EmollientOlive-derived lipidIn every formula

Squalane

Squalane · INCI Squalane

Most of what a skincare oil does is quiet work: soften the surface, slow the loss of water, and carry the rest of the formula evenly across the skin. Squalane does that quiet work better than almost anything, and it does it without the weight or the short shelf life of a heavier oil.

It is the stable, saturated version of a lipid your own skin makes, and that stability is the whole reason it earns a place in every formula.

Squalane, the clear, light plant oil that softens every formula in the range.
Squalane, the clear, light plant oil that softens every formula in the range.

What it is

Squalane is a lightweight emollient oil, and the way to understand it is through its relationship to squalene. Squalene is a lipid your own skin makes, one of the main components of the film that sits on its surface. It is good at what it does, but it has a weakness: the same chemistry that makes it useful also makes it oxidise quickly, which is why the plant oils richest in it tend to turn.

Squalane is squalene with that weakness taken out. Through hydrogenation, the reactive parts of the molecule are saturated, leaving an oil that is far more stable while keeping the light, skin-friendly feel. Ours is made from olive, Olea europaea, rather than from shark liver, the traditional source and still a live conservation concern. So what reaches the bottle is a plant-derived, stable version of a lipid your skin already recognises.

What it does in our formulas

Three things, two well established and one still emerging.

01

It softens and holds moisture in

Squalane settles into the lipids of the skin's outer layer and fills the microscopic gaps between the cells. That slows the water lost through the surface and leaves skin feeling smoother and more supple, without the weight of a richer oil.

Well characterised
02

It stays stable

Unlike the polyunsaturated oils it sits alongside, squalane is fully saturated, so it resists the oxidation that turns oils rancid. It is one of the steadiest, longest-lived oils we can build a formula on.

Well characterised
03

It carries the rest of the formula

Squalane spreads easily and has a light, almost dry finish, which helps the other oils and actives lie evenly across the skin. There is emerging evidence it also helps some actives stay on the skin a little longer.

Emerging evidence

What the research does not show

Squalane is a genuinely good ingredient, which is exactly why the claims around it tend to drift past what the evidence supports. Three in particular are worth correcting.

Marketed as A powerful antioxidant
The antioxidant activity in the research belongs to squalene, the reactive, unsaturated form. Saturating it into the stable squalane we use is precisely what removes that reactivity, and much of the antioxidant capacity with it. We value squalane for its stability, not as an antioxidant.
Marketed as Identical to your skin's own oil
Your skin makes squalene, not squalane. Squalane is the stabilised, saturated version, closely related and very well tolerated, but not the same molecule. We call it a close relative, not a copy.
Marketed as Clinically shown to raise moisture by 40 percent
That figure is repeated across retail sites but traces to no findable study. Squalane is a genuine emollient with decades of use behind it. The specific number is not one we can source, so we leave it out.

Take those away and what remains is still substantial: a stable, lightweight emollient that softens the skin, slows water loss, and carries the rest of the formula. That is why it is in every one we make.

On the label and in the range

Squalane appears in every one of our formulations. Where it falls in the ingredient list depends on how much a given product carries, and that varies by style, so it reads higher in some and lower in others. On the label it is simply Squalane, its INCI name. The exact percentage is published on each product page, as it is for everything we use.

Is it suitable for me?

Squalane has one of the longest and cleanest safety records in cosmetics. Independent expert-panel reviews have repeatedly found squalane and squalene safe as used, with no restrictions under UK or EU cosmetic law. It is non-sensitising, sits as comfortably on oily and blemish-prone skin as on dry, and suits a vegan routine, since ours is olive-derived.

Vegan-friendlySensitive-skin suitableNo known safety concerns

As with anything new, if your skin reacts easily it is worth patch testing first.

Science led
Science led
Gentle, skin friendly
Gentle, skin friendly
Cruelty free
Cruelty free

The research behind this page

We review the published literature. We do not conduct the studies below.

  1. Huang ZR, Lin YK, Fang JY. Biological and Pharmacological Activities of Squalene and Related Compounds: Potential Uses in Cosmetic Dermatology. Molecules 2009;14(1):540-554. "https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules14010540", "url"=>"https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules14010540"}" rel="nofollow">→
  2. Wołosik K, Knaś M, Zalewska A, Niczyporuk M, Przystupa AW. The importance and perspective of plant-based squalene in cosmetology. J Cosmet Sci 2013;64(1):59-66. "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23449130/", "url"=>"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23449130/"}" rel="nofollow">→
  3. Elder RL (ed). Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Squalane and Squalene. J Am Coll Toxicol 1982;1(2):37-56. "https://doi.org/10.3109/10915818209013146", "url"=>"https://doi.org/10.3109/10915818209013146"}" rel="nofollow">→
  4. Andersen FA (ed). Squalene and Squalane. Int J Toxicol 2003;22(Suppl 2):27-31. "https://doi.org/10.1080/747398359", "url"=>"https://doi.org/10.1080/747398359"}" rel="nofollow">→
Found in every Biotaderm formulation Shop the range