Vanessa humectants

JKosmmune Beta-Glucan Serum Review

This serum was sent to me by JKossmmune and I was excited to try it after reading a review by @lathertolashes. But I had a hyaluronic acid (hydrating) serum that I already loved so I wasn’t expecting to really be impressed by this. But I was impressed. Big Time.

Beta-glucan is  is a polysaccharide sugar derived from mushrooms, yeast, algae and plants. Turns out, moisturizing the skin is just one of the many things it does.

A 2014 review of beta-glucans’ effects on skin reported they “possess skin regenerative properties, which involve revitalizing immune cells in skin, regeneration of collagen-producing cells, strengthening skin’s ability to deal with adverse environmental effects and promotion of anti-aging and anti-wrinkles. (Du et al., 2014).
  • It is more effective at moisturizing and locking moisture in than glycerin and hyaluronic acid.
  • It has found to be able to deeply penetrate the skin into the epidermis and dermis so it can help prevent wrinkles where they form AND that it can improve fine lines and wrinkles (Pillai et al. 2005).
  • It can accelerate wound healing (which is NEVER a bad thing… especially if you are prone to picking at blemishes or have a sunburn, etc).
  • It has anti-inflammatory properties so it is extremely soothing and calming
  • It can help restore collagen and improve skin elasticity (Ketkeaw et al 2012)
  • It has photoprotective properties similar to Vitamin E (Zulli et al., 1995)

The key selling point of this hydrating serum is that it has “97% pure beta-glucan”. However, there has been some confusion with what they mean by that (for example, it doesn’t mean that the serum is composed of 97% beta glucan and 3% of other ingredients). What it means is that they use beta glucan extract with 99.99% purity. To the raw serum they add other ingredients to enhance and maximize the moisturizing effect, which results in 97% pure beta glucan.

I’m still pleased with the INCI. It is short and has some amazing ingredients, including Gotu Kola, which I always get excited about when I see it in an ingredient list. Basically this has a beta-glucan sandwhich, with the bread being effective humectants (which are in the same category as something like hyaluronic acid) and a couple other skin soothing ingredients.

Complete Ingredients

Water, Glycerin [humectant for skin hydration], 1,2-Hexanediol [humectant and emollient], Beta-Glucan [skin soothing, moisturizer/humectant, see more below], Portulaca Oleracea Extract[skin-soothing antioxidant], Centella Asiatica (Gotu Kola) Extract [skin-soothing and extremely healing, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties], Butylene Glycol[moisturizer/humectant]

So after using the serum for a couple months, I have been really pleased with it. I am almost at the end of my bottle and I plan to buy another bottle to replace it.

  • Cost: $46 for 1.7 oz (making this slightly cheaper per ounce than my Jordan Samuel Skin hydrating serum).
  • Clear, scentless, lightweight, liquid gel that absorbs quickly
  • Works great under makeup and other skincare (no pilling and no residue)
  • Incredibly hydrating and moisturizing (provides that immediate plumping of dehydration lines). The day that I decided that I loved this serum was when my arms were so scaley and dry that I ended up putting this serum all over them. The next morning the scales were gone!
  • A little goes a long way. When I use too much of this I can get a little shiny in the day time.
  • Extremely soothing (I especially like using this after acids or retinols)