are bad...* Nope, I'm purely critiquing their marketing strategy here. Their products are probably fine. *Marketing doesn't matter* I think marketing is important, and many other people (cosmetic chemists, ingredient manufacturers, brand owners) agree. Marketing shapes consumer expectations, which then change the direction of the products that are made. For example, clean beauty has meant a lot of ingredient suppliers now direct a lot of their R&D towards developing "clean" ingredients, which could've gone instead towards active ingredients; many brands now think being "clean" is enough, and don't include any useful actives. Focusing on percentages above all else (which GM are contributing to) means many brands are now just dumping in higher percentages of ingredients without considering irritation, better delivery systems that can be more effective with lower percentages... *But they're doing better than other brands, they have a limited budget, we should give them credit for that* They're doing exactly what they're accusing other companies of doing: including ingredients at low percentages, and making misleading claims about them. Their website claims 0.1% salicylic acid will help with acne, and 0.1% 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid will help "promote collagen production". Why haven't they removed these claims? It would take a few hours to do, yet they've had 17 months. Right now as it stands, it simply gives the illusion they're more transparent than other brands which is misleading, much like the false benefit illusion that "paraben-free" labels give. *More information is always better* Not when it's misleading. "0.06% carbomer" gives consumers no more information than "carbomer". As a commenter said: "Transparency is more than disclosing some facts. It's also abstaining from half truths, omissions, misdirection and noise." People defend labels like "paraben-free" as "just giving consumers more info", but in reality it makes parabens look like something for everyone to avoid - this is why the EU regulators have stated that "paraben-free" is an illegal, misleading claim. *Why pick on Good Molecules and not this other brand doing worse stuff?* I don't like misleading marketing, and I feel that a skincare content creator who's lucky enough to have a strong science background, I have a duty to point out science-washing that other people might not be able to spot. Given that no one's critiqued this on KZfaq for the 17 months they've been doing this (and it's actually been endorsed as "transparent" by a number of creators), surely it's worth discussing?

You're not petty for checking if the numbers add up to 100%. That was my first instinct when I saw their lists. They are asking for it. 😅🤓

As an older woman I remember Paula Begoun as the Cosmetic Cop, before Paula’s Choice and the eye cream sell out (in my opinion). She had a huge, positive impact on me and the way I approach buying skincare. You are the current generation of a Cosmetic Cop- calling out common beauty industry practices and really educating consumers. Thank you for all you are doing.

You’re not the only one adding up the percentages. That’s the first thing I did when I saw that they started doing this on their website. After I realized the first error I emptied my online shopping cart and have zero interest in trying their products. I was on the fence about their products to begin with but after I realized they can’t even have their numbers add up correctly there’s no way I’m spending my money on their products.

I'm an amateur cosmetics formulator, making things like shower gel , shampoo bars and simple lotions on my (very well cleaned) kitchen countertop. I love videos like this! Since starting to formulate, I'm obsessive about reading ingredient labels. And they can be misleading. One example is that you sometimes see "sodium hydroxide" on the list. Someone who knows a little might panic, because sodium hydroxide is lye, very alkaline and very corrosive. Someone who knows a bit more would know "the dose makes the poison" and not freak out if the sodium hydroxide is low on the list, but still worry about whether it's low enough. They're both wrong ... usually the sodium hydroxide is there to adjust the pH of a too-acid product, and is consumed during the neutralization process. Sodium hydroxide goes in, is mixed, and changes to something else. If you took apart the final product, there may be no sodium hydroxide left. There are other chemicals used the same way. By law they must be listed in the INCI, but they aren't around to affect your skin. Chemistry is weird ... but very cool!

I always felt that they shooting themselves in the foot with displaying all the percents. Whenever I want to buy their products my mind always tells me "you are paying for 87% water"😂. And I know other brands most probably use a similar amount of the ingredient but seeing it listed always puts me off🤣. Way more helpful to just have the active ingredient listed.

The age old rule of "the person who insists that they are the most honest/most transparent/most authentic is probably the most fake person in the room or they wouldn't feel the need to constantly prove how real and open they are" still holds up.

