Professional-C Peptide Complex

Obagi

Where to buy Possibly in stock

About this product

The Obagi Professional-C Peptide Complex is a serums, essence, ampoule. Our analysis of its 31 ingredients (24 low-risk) rates it Excellent (96/100). Based on its ingredients, it looks well-suited to oily / acne-prone and dry skin.

Vegan-friendly Reef-safe

Summarised from our ingredient analysis — not brand marketing copy.

At a glance

Type
Serums, Essence, Ampoules
Ingredients
31
Low-risk
24
Fragrance
Fragrance-free
Origin
United States

The evidence

Quick Product Notes

Paraben-Free Sulfate-Free Alcohol-Free Silicone-Free EU Allergen-Free Fungal Acne (Malassezia) Safe Cruelty-Free

Notable Effects & Ingredients

No Notable Effects & Ingredients

Ingredients Related to Skin Types

Good   Bad — tap a skin type to see which ingredients · estimated from ingredient functions
Dry Skin 9/6
Good for dry skin
Glyceryl Stearate Cetyl Alcohol Acetyl Octapeptide-3 Ethoxydiglycol Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride Caprylyl Glycol Sodium Hyaluronate PPG-12/SMDI Copolymer Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Caution for dry skin
Cetyl Alcohol Stearic Acid Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract PEG-100 Stearate Triethanolamine Silica
Oily/Acne-Prone Skin 1/0
Good for oily/acne-prone skin
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Sensitive Skin 3/7
Good for sensitive skin
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract Tocopheryl Acetate
Caution for sensitive skin
Cetyl Alcohol Stearic Acid Ethoxydiglycol Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract Phenoxyethanol Triethanolamine

Ingredients list

31 total
Lower hazard (1) Higher hazard (6)
All31 Skin Conditioning20 Emollient6 Fragrance6 Humectant5 Masking5 Emulsion Stabilising5 Viscosity Controlling5 Emulsifying4
EWG CIR Ingredient Name & Cosmetic Functions Notes
1
Water
(Solvent)
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
(Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
(Emollient, Masking, Perfuming, Skin Conditioning, Solvent)
1
A
Stearic Acid
(Fragrance, Sufactant, Emulsifying, Surfactantsurfactant Cleansing Agent Is Included As A Function For The Soap Form Of Stearic Acid., Emulsion Stabilising, Masking, Refatting)
Bad for Oily Skin
Bad for Oily Skin
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
3
PEG-12 Glyceryl Dimyristate
(Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Glyceryl Stearate
(Emollient, Emulsifying)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
3
A
PEG-100 Stearate
(Surfactant)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
2
A
Silica
(Abrasive, Absorbent, Anticaking Agent, Bulking Agent, Opacifying, Viscosity Controlling)
3
Tocopheryl Acetate
(Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning)
Bad for Oily Skin
Bad for Oily Skin
1
A
Cetyl Alcohol
(Emulsion Stabilising, Fragrance, Opacifying, Emulsifying, Surfactant, Foam Boosting, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Emollient, Masking, Viscosity Controlling)
4
A
Phenoxyethanol
(Fragrance, Preservative)
Paraben
Paraben
5
B
Triethanolamine
(Fragrance, Ph Adjuster, Emulsifying, Surfactant, Buffering Agent, Masking)
1
A
Carbomer
(Emulsion Stabilising, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Gel Forming, Viscosity Controlling)
1
A
Panthenol
(Antistatic Agent, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning)
Good for Dry Skin
Good for Dry Skin
1
A
Ethoxydiglycol
(Fragrance, Solvent, Viscosity Decreasing Agent, Humectant, Perfuming)
2
Polyaminopropyl Biguanide
(Preservative)
1
A
Disodium EDTA
(Chelating Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
1
PPG-12/SMDI Copolymer
(Emollient, Film Forming, Hair Fixing, Skin Conditioning)
Kinetin
(Skin Conditioning)
1
Zeatin
(Skin Conditioning)
Polyurethane-40
(Film Forming)
1
A
Ethylhexylglycerin
(Deodorant, Skin Conditioning)
citrus aurantium dulcis peel oil
(Fragrance, Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Caprylyl Glycol
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Emollient, Humectant)
1
A
Sodium Carboxymethyl Betaglucan
(Binding, Viscosity Controlling)
1
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
(Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning)
1
Acetyl Octapeptide-3
(Humectant, Skin Conditioning)
6
A
Imidazolidinyl Urea
(Preservative)
1
A
Sodium Hyaluronate
(Skin Conditioning, Humectant)
Good for Dry Skin
Good for Dry Skin
1
B
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
(Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, Astringent, Emollient, Humectant, Masking, Oral Care Agent, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Tonic, Uv Absorber)
Good for Oily Skin
Good for Oily Skin
2
3
Hydrochloric Acid
(Ph Adjuster, Buffering Agent)

My Ingredient Notes

No personal ingredient notes yet. Save ingredients to your profile to get good/bad alerts here.

