Firm-A-Face XR

Serious Skincare

Where to buy Possibly in stock

About this product

The Serious Skincare Firm-A-Face XR is a treatment. Our analysis of its 27 ingredients (23 low-risk) rates it Excellent (95/100). Based on its ingredients, it looks well-suited to oily / acne-prone skin.

Reef-safe

Summarised from our ingredient analysis — not brand marketing copy.

At a glance

Type
Treatments
Ingredients
27
Low-risk
23
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

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 5/9
Good for dry skin
Sorbitol Caprylyl Glycol Butylene Glycol Glycerin Lecithin
Caution for dry skin
3-Aminopropane Sulfonic Acid Magnesium Aluminum Silicate Centella Asiatica Extract Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract Xanthan Gum Glycerin Hexylene Glycol Polysorbate 20 Lecithin
Oily/Acne-Prone Skin 2/0
Good for oily/acne-prone skin
Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract Retinol
Sensitive Skin 2/7
Good for sensitive skin
Centella Asiatica Extract Glycerin
Caution for sensitive skin
Sorbitol Caramel Butylene Glycol Glycerin Hexylene Glycol Phenoxyethanol Retinol

Ingredients list

27 total
Lower hazard (1) Higher hazard (9)
All27 Skin Conditioning17 Humectant6 Fragrance6 Viscosity Controlling6 Hair Conditioning5 Solvent5 Surfactant4 Emulsion Stabilising4
EWG CIR Ingredient Name & Cosmetic Functions Notes
1
Water
(Solvent)
3
Sodium Silicate
(Buffering Agent, Anticorrosive, Ph Adjuster)
1
A
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
(Absorbent, Anticaking Agent, Opacifying, Slip Modifier, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
1
A
Pentylene Glycol
(Skin Conditioning, Solvent)
1
Calcium Hydroxymethionine
(Skin Conditioning)
1
3-Aminopropane Sulfonic Acid
(Hydrotrope, Surfactant)
1
Aminobutyric Acid
(Hair Conditioning)
2
A
Glycerin
(Denaturant, Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Humectant, Oral Care Agent, Oral Health Care Drug, Skin Protecting, Viscosity Decreasing Agent, Perfuming, Solvent)
Good for Dry Skin
Good for Dry Skin
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
2
3
Lecithin
(Skin Conditioning, Emulsifying, Surfactant, Antistatic Agent, Emollient)
1
Sorbitol
(Flavoring Agent, Fragrance, Humectant, Plasticizer, Skin Conditioning)
Retinyl Palmitate
(Skin Conditioning, Skin Conditioning Miscellaneous)
9
A
Retinol
(Skin Conditioning)
Bad for Sensitive Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
1
A
Butylene Glycol
(Fragrance, Skin Conditioning, Solvent, Viscositydecreasing Agent, Humectant, Masking, Viscosity Controlling)
Good for Dry Skin
Good for Dry Skin
1
Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract
(Astringent, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning)
1
Macrocystis Pyrifera Extract
(Viscosity Controlling)
1
B
Centella Asiatica Extract
(Cleansing, Skin Conditioning, Smoothing, Soothing, Tonic)
Casein Extract
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning)
3
B
Polysorbate 20
(Emulsifying, Surfactant)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
A
Hydroxyethylcellulose
(Binding Agent, Emulsion Stabilising, Film Forming, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Binding, Stabilising, Viscosity Controlling)
1
A
Xanthan Gum
(Binding Agent, Emulsion Stabilising, Skin Conditioning, Surfactant Emulsifying Agent, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Binding, Gel Forming, Viscosity Controlling)
1
Caramel
(Colorant, Fragrance, Cosmetic Colorant, Masking)
1
A
Disodium EDTA
(Chelating Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
4
A
Phenoxyethanol
(Fragrance, Preservative)
Paraben
Paraben
1
A
Caprylyl Glycol
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Emollient, Humectant)
1
A
Hexylene Glycol
(Fragrance, Solvent, Viscosity Decreasing Agent, Emulsifying, Perfuming, Skin Conditioning, Surfactant)
3
CI 19140
(Colorant, Cosmetic Colorant)
1
CI 15985
(Cosmetic Colorant)