I was really interested in the "drug claims" you mentioned, never realized it was a problem until now.

“...tells me Good Molecules doesn’t really know what they’re doing and they’re kinda telling on themselves.” Not Dr. Wong shaking the table so thunderously this Wednesday evening.

My immediate thought when I saw those percentages was "Do they add up to 100?"!

I really prefer when brands tell us the percentages of the active ingredients. It‘s tiring to ask them one by one to eliminate things not worth trying😅 but then they literally weaponized it to turn us to think higher percentages are better (like the niacinamide craze from 2020 I think, 20% niacinamde? like whoa)

You already know how I feel about this 😒😒😒 and I'm SO glad you did a deep dive!!

Thanks for making this video, I really like good molecules as a brand but I can definitely appreciate your criticisms of their marketing. As an average consumer I do think what they're doing is a step in the right direction, even if not executed well, as I feel many brands tout their actives or "fancy ingredients" without disclosing the actual amounts.

Love this video, very enlightening!! Now I truly understand why the formulation is so important than just looking at ingredients alone. My daughter is also a chemist for a food company, and now I actually have more appreciation for the science that goes behind each product.

It would be fun to see a cosmetic chemist's analysis of the companies and products that use "fresh fruit" in their products. The same, for the "natural" products that don't have obvious preservative systems. "Hurdle technology" in a glass jar doesn't cut it. One of my hobbies is cosmetics formulation (no fresh fruit, lots of preservatives!) and it's very useful to see videos like this. Because sometimes, "ingredients do lie, b****!"

EVERY TIME I FEEL EXHAUSTED WITH SCIENCE, I COME HERE. IT'S ALWAYSSSSSSS INSPIRING TO HEAR YOU TALK AND I NEED THIS LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING IN WHATEVER I DO thank you so much for everything you're doing towards the science and skincare community.

I think you made a good point but I also think what Good Molecules is doing is a step in the right direction from the companies who don’t disclose how much of the actives are in their product- which seems to be the overall norm in the mainstream brands here in the US

THIS WAS SO GOOD. we need more of this kind of content, brutal honest truth, facts, investigative information. bravo! subscribed!

I really like their cleanser, discoloration serum, and niacinamide toner. I love their price point and cruelty free status, too. I'm not science brained like you, so their lists looks like 63hdh92ybd92b72bd9 to me. The products work extremely well for me. Thanks for an informative upload. ❤

"I believe this is called showing your arse" 😂 lmao this actually made me laugh out loud

I'm so glad someone has said this. I've thought this about Good molecules for such a long time.

Congrats on 'over' 300 thousand subscribers Michelle!!! Most deserved, but really deserve WAY MORE !!

Michelle, I'm always learning something new from watching you. I thought I heard it all, and you come along with more education!! I had no idea varying niacin levels from niacinamide could cause flushing. That may be why I think I'm sensitive to niacinamide, but only in certain products.

It really irks me when a brand markets their product of having a certain ingredient, only to learn it has a miniscule amount of it versus what it should appropriately have to contain its benefits. Like making a chocolate cake but it only has one teaspoon of cocoa. Wtf Good Molecules 😂

Great video as always Michelle, very eye opening. I don’t use Good Molecules, but honestly it sounded like they didn’t do thorough enough job aligning their marketing & their product. To be completely fair… it’s still not a bad thing and I would encourage other company to list their ingredients in detail.

💣 Single handedly destroys the “We can’t disclose our proprietary ingredients due to risk of mass duplication” claims in one statement about just one ingredient!!! Still provides an entire explanation for the non-chemists, like a superstar, no excuses for not understanding. Because as covered, getting texture & look the same doesn’t mean the actives etc will give the same benefits if not from the same source. Always seemed common sense to me...so much better coming from a Chemistry PhD & Cosmetic Chemist! Thank you as always!

Whenever I see Lab Muffin + a brand I like in the name I reluctantly click while feeling sad. I really like my Yerba Mate eye gel I got for $7. Does it do anything? Ehh... it feels good and is moisturizing before I go to sleep. The ointment-like tube it came in I totally clocked as a marketing gimmick... though I wish vitamin C and retinol products would come in containers like that to keep them stable longer.