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Key ingredients

Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Emollient, Skin Conditioning
PEG-12 Glyceryl Dimyristate
Skin Conditioning
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient

Benefits

Good for dry skin
Good for oily/acne-prone skin

Concerns

Contains paraben
Not fungal acne (malassezia) safe
May not suit sensitive skin

Ingredients explained

Water
Solvent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Solvent
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Skin conditioning
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Emollient, Masking
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A EmollientMaskingPerfumingSkin conditioningSolvent
PEG-12 Glyceryl Dimyristate
Skin conditioning
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 Skin conditioning
Silica
Abrasive, Absorbent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1–2 CIR A AbrasiveAbsorbentAnticaking agentBulking agentOpacifyingViscosity controlling
Cetyl Alcohol
Emulsion stabilising, Fragrance
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Emulsion stabilisingFragranceOpacifyingEmulsifyingSurfactantFoam boostingViscosity increasing agentEmollientMaskingViscosity controlling
Carbomer
Emulsion stabilising, Viscosity increasing agent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Emulsion stabilisingViscosity increasing agentGel formingViscosity controlling
Ethoxydiglycol
Fragrance, Solvent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceSolventViscosity decreasing agentHumectantPerfuming
Polyaminopropyl Biguanide
Preservative
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 2 Preservative
Disodium EDTA
Chelating agent, Viscosity controlling
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Chelating agentViscosity controlling
PPG-12/SMDI Copolymer
Emollient, Film forming
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 EmollientFilm formingHair fixingSkin conditioning
Kinetin
Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Skin conditioning
Zeatin
Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Skin conditioning
Polyurethane-40
Film forming
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Film forming
Ethylhexylglycerin
Deodorant, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A DeodorantSkin conditioning
+ 6 more — see the full ingredients list above
Stearic Acid
Fragrance, Sufactant
Potentially comedogenic - can block poresRead moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceSufactantEmulsifyingSurfactantsurfactant-cleansing agent is included as a function for the soap form of stearic acid.Emulsion stabilisingMaskingRefatting Bad for Oily SkinFungal-acne trigger
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient, Emulsifying
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A EmollientEmulsifying Fungal-acne trigger
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR A Surfactant Fungal-acne trigger
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant, Skin conditioning
Potentially comedogenic - can block poresRead moreShow less
EWG 3 AntioxidantSkin conditioning Bad for Oily Skin
Phenoxyethanol
Fragrance, Preservative
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR A FragrancePreservative Paraben
Triethanolamine
Fragrance, Ph adjuster
Moderate-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 5 CIR B FragrancePh adjusterEmulsifyingSurfactantBuffering agentMasking
Panthenol
Antistatic agent, Hair conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Antistatic agentHair conditioningSkin conditioning Good for Dry Skin
Imidazolidinyl Urea
Preservative
Moderate-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 6 CIR A Preservative
Sodium Hyaluronate
Skin conditioning, Humectant
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Skin conditioningHumectant Good for Dry Skin
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial, Antioxidant
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B AntimicrobialAntioxidantAstringentEmollientHumectantMaskingOral care agentSkin conditioningSkin protectingTonicUv absorber Good for Oily Skin

How to use

How to use

  • 1 Where it fits: Apply after toner and before moisturiser — thinnest to thickest.
  • 2 Morning only: Apply as the last step of your AM routine, after moisturiser, and reapply every ~2 hours of sun exposure.

General guidance from this product's category and active ingredients — always follow the directions on the package.

Trust & honesty

Effective levels — general guide

The concentrations these actives are typically effective at in research — not a measurement of this product.

Vitamin C (ascorbic) 5–20%

L-ascorbic acid is usually used at 5–20% (around 10–15% is common). Above ~20% adds little and tends to irritate more; it also needs a low pH to work.

Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate

INCI lists don't disclose amounts, and we don't claim to know this product's levels — these are the ranges these ingredients are usually effective at, so you can tell a real formula from "fairy-dusting" a marketed active. How we estimate this.

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