Why Less is Truly More

In skincare formulation, it’s easy to be seduced by complexity.

More ingredients often appear better: more benefits, more actives, more results. In fact, many commercial skincare products list 20, 30, sometimes even 50+ ingredients on a label — a phenomenon sometimes referred to as "formulation stacking."

But in practice — and especially in custom skincare — true efficacy often lies not in how much you add, but in how precisely you select.

This is the scientific foundation behind why I formulate with a "less is more" approach at Botanical Atelier.

Every Ingredient Has a Biological Cost

Each ingredient, no matter how natural or well-studied, interacts with your skin’s biology. While some ingredients offer clear benefits, others introduce:

• Potential irritancy (especially in sensitive or compromised skin)

• Allergenic potential (particularly with essential oils, plant extracts, or preservatives)

• Interaction risk (when multiple actives compete or destabilize each other)

• Cumulative load on the skin barrier

The skin barrier — your stratum corneum — is designed to protect, not process large volumes of external compounds. Overloading the skin with too many actives or unnecessary excipients can stress this delicate balance, leading to:

• Barrier disruption

• Redness

• Sensitization

• Increased transepidermal water loss (TEWL)

Minimal formulation respects the skin’s natural ability to self-regulate while providing targeted support where it's most needed.

Ingredient Competition: The Silent Formulation Problem

When too many active ingredients are combined, several problems can occur:

• Competing absorption pathways: Some ingredients compete for skin receptors or transport systems, reducing overall efficacy.

• pH conflicts: Many actives require specific pH ranges for optimal stability and performance (e.g. Vitamin C vs niacinamide vs acids).

• Destabilization: Complex formulas increase the risk of emulsions breaking, phase separation, or oxidation.

• Reduced bioavailability: The more crowded a formula, the harder it becomes for any single ingredient to reach therapeutic levels in the skin.

Precision allows each ingredient to function optimally without interference.

The Law of Diminishing Returns in Skincare

In pharmacology and dermatology, many actives exhibit a dose-response curve: beyond a certain concentration, additional benefit plateaus while irritation risk rises.

For example:

• Niacinamide is effective at 2–5%; higher concentrations may cause flushing or irritation.

• Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is effective at 10–20%; higher percentages increase instability without proportionally increasing results.

• Bakuchiol performs optimally at 0.5–1%; excess can lead to unnecessary sensitivity.

Minimalist formulations allow actives to be used within their effective therapeutic windows — maximizing results while minimizing side effects.

Formulation Simplicity Enhances Stability

Every ingredient added to a formula introduces potential stability challenges:

• Increased oxidation risk

• Preservation complexity

• pH drift over time

• Ingredient incompatibility

By simplifying the ingredient profile, we:

• Reduce degradation pathways

• Minimize the need for heavy preservation systems

• Better protect antioxidant integrity

• Extend functional shelf-life while maintaining potency

This is particularly important in small-batch, fresh skincare where ingredient integrity is a core value.

Transparency and Traceability for the Consumer

Fewer ingredients mean:

• Easier for customers to understand what they’re applying

• Greater transparency around potential allergens or sensitivities

• Simplified troubleshooting if irritation occurs

This clarity empowers customers to build confidence in their skincare — and in the brand behind it.

Minimal Formulation is Not Simplistic — It’s Precision

Minimalist formulation is not about creating "basic" or "weak" products.
It’s about:

• Choosing the right ingredients, at the right levels, for the right skin.

• Honoring skin biology and barrier health.

• Preserving ingredient integrity through small-batch, fresh production.

At Botanical Atelier, this principle is at the heart of everything I create — including my Custom Oil Lab, where each formula is intentionally crafted to support your skin’s current state with precision and care.

Because when it comes to living skin, more is not always better — but better is always better.