- An impressive formula is not necessarily an intelligent one. Every active should have a role, a source and a dose we can explain.
- Two ingredients can be complementary without being “synergistic”. Ideally, synergy requires a direct comparison of the combination with the ingredients used separately.
- Adding an active can also make a formula worse if it displaces a useful dose, makes the routine harder to follow or exists only to add another line to the label.
There is an extremely simple way to make a supplement look impressive.
Add ingredients.
Collagen. Hyaluronic acid. Vitamin C. CoQ10. Saffron. Magnesium. A slightly unusual antioxidant. Then, while we are at it, another one.
By the end, the label looks like the guest list for a very good dinner.
But a long formula proves only one thing: that it is long.
A formula should start with a problem, not a catalogue
The first question should not be “which active is trending?”.
It should be: what are we actually trying to do?
Hydration? Structure? Nutritional intake? Ease of use? Several coherent goals in the same formula?
Only then do the ingredients come in.
Complementarity is not the same as synergy
“Synergy” is a wonderful word. Two actives go into a capsule and suddenly 1 + 1 is supposed to equal 3.
Scientifically, we need to be a little more demanding.
Two ingredients are complementary when they have different but coherent roles within the same objective.
To demonstrate genuine synergy, ideally we would compare:
A good reason to test the combination.
You need a protocol designed to show it.
We prefer to talk about complementarity when the biology makes sense, and reserve the word synergy for cases where the combination itself has genuinely been tested.
Collagen + vitamin C: the perfect example
The combination has a real rationale. Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin, under the relevant regulatory conditions.
Collagen, meanwhile, is a different material, digested into peptides and amino acids.
The two can therefore quite reasonably have a place together.
But a 2014 trial comparing collagen alone, collagen + vitamin C, vitamin C alone and control found no significant additional benefit from adding vitamin C on the skin parameters studied.
Vitamin C retains its physiological relevance. It is simply that this trial does not demonstrate that the combination creates a superior cosmetic effect.
Collagen + hyaluronic acid: an even clearer example
On paper, it is almost irresistible. Collagen contributes to the structure of the extracellular matrix. Hyaluronic acid contributes, among other things, to its water-rich environment.
In 2024, a trial compared a collagen + vitamin C formula with the same formula plus added hyaluronic acid.
Both active formulas produced changes in certain parameters, but adding hyaluronic acid did not demonstrate a significant additional benefit under the conditions of the study.
Again, this does not mean “the combination is useless”. It means “the superiority of the combination was not demonstrated here”.
The problem with decorative doses
Every capsule has a physical size. Unfortunately, marketing has not yet managed to negotiate that limit with geometry.
The more ingredients you add, the more you have to arbitrate the available space.
Sometimes you end up with amounts large enough to put the ingredient name on the label, but too far from the doses actually studied to support the same story.
An active included “just to be there” does not make a formula more premium.
It simply takes up space.
Real sophistication is often in what you decide not to include
A short formula can require more work than a formula with fifteen actives.
You have to choose the source. Check stability. Fit in the dose. Think about tolerance. Limit the number of capsules. And, above all, accept removing an appealing ingredient that is not useful enough.
At Eclo, that is exactly the trade-off between Ressource and Régénère
Ressource™ and Régénère™ are not simply two more-or-less lengthy lists of actives.
Ressource includes 200 mg of hyaluronic acid supplied by ExceptionHYAL® Star, 30 mg of Céramosides™, 56.25 mg of elemental magnesium via TRAACS® Albion® bisglycinate, saffron and vitamins, among other ingredients.
Régénère follows a different architecture, including 300 mg of Reggenerate™, 150 mg of SkinAx²™, 30 mg of CoQ10, magnesium bisglycinate and saffron.
The interesting point is therefore not to count the ingredients. It is to understand why the two compositions are different.
A formula is not more intelligent because it contains more. It is more intelligent when every ingredient has earned its place.
A formula should be explainable line by line.
Role, source, dose, complementarity, tolerance: if we cannot defend an active with anything other than its name, it probably has not finished its job interview.
Compare the formulasSources
European Commission, Regulation (EU) No 432/2012.
View the regulation
Choi S.Y. et al. (2014). Effects of collagen tripeptide supplement on skin properties: a prospective, randomized, controlled study. Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy.
PubMed, PMID 24131075
Žmitek K. et al. (2024). The Effects of Dietary Supplementation with Collagen and Vitamin C and Their Combination with Hyaluronic Acid on Skin Density, Texture and Other Parameters: A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Nutrients.
PubMed, PMID 38931263
