Core Dry Everyday Moisturiser
Cushioning moisturiser for dry skin, anywhere you need it
The middle of the three textures, and the one most people reach for most often. Around fourteen percent of the formula is plant oil, enough to hold moisture on skin that dries out through the day, without becoming a balm. Every ingredient and every percentage is published below.
Formulated to limit the potential to react with your skin. No ingredients hidden under catch-all terms like fragrance or parfum. Always patch test first if your skin can be reactive.
What it is, and who it’s for
Core sits between the other two. It carries around fourteen percent plant oils against Flow's nine, which is the difference between something that disappears on the face and something that stays put on arms, legs and shoulders.
The blend is the one we use for dry skin throughout the range: baobab and evening primrose in equal measure, jojoba for a finish that does not feel occlusive, tamanu for conditioning, and a little sea buckthorn. Around those sits the same supporting cast as every Biotaderm formula, built at skin pH and held there by sodium citrate.
If you only want one moisturiser, this is usually the one.
Smooth a small amount over clean, dry skin once or twice a day, wherever you need it. It spreads without warming first, so you will use less than you expect. Before any cosmetics or sunscreen if you are using it on the face.
How it feels
A medium-light cream that spreads across the body well without the need to warm it first. It covers ground easily, so a little goes further than it looks.
Quickly absorbed with light working, leaving the skin moisturised but not greasy and ready to get dressed.
A balance between the natural cold-pressed organic oils and the earthy, slightly citrus tones of the vetiver. Noticeable for a few minutes and then gone.
Key ingredients
Five oils do the work here, chosen for dry skin rather than for how they read on a label. Each has its own entry in the ingredient library, with the evidence and its limits set out in full.
Baobab Seed Oil Adansonia Digitata
A balanced oil that softens and helps skin hold onto moisture, without the heaviness of the more occlusive butters. Organic and cold-pressed.
Evening Primrose Oil Oenothera Biennis
One of the few plant oils rich in gamma-linolenic acid. Studies suggest GLA-rich oils support barrier function in skin that is dry and easily provoked, and it has a long record of comfortable use.
Jojoba Seed Oil Simmondsia Chinensis
Technically a liquid wax rather than an oil, and close enough in structure to the skin's own sebum that it sits well on most people. It conditions without feeling like a layer.
Tamanu Seed Oil Calophyllum Inophyllum
A thick, conditioning oil with a long history of traditional use on damaged and irritated skin. The published evidence is thinner than the folklore, so we use it for what it demonstrably does, which is soften and soothe.
Sea Buckthorn Fruit Oil Hippophae Rhamnoides
Present in small quantity, and deliberately so. It is dense in carotenoids, which is where its antioxidant interest lies, and also where its strong orange colour comes from. Past a certain level it would tint the cream and anything it touched, so the amount here is set by that limit rather than by ambition.
Bladderwrack Fucus Vesiculosus, our signature Atlantic seaweed
The same species you will find on the rocks below Welcombe at low tide. Ours is a cold, solvent-free infusion in sunflower oil, made in the UK, and we would rather be plain about what that form carries. The fucoidans and phlorotannins the seaweed is famous for are water-soluble and largely stay behind. What crosses into the oil is fucoxanthin, the golden pigment, which gives a modest antioxidant note. That, and a real kinship with the coast this brand comes from, is why it is here. It is in every formula we make.
Beyond these, every Biotaderm moisturiser shares the same quiet supporting cast: squalane, a postbiotic ferment upcycled from gin distilling, prebiotic inulin, allantoin, vitamin E and chlorella.
There is one essential oil in this formula. Vetiver root oil, chosen for the antioxidant properties the research credits it with and for the quiet earthy note it gives the blend. It is named on the label under its own name, never folded into a "parfum" catch-all.
That means the honest description of this product is "no synthetic fragrance" rather than "fragrance-free". One is true. The other would not be. A concentrated aromatic can still be a lot for a fragile barrier, which is why the level is kept low and why a patch test is worth the trouble if your skin runs reactive.
