What is Haloxyl and Why Is It Beneficial in Skin Care?

There are so many different ingredients in the skin care game that can make it tricky to separate fact from fiction, especially for people who are new and don’t know what to look for. 

In an effort to help cut through all of the massive amount of information (and misinformation) out there, we’d like to take the time out and focus on a single ingredient… Haloxyl. 

After doing our own research, we chose to include the ingredient in some of the products in our anti-aging, functional beauty skin care line. We’d like to share with you why we made that decision, what Haloxyl is, and why we believe it is a beneficial ingredient to include in any skin care product.

What is Haloxyl?

First and foremost, what is Haloxyl? Haloxyl is a peptide-based ingredient, and is one of the most popular anti-aging treatments in the world for good reason (that we’ll go into much more detail about later). 

While you can buy Haloxyl on its own, it is best used in a serum that has a combination of ingredients that work together for the most optimal results.

Haloxyl is made out of a combination of ingredients, but has four main components.

• N-hydroxysuccinimide – This ingredient is used to help condition and soften the skin (referred to as an “ester”). It is also considered a reagent, which is a substance that is used to trigger a reaction that results in a new substance (like peptides and polymers). 
• Palmitoyl Oligopeptide – A peptide that is one of the newer on the market, used for its reported ability to potentially stimulate the production of collagen and promote the healthy functioning of skin cells. 
• Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3 – Not to be confused with Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, this ingredient is sometimes referred to as Rigin. It can help reduce a chemical that is known to increase the frequency of fine lines and wrinkles, as well as help prevent a loss of skin elasticity. 
• Chrysin – Chrysin is actually a “flavonoid,” and is included in Haloxyl for its skin brightening and conditioning properties. 

The ingredients were also chosen because of how well they can work with each other to provide users of Haloxyl with the impressive results that so many of them see. 

For instance, N-hydroxysuccinimide and Chrysin work well together to help both improve the circulation and dilute some of the appearance of pigmentation that can build up on the skin. Both may also help support healthy collagen production and improve the suppleness and elasticity of the skin. To add to that, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide and Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3 can help strengthen and thicken that delicate skin that we all have in the under eye area, leading to a decrease in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. 

What Are the Benefits of Haloxyl?

Because of the ingredients that comprise Haloxyl, much of the benefits come down to either strengthening or brightening the skin. Still, it is gentle enough to be especially effective in the eye area, an area that is known for having thinner, more delicate skin. Considering that the under eye area is one of the first areas on the face to show some of the more visible signs of aging, and that many women cite it as their top area of concern, products that are effective in that area are especially sought after. 

When used consistently, there are multiple benefits that Haloxyl may be able to provide in the under eye area:

• Targeting dark circles
• Reducing the appearance of puffiness 
• Helping to boost the circulation to the area
• Plumping and firm the skin
• Improving the elasticity of the skin
• Reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines

Why Do the Eyes Show Signs of Aging So Easily?

Those bags, puffiness, and dark circles that tend to plague us more often the older that we get have a biological origin.

As we age, the skin underneath our eyes, which is already thin and delicate to begin with, starts to thin out even more. This is the natural result of a few different things happening. 

First, some of the fat that is naturally present on our faces starts to disappear. Because the skin under the eyes is already thin, any loss of fat or volume in the area means that the capillaries under the skin can be seen far more easily. When combined with the natural force of gravity that pulls our skin downward, the structure and appearance of the face can really start to change in some dramatic ways. 

In addition, because the skin is thinner and has less fat and connective tissue to keep it as easily anchored to the face, fluid is much more easily collected in pockets like the under eye area. That causes what are commonly referred to as “bags,” which is just a build up of fluid under the eyes. 

Both of these issues tend to be the worst in the morning when you wake up, mostly because of the horizontal position that nearly all of us sleep in. We also tend to contribute to it by doing things that we don’t really think about but should — rubbing our skin too hard with a towel when we dry our faces, not wearing sunscreen regularly, smoking, etc. 

Yes, the aging process happens to everyone, but how early it starts to show is often up to your habits and whether or not you have a good quality skin care routine.

Also, in addition to developing a skin care routine that can really help you with your concerns, you should make sure to always wear sunscreen when you have any sun exposure (even if just for a few minutes at a time). 

According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AAD), you should be wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen (meaning it guards against both UVA and UVB rays) that is water resistant and has an SPF of at least 30. This is true even on cloudy days, where 80% of those harmful rays are still able to break through and impact the skin. Sunscreen is one of the best tools to have in your established skin care routine, hands down.

How MiamiMD Uses Haloxyl in Our Skin Care Line

With all of the potential benefits that Haloxyl may have, specifically in the eye area, we chose to include it in our Intensive Eye Repair Serum. 

We chose Haloxyl in this formula for exactly the reasons listed above. When combined with the other ingredients in our serum, it helps to lift the eyes and can return the sparkle to them when they begin to show fine lines and wrinkles, dark circles, and sagging, or if eyes just look a little duller than we’d prefer. We combine Haloxyl with a variety of other ingredients that have a lot of promise in treating the under eye area — Eyeliss, Matrixyl 3000, and Progeline.

Eyeliss is another peptide-based ingredient that helps to reduce the swelling in the under eye area, the kind that so often leads to an increase in the appearance of under eye bags. The three peptides that are included in Eyeliss work together to drain fluid out from around the lower eyelid, which it does painlessly, helping to create a more youthful, vibrant look. 

Along with Haloxyl and Eyeliss is Matrixyl 3000. This is another potent age-fighting peptide, one that sends signals to the body that it needs to start producing more collagen, especially in the under eye area. According to a study from the University of Reading, the amount of collagen can as much as double! Because much of the appearance of under eye circles is related to a loss of volume in the under eye area, more collagen equals stronger, firmer skin that is less likely to show dark circles and fine lines and wrinkles.

And finally, we add Progeline. The formula that we chose is an intensely formulated version that can help to drastically reduce the levels of a protein that has been scientifically shown to be linked to aging skin. Progeline is also used in our Age-Defying Lift & Firm Cream, as is Matrixyl 3000. Being able to reduce those specific protein levels can also naturally lead to an increase in the firmness, skin density, and volume of the skin. 

Our Haloxyl-based serum is just one part of our focus on functional beauty skin care products. When you use the serum, it immediately helps to renew and refresh the under eye area while also providing more long term benefits — the definition of functional beauty.

In Conclusion…

Haloxyl is an ingredient that you should look for in any skin care product, especially for the under eye area, that claims to be anti-aging. 

We included it in our under eye serum because of all of its impressive benefits. As the under eye area is one of the first to show the signs of aging, investing in an under eye serum that can help with some of the more common concerns, like bags and under eye circles, is one of the best things that you can do for yourself. 

Sources:

New research shows anti-wrinkle cream chemical works – University of Reading 

Ask the doctor: Baggy eyes – Harvard Health 

Sunscreen FAQs (aad.org)