A lot of people in this comment section need to pay attention to the incredibly nuanced video above before commenting, thanks.

This is some deep nuance skincare/chemistry marketing analysis. Thank you, Michelle!

Confirmed, I now know how much I don’t know. 😵‍💫Thanks for this priceless class, you are a great teacher , myth buster, analyzer of ingredients and their efficacy, and disseminator of useful information.🇨🇦

All the times I almost bought their products, most likely won't now. Thank you for the work that you do!

I found this super interesting. I've been using their products for years, in particular their HA serum, I've really only had had luck with that and more recently, their discoloration corrector, other than that- they didn't work for me or flat out irritated my skin

I'm not familiar with Good Molecules, but when putting together INCI compositions, I was often provided ranges for concentration due to quality or production at different locations resulted in slight differences. Oddly, if I took the average of every concentration range that was listed in the system, it often did not add up to 100%. The mistake could have happened at this level or someone added something later that is supposed to be reported as extremely minimal, like pH balancing chemicals. Also, there was a constant discussion of avoiding drug claims on the label due to the requirements and costs of having the product approved.

Wow!! Love it! This is why we need people like you in our skin care community! Thank you!!!!!!

Great review! I suspect that Good Molecules relies on niacinamide to do their heavy-lifting since it's in almost everything. I will say -- I really like the cleanser and am very happy that the pineapple isn't very strong, as it is totally unnecessary. The glycolic acid serum overnight treatment works well on my hands and the their new HA essence works well on my sensitive scalp and dry hair. I've sent other products back and am pretty sure they/we have no way of knowing what actually works (clinically).

Michelle, I'm thrilled to see videos like that! We need people like you! You are a KZfaq jewel 💎 Keep up the fantastic job 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

I don't know about you all, but I just love this amazing lady that shares all her knowledge with us! Thank you,Michelle!

What would we believe without you helping us out, thanks Michelle 😊

Lovely video! Ngl, first time I saw Good Molecules' ingredient lists, I just thought "that's neat" with the same energy I would think "that's some cute packaging" lol

I do not really understand your review. You are not saying that GM is a bad line or that their ingredients are bad, just that the ingredient list is inaccurate which they list when others don’t. Other brands could have the same ingredient errors and the consumers would just not know. GM is a really affordable brand that puts out great products for the price and that matters to people who have a modest income.

the subtle dragging of goodmolecules is amazing.😂 i was cackling throughout the video because the breakdown and your shady comments are chefs kiss, Michelle. ❤️😂

Thank you for your content. I always learn something and find it very enjoyable 💙

Niacinamide is the first ingredient in Niacinamide Toast Crunch.

I've used certain products from G.M and they have worked wonders on my skin. I take all marketing claims with a grain of salt because they are just a way to get people to buy the product. I am of the mindset of trying products to see if they would work on my skin for the concerns I have. The toner is amazing for my skin and helped fade my discoloration in combination with the brightening serum and discoloration correcting serum.

Amazing video Michelle 💙 It surprises me how brands can claim benefits of the vitamin C with these percentages in a formula 😲🧐 I also agree… transparency is a BIG think to claim, it’s a rabbit hole that I don’t know if is worth for brands to get into it 😬

I'm a big of the overnight exfoliating treatment, and I actually have quite a few of their products. It's my second time purchasing the exfoliating treatment. It has helped me a lot with my acne and scars. It's quite disappointing to digest all this. It's so sad that companies try so hard to be "good" only to find out it's all a marketing scheme. It truly sums up capitalism at its finest - taking advantage of our ignorance. I'm really glad I follow you and get to learn about these things because I would've never known. I would still purchase from them as their products work on my skin, but I'll definitely be looking elsewhere in the future if I can... I've struggled with acne for almost a decade now, I've seen countless dermatologists and doctors, I've used many prescribed topical creams. I've been on different diets, medication.. I've had expensive facial treatments done by derms... I'm still struggling. I'm just really sad! Their products were recommended to me by a makeup artist that I really enjoy watching.. but it really shows that anyone can say anything to make something seem magical when in reality... it's all a paid act! :(

love the way, you are always breaking things down, so even an art student like me can digest chemistry. :D thank you so much!

