Truth Serum
Buy now Expert Review
Olehenriksen is one of the early adopters of Vitamin C in cosmetics. Let’s have a look at their bestseller, the Truth Serum.
Cosmetic Claims
We found as much as ten claims for the Truth Serum. Olehenriksen says that they have done an independent consumer study on 35 women. When we approached Olehenriksen to share the summary results with the public, they declined. As most of the claims talk about a time frame (all day) or the proportion of people tested, they need clinical evidence to support them. The company declined to share this evidence with the public.
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Helps brighten
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Helps firm skin
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Delivers all-day hydration
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Revives the complexion
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Healthier, more youthful-looking
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97% agree this product smoothes skin
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94% agree this product leaves skin soft
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91% agree this product absorbs quickly and easily into skin
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85% agree this product improves skin radiance
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80% agree this product creates healthier-looking skin
Legend
Ingredient review and safety:
There are some indicators that Truth Serum can help brighten skin, revive the complexion, and provide healthier looking skin due to its high content of Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate (a form of vitamin C). Also, there is some evidence that this product can help firm the skin as it contains also some astringents (such as Citrus Grandis Seed Extract).
Water/Aqua/Eau, Glycerin, Oleth-20, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Parfum/Fragrance, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Benzophenone-4, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aroma/Flavor, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Disdodium Phosphate, Polysorbate 60, Yellow 6 (CI 15985), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Thioctic Acid, Calcium Ascorbate, Sodium Phosphate, Sorbitol, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Sodium Benzonate, Alcohol, Absoribic Acid, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Threonate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Euphrasia Officinalis Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Benzyl Benzoate, Citral, Limonene, Linalool.
Allergen free?
Benzyl Benzoate
Citral
Limonene
Linalool
Maximum concentrations do not exceed use guidelines?
Preservative free?
Phenoxyethanol
Sodium Benzonate
Potassium Sorbate
Maximum concentrations do not exceed use guidelines?
EU restricted ingredient free?
Benzophenone-4
Maximum concentrations do not exceed use guidelines?
The ingredients contain some known fragrance allergens/dermal sensitizers. Benzyl Benzoate is often used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics. IFRA recognizes that it can be a dermal sensitizer and potential system toxicity and limits its use to a maximum of 0.41% for eye creams and 0.21% for facial moisturizers. In the EU, it is recognized as a fragrance allergen. Citral is another EU-classified fragrance allergen. IFRA recognizes that Citral is a potential dermal sensitizer with systemic toxicity effects and limits its use to 0.10% for eye creams and 0.15% for facial moisturizers. Limonene and Linalool are also recognized as fragrance allergens and dermal sensitizers that have restricted use recommendations by the EU and IFRA.
Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that is considered safe to use in concentrations of up to 1%. Sodium Benzoate is mainly used as a preservative in cosmetics which also has a fragrance function. CIR recognizes Sodium Benzoate as safe in concentrations of up to 5%. EU limits its use to 0.5%. Potassium Sorbate is another preservative. CIR recognizes that its present use in cosmetics in concentrations of up to 0.4% is safe. In the EU its maximum allowed concentration is up to 0.6%. Finally, the Truth Serum contains Benzophenone-4, a UV filter. Benzophenone-4 is often used in sunscreens. It is considered safe by CIR and regulated by the FDA to up to 10% when used as a sunscreen. EU restricts its concentration by up to 5%.
We are somewhat concerned with the relatively high position of Phenoxyethanol in the ingredient list, which could mean that its concentration is higher than 1%. We asked Olehenriksen to confirm if Phenoxyethanol and other ingredients follow general safety guidelines, but they declined to comment.
Conclusions
Olehenriksen makes ten claims about the performance of the Truth Serum. As they have refused to share the evidence to support their claims, only a few of them can be substantiated based on the ingredient list. Evidence of a well-designed randomized study with results that support all claims Truth Serum would have scored about 100.
The current formulation supports some claims, based on ingredients listed, giving it an overall poor evidence score of 8.
Pros
- Ingredients suggest that it is potentially able to:
- Brighten the skin
- Firm the skin
- Revive the complexion
- Provide healthier, younger-looking skin
Cons
- Olehenriksen’s team is unwilling to share with the consumer any evidence of clinical or consumer studies to support their claims.
- It contains known fragrance allergens, preservatives, and other ingredients-all of which can be irritating to some individuals and are often limited to maximum concentrations. We could not confirm if the preservatives listed here follow the common safety guidelines and to what extent.