WHAT'S INSIDE
Ingredients
Here are the fragrance-free skincare ingredients behind all three products — what each one is, what it does, and why it earned a place in the formula.
Three products, one short list, and one system at the center of it. Nothing hidden, and nothing renamed to sound like more than it is.
Everything in it earns its place.
THE SYSTEM
PaxDerm Barrier Complex™
Ceramides NP, AP and EOP, cholesterol and phytosphingosine
PaxDerm Barrier Complex is our ceramide system — the blend at the heart of every PaxDerm formula and the reason the routine is three products instead of twelve.
Skin’s outer layer works like a wall. The cells are the bricks, and a lipid mortar fills the space between them. That mortar is what holds water in and keeps irritants out. When it runs short — from cleansing, weather, shaving, cold air, or simply time — skin feels tight, stings on application, and flushes more easily than it used to.
The Barrier Complex is built from that same lipid family, so what goes onto skin is material the barrier already recognizes. It supports the structure that is there rather than sitting on top of it.
THE FIVE
What's in the Barrier Complex
Most brands name a complex and stop there. Here is every component in it, in the order it always appears, and what each one contributes.
Ceramide NP
Helps skin hold water throughout the day, so it is less likely to feel tight by mid-afternoon. It’s the most abundant ceramide in healthy skin, and it works by helping the barrier pack tightly together. Also written as ceramide 3.
Ceramide AP
Helps the surface stay smooth instead of dry and patchy. It works by helping the barrier hold together more firmly. Also written as ceramide 6-II.
Ceramide EOP
Holds the barrier together where it would otherwise come loose — it works like a rivet, linking one lipid layer to the next. It’s present in the smallest amount and costs the most to source, which is why most brands leave it out. Also written as ceramide 1.
Cholesterol
Lets the barrier move with your face instead of cracking in cold air. Ceramides on their own are stiff; cholesterol is what keeps the layers flexible rather than brittle.
Phytosphingosine
Gives skin the raw material to make its own ceramides, not just the finished ones you apply. Phytosphingosine is what a ceramide is built from.
THE OMISSIONS
What we leave out
Fragrance-free is not a footnote on the back of the bottle. It is the reason the brand exists, and it is the first thing decided about every formula.
No perfume
Removes the most common cause of an allergic reaction to a cosmetic. No fragrance, no perfume, and no masking fragrance in any raw material — including the ceramide complex and the preservative system. It’s a risk with no upside, so we took it out.
No essential oils
Leaves out the fragrance that hides behind the word “natural.” Lavender, citrus, tea tree, and rose look wholesome on an ingredient list and behave exactly like perfume on skin, so none of them are here.
No added color
Color is one more ingredient to buy, one more thing to batch-test, and nothing a barrier needs. The formulas are the color they come out.
Nothing added for the nose. Everything for the barrier.
ACROSS THE ROUTINE
Where the complex lives
Each product carries what its job requires. In Serum and Cream, that means PaxDerm Barrier Complex™.
Cleanser · Cleanse
Rinse-off, so it does not carry the Barrier Complex — nothing that leaves the skin in sixty seconds can. Its job is to clean without stripping the lipids the other two support. Soft foam barrier cleanser, 150 mL.
Serum · Hydrate
Carries the full Barrier Complex in a fast-absorbing lightweight base that layers under moisturizer. Lightweight hydrating facial serum, 50 mL.
Cream · Comfort
Carries more of the Barrier Complex in a cushioning base that melts in without leaving a film. Cushioning barrier cream, 50 mL.
QUALITY CONTROL
How we know what's in the bottle
An ingredient list is only as good as the material behind it. So every material is checked before it goes near a formula — what it is, and how strong that particular lot is.
Every raw material arrives with a Certificate of Analysis, the supplier’s test record for that specific lot, and we require a new one with every shipment. If a lot tests differently, we recalculate the percentages against the strength of the lot in hand. This ensures a quality, consistent formula.
We record every batch, and every bottle carries its batch number and the date it was made.
QUESTIONS
Ingredient questions
Are PaxDerm products fragrance-free or unscented?
Fragrance-free. "Unscented" usually means a masking fragrance was added to cover the smell of the raw materials. PaxDerm formulas contain no perfume, no essential oils and no masking fragrance in any raw material, including the ceramide complex and the preservative system.
What is PaxDerm Barrier Complex™?
PaxDerm Barrier Complex is our ceramide system: Ceramides NP, AP and EOP, cholesterol and phytosphingosine. It is in the Serum and the Cream. The Cleanser rinses off, so it does not carry it.
Which PaxDerm products contain ceramides?
The Serum and the Cream. The Cream carries more of the complex in a cushioning base; the Serum carries it in a lightweight base that absorbs in seconds and layers under moisturizer.
Why cholesterol and phytosphingosine as well as ceramides?
Because ceramides on their own are only part of what the barrier is made from. Cholesterol keeps the lipid layers flexible rather than brittle, and phytosphingosine is the sphingoid base a ceramide molecule is built on. A ceramide-only formula is an incomplete version of the same idea.
What is deliberately left out of PaxDerm formulas?
No perfume, no essential oils, no masking fragrance in any raw material, and no added color.
THE ROUTINE
Cleanse. Hydrate. Comfort.
All three products, $189. Bought separately, the same three cost $33 more.
Three products. Nothing you don’t need.