A responsible formulation

All Noviderm products are designed in accordance with rigorous formulation specifications based on the respect of your skin and of nature, as well as a high level of requirements with regard to efficacy, safety, naturalness and pleasure of use. Our formulation principles are as follows:

Submitted on 20/07/2012

1.We systematically give priority to natural ingredients.
Because nature has unparalleled resources for the care of your skin, we always privilege natural ingredients: all our products contain between 80% and 96% of natural ingredients.

Thus, we have drawn most of our powerful active ingredients that enter into our products from the very heart of nature:
- Quinoa peptides that soothe and repair;
- Sunflower oleodistillate, capable of boosting the synthesis of skin lipids;
- Hydrolysate of maca root, a veritable concentrate of energy which acts on the signs of ageing;
- AHcare (from fruit) which ensures gentle and gradual exfoliation for a more radiant complexion;
- And 5 α avocuta (avocado extract) which helps to regulate excess sebum.
Most of the other ingredients in our formulas are of plant origin: gelling agents, thickening agents, emulsifiers, preservatives, oils, butters and waxes, etc. You can find details of all these substances on each product description on this site.

However, sometimes the natural ingredients do not allow us to fulfil our requirements in terms of safety, efficacy or pleasure of use. In that case we allow ourselves to use synthetic ingredients that are safer or more effective than their natural counterparts and from environmentally friendly processes, such as salicylic acid, AHA esters, certain gelling agents, emulsifiers and preservatives, the green pigments of our anti-redness products and the scent of our Boréade and Melatrio ranges. In all cases, the proportion of synthetic ingredients never exceeds 20% of our formulas.

The formulation of Noviderm products is mainly based on Ecocert guidelines, which sets standards for organic and ecological cosmetics. However, we did not want to get certification because in some cases these rules are not compatible with our principles.
2.We reject the use of a number of questionable substances or those with a negative impact on the environment.
We have removed many substances from our products to guarantee the safest ingredients for your skin as well as for nature. Hence, all our product formulas are:
- Free from parabens: although they are effective even at very low doses, we have excluded these preservatives from our formulas as a precaution, following scientific studies that have revealed a potential risk of endocrine disruption.
- Free from phenoxyethanol: widely used in cosmetic products, this preservative is considered safe by health authorities. However, we preferred to exclude it to avoid confusion with the family of glycol ethers whose harmful effects are well-known.
- Free from chlorphenesin, triclosan and chlorhexidine: we have banned the use of these preservatives because of their harmfulness to the environment, their toxicity (triclosan) or their potentially allergenic power (chlorphenesin and chlorhexidine).
- Free from silicones: these synthetic compounds derived from silicium are often used in cosmetics for their silky touch; they provide protection to the skin or its resistance to water. We have stopped using them because of their persistence in the environment.
- Free from phthalates: especially used as solvents in fragrances, phthalates are suspected of being endocrine disruptors and have a negative impact on the environment. Hence we never use them.
- Free from nitromusk: used in perfumes, these components were excluded from our formulas because of their potential toxicity and harmfulness to the environment.
- Free from soap: aggressive to the skin, soaps have a basic pH (9) which impairs the hydrolipidic film and the balance of the skin's barrier function. We prefer mild surfactants with a pH close to that of the skin (5.5).
- Free from EDTA: we have stopped using this component which improves the efficiency of the preservatives because it is not biodegradable and it accumulates in the environment.
- Free from essential oils while essential oils are natural, we do not use them because they can be irritating or sensitising.
- Free from extracts of genetically modified plants: GMOs are prohibited in our formulas because of the risks they might pose to the environment and human health.
- Free from alcohol: alcohol, which is toxic and drying to the skin, has been excluded from our formulas.
3.We submit all our products to a great deal of safety and efficacy testing.
Before offering them to you, all our products have been subjected to a long series of tests under dermatological control to determine their perfect safety and prove their effectiveness.
- Our ingredients are carefully selected by a committee of expert toxicologists responsible for determining the most well-tolerated and most effective substances.
- Each of our formulas is then developed taking into account the specificities of the type of skin they are intended for: acne-prone skin or hyperpigmented skin.
- All our products are hypoallergenic, non comedogenic, non-phototoxic and non-sensitising. Our formulas exclude any allergenic or irritating substance and tests carried out by independent laboratories must confirm their high tolerance.
- During their development, all our formulas undergo many tests to prove their safety and good tolerance: skin tolerance tests performed on sensitive skin, eye tolerance tests, hypoallergenicity testing, phototoxicity testing (reaction to sun exposure), etc.
- The effectiveness of Noviderm products is tested with the same rigour as their safety. Different types of tests are carried out as appropriate:
- Clinical tests and self-evaluation, some of which are carried out in collaboration with internationally renowned professors in dermatology. To date, 46 clinical studies have been conducted on our products;

- Biometrological tests that quantify the effectiveness of our products objectively thanks to measuring devices.
4.We ensure good biodegradability of rinsable products.
Good biodegradability of cosmetics that require rinsing is essential to limiting water pollution. For the protection of our environment, we have thus paid particular attention to designing our rinsable products: Boréade CL, Cleansing Cream (98% biodegraded in 28 days) has proven its excellent biodegradability.
5.We attach the utmost importance to your pleasure of use.
To make using our products fully enjoyable, our research teams apply their know-how in creating really pleasant, creamy, melt-on-the-skin sensual textures. The Boréade and Mélatrio ranges also have an original fresh and delicate fragrance. Finally, special attention has been paid to creating secure, convenient and pleasant to use packaging from the first to the last use.