You are AMAZING Michelle! Thank you for this revelatory video! I think it's one of the best you've created.

Thank you, I think this video is very important because it demonstrates that ingredients, (even if they are the same name), can be different quality/formulation amongst different brands/products and may not be equal. The textures of the product and your experiences can differ greatly. Also Having lot of ingredients just makes the ingredient list look long and fancy where in reality it’s just a dusting or sprinkle on top with no benefits. Thank you and keep up your amazing work :)

I lol-ed when you got to the part about the products with "something to hide" ingredient lists 😆

So Michelle, which products or skincare companies give us the best and most correct breakdown of product effective potency? This is a hot mess for real, girl!

I love this!!!! Someone who knows what they're talking about needs to enlighten the rest of us because skincare brands are manipulating us so badly. Thank you so much for your painfully honest opinions haha it's extremely helpful.

Wow this really surprised me! There are a couple of products of theirs that I really really believe in (for my skin). Love hearing your perspective & experience on this brand! Also, your voice is so nice, please start a podcast.

3:48 - Yea, when I looked at that ingredients list with the percentages the whole way down, I was like "I don't, care"... SOME things I really like seeing the stated percentage, like niacinamide, urea, salicylic acid, AHA, Benzoyl Peroxide, etc. but I don't care with all that other crap. That was an awesome video.

I’m so tired of brands hopping the clean beauty marketing to sell products.

Really appreciate this review was going to purchase maybe some of their products but won’t now…yes they really should hire you they would benefit greatly

I'm so glad you made this video. I purchased the niacinamide brightening toner a few weeks ago and had the exact same wtf moments when reading the ingredient amounts!

I'm so so frustrated with skin care products not working for me and this really helped me see potential reasons why its not working

Read the blog post, and came to KZfaq so I could like the video. Great information! Thanks for educating us.

Great work as always. Most of my college professors back in my day used to teach with the same ironic tone. I guess it is embedded in science. The claim " send me an invoice" ... really for exposing you, is provocative indeed. Many regular costumers reach out and they get heard (at least with that brand) you as a cosmetic chemist could have done it even sending your quote. To me the products were not irritating but they didn't do anything extraordinary other than moisturize.

Such a cheeky, informative video! Thanks Michelle. Brands I would enjoy a critique of: Indeed Labs, Cottin, Bellflower (sunscreen).

You know Michelle it really pisses me off that companies like "good" molecules think they can fool consumers. We are so lucky to have someone like you who does the digging for us. How arrogant is the statement that other companies use fairy dust while they are the ones who do???I dont think they don't know what they are doing. They deliberately work in this way relying on the ignorance of most consumers. Thank you for everything you do and yeah let us know if they pay you because they should.

Thank you for this breakdown! It was really interesting to hear

At least the products don’t cost too much compared to so many out there. I’m one who relies on how a product works on my skin. I care almost nothing about claims, virtually all of which are specious on many levels.

loving the no bs and straight forwardness

Thank you so much for making this enlightening video. I had a choice of many new videos to watch first tonight and I chose yours. I am so glad I did. I learned so much I didn’t know about skincare product ingredients from this brief video.

I would love to have skincare ingredient lists similar to what medications have to show in Germany: A section with "active ingredients" with percentage or mass/100 ml. And only ingredients, that actually DO what the product is selling you in the amount they are in it may be listed here. And a second section with "helpers" or "delivery systems. Were the rest is listed. And I want a detailed list on the website about fragrances used, possible impurities etc. For allergic people to check

thanks for going in-depth on Good Molecules. had tried some of their products, but they did nothing for me.

Also cannot wait for your vit c part 2!!!!

Gosh I love your work. Thank you for the time you take to do this!

Lmao, love to find out I had been using fairy dust vitamin c serum. I guess I don’t have to worry about that serum oxidizing though.

