(Not so) basic: how we formulate at Siwon
This is how we make our products
There are things we take for granted because they're basic. Without those minimums we'd never have got into the cream business at all. But it's precisely because they're basic that they're worth telling you about.
No mission here, no values. Just formulas, labs, percentages and studies. The nice words are on the other page.
- Own formula
- CPNP registration
- 100% vegan
- Cruelty-free
- Dermatologically tested
We create our formulas from scratch, and we own them
Something that surprises a lot of people: having a cosmetics brand doesn't mean having your own formula. There's a whole industry of manufacturers with formulations already developed and ready to label. It's legal, it's fast, and it's what lets you launch a brand in a few months.
We took the long road: starting from a blank page. Every formula is ours, we develop it with our lab and we answer for it. It takes us longer to launch products and it costs us more, but in return we control what goes in every bottle and how much of it.
And what does that change for you?
That we can choose the active and its concentration based on what your skin needs, not on what was in the catalogue. That if something doesn't work, we reformulate instead of switching supplier. And that no other brand sells exactly the same thing under a different name.
Three criteria, in this order, and we skip none
An ingredient can look gorgeous on the INCI list and do nothing. Or do plenty and take your skin down with it. That's why every candidate goes through these three filters, always in the same order.
It needs clinical evidence
Independent, reproducible, statistically relevant studies. Street surveys don't count, and neither do testimonials from people with good lighting.
It has to be safe and biocompatible
Your skin has to tolerate it at the concentration where it actually does something. A powerful active that irritates you isn't a powerful active, it's a problem.
It has to be sustainable
Vegan origin and responsible production whenever there's an alternative that measures up. If we have to choose between efficacy and green posturing, we choose efficacy and we say so.
and we say so, which is the rare partWhy manufacturing in Europe is already a filter
European law bans around 1,300 ingredients in cosmetics that are still permitted in the United States. Before we even apply our own criteria, the legal framework we work in has already ruled a lot of things out.
All our products are registered on the CPNP, the European notification portal for cosmetic products. Yes, it's mandatory; we mention it because a lot of people don't know it exists.
What's inside, how much of it, and what's been proven
We tell you the concentrations, but we're not playing whose-is-bigger. Every active has an efficacy window: below it nothing happens, above it you just get more irritation. Our job is to land inside that window.
Pure retinol at 0.3%
In WowYoung · the maximum European law allows in a facial productCapixyl™ al 5%
In Follicool · biopeptide with red clover extract. The top of the intensive-use range the manufacturer recommendsSaw palmetto at 85%
In Growzilla · 320 mg of standardised extract per capsuleActs on the enzyme involved in male pattern hair loss.
Niacinamide at 5%
Vitamin B3, across the whole Handsomefyer range. Studies show an effect from 2% and significant results at 5%And the ones without a percentage
Vitamin C, ferulic acid, peptides, antioxidant extractsWhen an active works in a formula alongside others, the isolated figure says little. What matters there is the stability of the whole thing, and that gets tested in the lab, not printed on the label.
Why “more percentage” is almost never better
A cosmetic active works like ibuprofen: there's a dose below which you feel nothing, and one above which only the side effects go up. With niacinamide, going past 5% doesn't control shine any better: it reddens.
Retinol is the exception that proves the rule, and that's why we use the maximum: European law put the ceiling exactly where the benefit stops outweighing the irritation. Going to the legal limit here means going to the useful limit.
So when you see a brand boasting about containing three times as much of something, the right question isn't how much is in there, but at what concentration the supporting studies sit.
The small print behind these numbers
Retinol. In vivo, 8 weeks, double-blind, split-face, vehicle-controlled. 64 female volunteers aged 40 to 65, daily application, dermatological assessment at weeks 4 and 8. Further trial at 24 weeks: tactile roughness −53%.
Biomimetic peptides. In vivo, 28 days, 21 men with androgenetic alopecia, Norwood III-V. Shampoo at 3% and ampoule at 10%, three times a week: the same protocol as the Hairicane + Follicool routine. In vitro, KRT1 keratin synthesis +26%.
Capixyl™ · efficacy. 4 months, leave-in product, 14 treated against 15 on placebo: growth index +46% versus −33% for the placebo. Second study, shampoo, 90 days, 23 volunteers: hair in the growth phase +9% on average (up to +22%) and hair in the shedding phase −42% on average (up to −79%).
Capixyl™ · safety. HRIPT on 112 volunteers with no irritation and no sensitisation. Non-mutagenic (Ames test), non-phototoxic, 100% biodegradable at 28 days and non-toxic to aquatic life. The manufacturer puts intensive use between 1.5% and 5%: we go to the top of the range.
Niacinamide at 5%. Blemish-prone skin: 82% improved at 8 weeks, inflammatory lesions −60%, severity −64%. Skin barrier: water loss −27%, ceramides +34%, fatty acids +67%, filaggrin ×2. Tone: up to 68% inhibition of melanosome transfer. Firmness: collagen to total protein ratio +35%.
Saw palmetto. Randomised double-blind trial in mild and moderate androgenetic alopecia. Take care if you're on anticoagulants: talk to your doctor first.