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

Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Calcium Hydroxymethionine
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant, Skin Protecting
Lecithin
Skin Conditioning, Emollient
Sorbitol
Humectant, Skin Conditioning
Retinyl Palmitate
Skin Conditioning

Benefits

Good for oily/acne-prone skin

Concerns

Contains paraben
Not fungal acne (malassezia) safe
Retinol — higher EWG
May not suit dry skin
May not suit sensitive skin

EWG flags hazard, not real-world risk — ratings don't account for how much of an ingredient a product contains. Treat these as things to research, not verdicts. How we score →

Ingredients explained

Water
Solvent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Solvent
Sodium Silicate
Buffering agent, Anticorrosive
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 Buffering agentAnticorrosivePh adjuster
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
Absorbent, Anticaking agent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A AbsorbentAnticaking agentOpacifyingSlip modifierViscosity increasing agentViscosity controlling
Pentylene Glycol
Skin conditioning, Solvent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Skin conditioningSolvent
Calcium Hydroxymethionine
Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Skin conditioning
3-Aminopropane Sulfonic Acid
Hydrotrope, Surfactant
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 HydrotropeSurfactant
Aminobutyric Acid
Hair conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Hair conditioning
Lecithin
Skin conditioning, Emulsifying
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 2–3 Skin conditioningEmulsifyingSurfactantAntistatic agentEmollient
Sorbitol
Flavoring agent, Fragrance
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Flavoring agentFragranceHumectantPlasticizerSkin conditioning
Retinyl Palmitate
Skin conditioning, Skin conditioning miscellaneous
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Skin conditioningSkin conditioning miscellaneous
Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract
Astringent, Hair conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 AstringentHair conditioningSkin conditioning
Macrocystis Pyrifera Extract
Viscosity controlling
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Viscosity controlling
Centella Asiatica Extract
Cleansing, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B CleansingSkin conditioningSmoothingSoothingTonic
Casein Extract
Hair conditioning, Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Hair conditioningSkin conditioning
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Binding agent, Emulsion stabilising
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Binding agentEmulsion stabilisingFilm formingViscosity increasing agentBindingStabilisingViscosity controlling
+ 7 more — see the full ingredients list above
Glycerin
Denaturant, Fragrance
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 2 CIR A DenaturantFragranceHair conditioningHumectantOral care agentOral health care drugSkin protectingViscosity decreasing agentPerfumingSolvent Good for Dry SkinFungal-acne trigger
Retinol
Skin conditioning
Potentially a skin irritantRead moreShow less
EWG 9 CIR A Skin conditioning Bad for Sensitive Skin
Butylene Glycol
Fragrance, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceSkin conditioningSolventViscositydecreasing agentHumectantMaskingViscosity controlling Good for Dry Skin
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying, Surfactant
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR B EmulsifyingSurfactant Fungal-acne trigger
Phenoxyethanol
Fragrance, Preservative
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR A FragrancePreservative Paraben

How to use

How to use

  • 1 Where it fits: Apply after toner and before moisturiser — thinnest to thickest.
  • 2 Evening: Use at night — start 2–3× a week and build up as your skin tolerates it.
  • 3 Wear SPF the next day: Acids and retinoids increase sun sensitivity — daily sunscreen is a must while using this.

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

Trust & honesty

Pregnancy & breastfeeding

Contains ingredients some choose to avoid or double-check while pregnant or nursing.

Often avoided
Retinoids (Vitamin A) (Retinyl Palmitate, Retinol)

Topical retinoids (retinol, retinaldehyde, retinyl esters) are widely advised against in pregnancy as a precaution. The strongest evidence is for ORAL retinoids; topical absorption is low, but most clinicians err on the side of caution.

This is general information, not medical advice. Pregnancy guidance varies and depends on concentration and your individual situation — always check with your doctor, midwife or pharmacist. How we flag this.

Effective levels — general guide

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

Retinoids (Vitamin A) 0.01–1%

Most studied between 0.1% and 1%. Higher is not automatically better — irritation climbs with dose, so a well-formulated lower strength is often the sweet spot.

Retinyl Palmitate, Retinol

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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