This Serum’s Star Ingredient Was Inspired by the Womb

This hydrating, softening serum's superstar ingredient was inspired by a substance that covers babies in the womb. Learn more about it here.

For the most part, babies have it made. They don’t have student loan debt looming over their tiny little heads. When they cry, someone picks them up and gives them whatever they want—a hug, a bottle, dry Cheerios. Oh, and they have the softest skin in the world.

This is partly due to a substance found in the womb called vernix caseosa, which coats babies’ skin to protect them from the elements. According to medical journals, it helps keep a baby’s skin moisturized and pH levels balanced, and is described as a "white, creamy, naturally occurring biofilm covering the skin of the fetus during the last trimester of pregnancy.”

It’s also a substance that inspired a brand new serum—Ceramiracle—that claims to bring your skin back to baby soft status. Now, before you freak out, they didn’t use the actual vernix. Instead, the company used a plant-derived combination of ceramides that act just like the uterus-based ingredient would.

"The original vernix caseosa contains ceramides, triglycerides, wax esters, squalene, and phospholipids in varying amount, most likely dependent on the mum's diet and other genetic factors,” explains Eugene He, CEO/Founder for Ceramiracle. "The inspired Ceramiracle vernix base is a combination of ceramides, from wheat seed, certified gluten free, squalane, from plant sugar,squalene, from olive, and triglycerides, from coconut. These ingredients were chosen to mimic the actual composition of the vernix caseosa.”

It took two years for He to find the right percentage with fast-acting results, but once he did, he says his finger eczema went away in a few days.

A clear oil-like serum that retails for $89 a pop, it’s meant to be applied in three to five drops before moisturizer, or added into your regular daily moisturizer. Upon application, it feels slightly oily, but absorbs quickly and leaves your skin with a glowing dew.

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It’s claims? The founder says you’ll have softer and smoother to-the-touch skin within five minutes of application. "As the serum is silicone-free, the smoothness is not a cosmetic effect but the actual result of the serum working.” Over time, the serum works to correct skin tone and minimize the appearance of wrinkles and pore size.

While the serum is suitable for all skin types, He says it’s especially helpful for dry and mature skin, and it can be used on the lips and body. “Our customers swear by it for restoring dry and rough elbows."