Madrid and Korea, depending on what the formula needs
Our main lab is in Madrid and the secondary one in South Korea. This isn't shop-window Asian exoticism: there are textures and formulation technologies where Korea is years ahead, and we use them when they add something.
Both work to good manufacturing practice (GMP) under ISO 22716, the international standard for cosmetics. In plain English: written procedures, traceability for every batch, and control of everything going in and out of the plant.
What each certification means
- ISO 22716 (GMP). International good manufacturing practice standard for cosmetics: production, control, storage and dispatch.
- CPNP. Mandatory registration of every product on the European portal before it can be sold.
- Cruelty-free. We don't test on animals. In Europe and Korea that's illegal anyway, so the credit here goes to the law; what is our own decision is that every formula is vegan.
We pass every control with top marks
No formula leaves the lab without going through this. And yes, a few have fallen by the wayside.
Stability
We put the creams through desert heat and polar cold to make sure they survive even if you leave the pot on the beach in August.
Challenge test
Bacteria versus cream, let's see who wins. It checks that the preservative system holds up to real use, with your fingers going into the pot every morning.
Patch test
We check on volunteers with all skin types, sensitive included, whether the product causes reactions. That's what sits behind the phrase “dermatologically tested”.
And the specific ones
HET-CAM for anything applied near the eyes, sun protection factor testing for the sunscreens, and whatever else each format calls for.
Batch release
Every batch that leaves the plant goes through microbiological analysis and quality control before it can be sold. If a batch doesn't meet spec, it isn't released. No exceptions and no discussion.
The colour and the jokes go on the packaging. The results go on your face.
The professionals who use and assess what we make
A cream can be defended with a good ad. In front of someone who deals with skin and hair every day, it can't. That's why we like having them look at it.
Dr. Guillermo Saiz
Aesthetic medicineHe scored the most-used anti-ageing treatments and gave our retinol 10 out of 10.
Dr. José Torres
Emergency doctor · @elmedicodeguardiaHe recommends Banzeye for surviving a twenty-four-hour shift and still looking human.
Dr. Marcel Guiu
GP and university lecturer in Medicine and Physiotherapy · sport and supplementationHe looks at Growzilla and Follicool as the two-pronged approach androgenetic alopecia calls for: blocking DHT from the inside and stimulating the root from the outside.
What he explains in the video
That 95% of hair loss in men is androgenetic alopecia, and that the culprit is a hormone, DHT, which gradually weakens the follicle at the temples and crown until it disappears.
Slowing that process down on a scientific basis means attacking from two sides. From the inside, blocking the enzyme that activates DHT, which is the job of the 85% saw palmetto in Growzilla. From the outside, stimulating microcirculation and feeding the root with high-absorption actives like caffeine and peptides, which is what Follicool does.
His conclusion: in hair health, prevention and consistency are everything.
And behind them, the ones who never appear on camera: the chemists and formulators at the labs in Madrid and Korea, and the pharmacists at the pharmacies that stock us, who read the small print before putting one of our products on their counter.
Two commitments that aren't a June campaign
With the LGBTQ+ community 🏳️🌈
From the start we've said that looking after yourself has no gender and no labels. And that relaxed masculinity is the only kind we're interested in.
We work with Fundación Eddy, which houses and supports young LGBTQ+ people who have had to leave their environment. We've run two campaigns with donations with them and, when we grew the team, we hired through their programme. With Fundación 26D we ran another campaign with a donation.
Why we get involved →With the planet, no posturing
We're not going to tell you we're saving the world with a plastic bottle. What we do do: 100% vegan formulas, packaging without pointless layers of cardboard, manufacturing mostly in Europe, and actives like Capixyl, which is 100% biodegradable at 28 days.
And what we don't do: hang green medals on ourselves that don't survive a scratch.
Our row with greenwashing →Why we're wary of very green brands
Glass looks more sustainable than plastic until you count the energy to produce it, ship it and recycle it. Refills make sense if the original container wasn't already excessive. And an ingredient made from another industry's waste doesn't offset the other 99% of the process.
We'd rather do well the concrete things we can control, and not brag about the ones we can't.
Now you know what's inside. Your turn to try it.
Free shipping over €59 · 14 days to return · Free samples in your order
Questions you ask us about the formulas
Who makes Siwon products?
Our main lab in Madrid and the secondary one in South Korea. The formulas belong to Siwon and we develop them from scratch: you'll never find an identical product on the market.
Are Siwon products vegan and cruelty-free?
Yes. Every formula is 100% vegan and none are tested on animals. All products are also dermatologically tested.
What is CPNP registration?
The Cosmetic Products Notification Portal is the mandatory European register where every cosmetic product must be notified before it can be sold in the European Union. All Siwon products are registered there.
What concentration of actives do they contain?
Whatever the evidence for each active supports. Follicool, for example, contains Capixyl at 5% and the biomimetic peptide complex at 10%, and Hairicane the same complex at 3%. Concentrations appear on each product page.
What testing do they go through before going on sale?
Stability testing, challenge testing for preservative efficacy, patch testing on volunteers, and the format-specific controls such as HET-CAM for eye-area products. On top of that, every batch goes through microbiological analysis and quality control before release.
Does Siwon manufacture in Korea?
Partly. The main lab is in Madrid and the secondary one in South Korea, used when the texture or the formulation technology justifies it.