They are still more transparent than majority of brands that not even show us active ingredient concentration and give us trace amount of them.

Good analysis. Learned something new. Thanks

This video was great! I was indeed wondering if it even added up to 100%. Really good pointers, thanks for sharing this with us. Good molecules has some work to dooo

Hey Michelle x thanks for all your work. Did I miss the second vitamin C video you said you would do with all the derivatives ?

Hey Dr Michelle, its your job to be petty or picky or whatever you want to call it so go right ahead, we all benefit from your knowledge and wisdom. Thank you 💚🙏

Can you make a video about deva curl? I’m scared to use it and I have a full bottle of the conditioner.

I love your videos! I also love good molocules...I was nervous to see what you had to say. Don't take away my affordable skin care science lady! Haha! Thanks for your insight.

This makes a lot of sense. I've tried a couple Good Molecules products, and while i didn't necessarily dislike any of them, I also saw no results from any of them, and could've sworn my hyperpigmentation was getting worse(I have hormonal acne, so its constantly changing)

I literally just ordered their discoloration serum and now I feel like I should cancel. Thank you for all your insight. Do you feel like the discoloration serum is OK? Looking at your blog I think the tranexamic acid is too low to be effective.

I Love their cleansing balm so I’m glad you didn’t say anything too scathing!

Every time I watch any of your vids I feel bad for never doing anything to take care of my skin (other then showering regularly lol), but I really like your vids because they point the things that always made me uncomfortable with these kind of products and their marketing.

This is what happens when the people in marketing don't listen to/ think they know better than, the scientific staff.

side note: love that the Lego flower has made it to the shelf.

Great video 😄 But to nit pick your nit picking, the total of 100.4% could easily be due to rounding, especially if you have lots of ingredients listed at 0.1% 😉

Thanks for pointing out the polysorbates fam. I guess they need to show us the “long list” of “bad” ingredients too since they’re talking being transparent. They may as well use “etc, etc, etc…” in whatever lists they have haha…

I feel like these ineffective percentages are a big thing in skin care now, with a lot of brands there are just too many 'amazing´ ingredient lists to lure people in but the prices are kinda too good to be true and how many of these products are actually making a big difference in your skin.. its a little bit of a scam, honestly and The Ordinary products are seemingly not that bad after all.. if you are a little educated on the topic at least

So fascinating and eye opening. All the variables you mentioned, I had no idea. And I’m sure that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

reminds me of ever lane saying they’re ‘radically transparent’ but none of their information is really verifiable or meaningful beyond their self imposed standards and glossy pr

Ever since working out how little Lucas's Paw Paw ointment had of actual paw paw extract, I've been interested in ingredient percentages. Arbutin and Licorice really should be at 1-2% to do anything - Good molecules are literally calling themselves out on their token use of ingredients purely for marketing claims rather than results!

Can you review No7 products and their claims? Thanks

This is the content i'm subscribed for, amazing video!!

I asked this question on multiple other skincare channels, and no one responded. I had asked specifically about GM’s retinol serum, which says it uses 0.1% retinol. Is “0.1% retinol” an ingredient all on its own or just where it sits on the ingredient list? Because if you look, it falls at 0.1 of the ingredient list. Which isn’t that an impossibly minuscule amount of retinol as far as where it is in the list? Does that make sense to anyone?? Is saying that a product uses 0.1% retinol the same as retinol being only 0.1% of the ingredient list? Is purposefully misleading?

In the US I just noticed in a CVS a brand called good skin that lists ingredients in the same chart format . Prices are definitely mid-high range for pharmacy products.

Do you have a skincare brand?

Love your channel so much !!!!

Could you please do a video on Australian skincare brands like goto??? Thank you!!!

Can we maybe say that they've taken a step in the right direction, and now they need to learn how to get better at it? Ripping them a new hole publicly just tells other skincare companies that it's safer not to disclose percentages, so that they can go on making marketing claims that no-one can verify. GM made themselves vulnerable, maybe that deserves a pat on the back rather than going for the throat.