Palm Oil Is in Most Moisturisers And You'll Never See It on the Label.
Stevie SmilasI read ingredient lists. Every one. Every time.
A while ago, I kept noticing the same ingredient appearing in moisturiser after moisturiser.
Glycerin.
Nothing unusual there. It's one of the most common skincare ingredients in the world.
Then I started looking beyond the ingredient list.
Here's what surprised me.
Most of the world's glycerin is made from palm oil. Yet you'll almost never see the word palm anywhere on the label.
If a product contains glycerin but doesn't specifically say it's palm free, there's a good chance it's palm-derived. That's simply how most of the global supply chain works.
Most people never realise they're using it.
The question that stayed with me
Once I understood where most glycerin comes from, I started reading.
In 2021, researchers published a study in Nature showing that dietary palmitic acid, the primary fatty acid in palm oil, promoted the spread of cancer cells in mice and left lasting biological changes even after exposure had stopped.
That research looked at palm oil in the diet, not on the skin.
The topical studies haven't been done.
That distinction matters.
Your skin isn't an impenetrable barrier. Some ingredients can be absorbed through it, although how much depends on the ingredient, the formula and the condition of your skin.
Could palm-derived skincare have the same effect?
We don't know.
And that's exactly the point.
You might read the same evidence and decide you're comfortable with that uncertainty.
I wasn't.
That's a hard no for me.
Where we drew the line
Palm oil doesn't appear in our formulas.
Neither do palm-derived ingredients.
Not because anyone proved they were unsafe in skincare.
Because nobody has.
When there are unanswered questions, I'd rather formulate around them than wait decades for better answers.
It's harder.
The alternatives cost more.
Development takes longer.
But that's a standard I'm happy to hold us to.
Eight exclusions. Every formula. Always.
If you're curious, look deeper
Every ingredient in every Zero Zero product is listed on its product page, along with exactly why it's there.
No marketing names.
No hidden blends.
No asking you to simply trust us.
If you ever want to know why an ingredient made it in, or why one didn't, ask.
We'll always tell you.
Every ingredient earns its place.
Stevie 💜
Further reading
Pascual G, Domínguez D, Elosúa-Bayes M, et al. Dietary palmitic acid promotes a prometastatic memory via Schwann cells. Nature. 2021;599:485-490.