What it comes in
What it comes in, and how long it lasts.
| Volume | 150ml ℮ |
|---|---|
| How long it lasts | Three to four weeks used on the areas that need it. Less if you are covering the whole body. |
| Bottle | Aluminium, with a bamboo and plastic pump. The bottle is refillable, and can be recycled. |
| Once opened | Six months. |
| Batch | Batch number and best-before are printed on the label. |
Full formulation
Every ingredient in strict descending order by mass, carried below the one percent mark where the rules stop requiring it.
| Ingredient (INCI) | % | Skin function |
|---|---|---|
| Aqua | 64.17 | Hydrating base carrying water-soluble actives |
| Glycerin* | 6.00 | Humectant that draws and holds moisture |
| Adansonia Digitata (Baobab) Seed Oil*^ | 3.66 | Softens skin and helps retain moisture |
| Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil*^ | 3.66 | Replenishes barrier lipids, calms sensitive skin |
| Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*^ | 3.33 | Sebum-like wax that conditions and balances |
| Cetearyl Olivate | 2.70 | Olive-derived emulsifier; skin-friendly, lipid-like texture |
| Sodium Citrate | 2.25 | Holds the formula at skin pH |
| Calophyllum Inophyllum (Tamanu) Seed Oil*^ | 2.00 | Conditioning oil that helps soften and soothe |
| Sorbitan Olivate | 1.80 | Olive emulsifier supporting skin-like structure |
| Cetearyl Alcohol | 1.50 | Fatty alcohol; emollient and thickener |
| Gluconolactone | 1.13 | Part of the preservative system; keeps the formula safe |
| Squalane | 1.00 | Lightweight emollient that reduces moisture loss |
| Saccharomyces/Barley Seed Ferment Filtrate | 1.00 | Postbiotic that supports the barrier and calms skin |
| Propanediol | 0.89 | Plant humectant that also aids absorption |
| Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil | 0.85 | Linoleic-rich oil that supports the skin barrier |
| Hippophae Rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn) Fruit Oil*^ | 0.73 | Antioxidant barrier support for stressed skin |
| Caesalpinia Spinosa (Tara) Gum | 0.55 | Forms a film that helps hold in moisture |
| Tocopherol (Vitamin E) | 0.51 | Antioxidant protecting skin lipids and oils |
| Glyceryl Caprylate | 0.50 | Coconut-derived emollient that aids preservation |
| Allantoin | 0.50 | Soothes skin and supports natural repair |
| Inulin | 0.50 | Prebiotic humectant that feeds skin microbes |
| Sodium Benzoate | 0.38 | Gentle preservative keeping the product safe |
| Vetiveria Zizanioides (Vetiver) Root Oil* | 0.15 | Aromatic root oil with antioxidant properties |
| Fucus Vesiculosus (Bladderwrack) Extract | 0.14 | Atlantic seaweed with a modest antioxidant note |
| Chlorella Vulgaris (Microalga) Extract | 0.10 | Antioxidant, soothing microalga |
| Lactic Acid | 0.002 | Adjusts pH; present at trace level |
* Organic ^ Cold-pressed
Common questions
Flow, Core or Deep? How do I choose?
By where you are putting it rather than by how dry your skin feels. Flow is the lightest of the three and is built for the face, at around nine percent plant oils. Core carries more and suits the body. Deep carries most and is for hands, elbows and feet, the places that take a battering.
The skin type is the second choice, and that one is about how your skin behaves. This is the Dry Sensitive formulation, for skin that feels tight after washing and tends to object to new products.
Can I use Core on my face?
Yes, and plenty of people do, particularly in winter. Core carries around fourteen percent plant oils against Flow's nine, so it sits heavier and takes longer to sink in. If you wear make-up or sunscreen over the top you will probably prefer Flow on your face and Core everywhere else.
My skin reacts to essential oils. Is this one safe for me?
There is one essential oil in here, vetiver root oil, at a tenth of a percent. It is named on the label under its own name rather than hidden inside a parfum listing, so you can see exactly what you are dealing with.
Whether that suits you is something only your skin can answer. If you have reacted to aromatics before, patch test on the inside of your forearm and leave it a couple of days before putting it near your face.
Gentle, skin friendly
Microbiome friendly
Natural
Formulation Clear
Cruelty free
Handmade in small batches in Welcombe, north Devon.
Low tide below Welcombe, where the bladderwrack grows
