The Science

Plain-English skincare science

No jargon, no hand-waving. This is how our products actually work.

How mineral sunscreen works

Mineral filters like zinc oxide sit in a thin film on the skin and absorb UV radiation (and scatter a little), converting it to harmless heat. Coated zinc oxide — the only filter we use — is broad-spectrum by itself, covering both UVB (the burning rays behind the SPF number) and UVA (the deeper-penetrating rays behind the PA rating). Because the filter is a mineral particle rather than a molecule absorbed into skin, it's well tolerated by most sensitive skin. The engineering challenge is texture — which is why our formula is 30% lightweight emollients: they spread the zinc thin and even, instead of leaving a heavy white film.

What the skin barrier is

The outermost layer of your skin is a wall of flattened cells mortared together by lipids — ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids in roughly balanced proportions. When that mortar is depleted (weather, over-cleansing, actives, age), water escapes faster than skin can replace it: tightness, flaking, sensitivity. A barrier moisturiser does three jobs — pulls water in (humectants like glycerin, panthenol, hyaluronate), replaces the mortar (ceramide complex), and slows the escape (emollients and light occlusives).

What our ingredients actually do

Ceramides: the main lipid in the barrier mortar. Research supports a ceramide–cholesterol–fatty-acid blend near a 3:1:1 ratio — and at functional concentrations, which is why cloud carries the complex at 2.5%, not a trace. (Honesty note: the studied ratio is molar, not by weight; we work to a weight ratio that stays honestly close, and we won't overstate what that means.)

Niacinamide (vitamin B3): supports barrier-lipid production, helps regulate sebum, and evens tone over weeks of use. Well-studied at 2–5%; we use 4%. A small minority feel a brief, harmless flush the first few uses — we tell you rather than let you wonder.

Glycerin: the most reliably-evidenced humectant in skincare, and it works in any humidity — which matters in India, where the weather runs from monsoon-humid to winter-dry.

Squalane: a light, stable emollient that mimics skin's own sebum. Non-comedogenic, fast-absorbing, no greasy film.

What "fairy-dusting" means — and why we won't do it

Fairy-dusting is adding a trace amount of a fashionable ingredient — 0.01% of a peptide, a whisper of ceramide — so it can star in the marketing while doing nothing in the jar. Standard labels make it invisible: INCI lists show order, not amounts, and below 1% ingredients can be listed in almost any order. Percentages make fairy-dusting impossible. That's exactly why we print them.

Nothing on this page is a treatment claim. Sunscreen use, in particular, is one part of sensible sun protection alongside shade and clothing.