By now you must have already guessed my deep awe and fascination for iUNIK products. I am in love with their serums. From the simplicity of the ingredients to the simple yet eye-pleasing packaging, I am loving their products. I have used their Green Tea Relief serum, Noni Light Oil serum and have few other serums lined up for review, but geez I am already loving their products.

Beta-Glucan Power Moisture Serum

Initially, iUNIK Beta-Glucan Power Moisture Serum was made up of ONLY TWO ingredients – 98% Beta-glucan (BG) and 2% Sodium PCA. They have upgraded the composition of the Beta-Glucan serum to improve the safety of preservation. Nevertheless, the ingredient list is shortlisted to just 6 ingredients and the content of Beta-Glucan is still 98%. I don’t think I own any other product with the ingredient list as minimal as this and with a high content of beta-glucan. To be honest, I had no idea about beta-glucan. Full credit goes to the skincare community for expanding my knowledge on ingredients I never knew existed and for enlightening me with their benefits.

What is Beta-Glucan?

The source of beta-glucans in this serum is from Shiitake mushrooms. (The ones in the picture are not Shiitake mushrooms and were used purely for decorative purposes)
  • The key ingredient in this serum is – Beta-Glucan (98%). Beta-glucans are a group of naturally occurring polysaccharides that are found in the cell walls of certain yeasts, fungi, oats, and in various kinds of mushrooms. In this serum, the source of beta-glucan is from mushrooms (shiitake mushrooms). While they are known to have a number of health benefits, in skincare, beta-glucan provide two-fold higher moisturization, soothe and calm irritated skin, and have effective anti-aging properties.
  • BG works excellently in locking the moisture and thus deeply hydrates the skin from inside out.
  • Studies have shown that BG derived from mushrooms can stimulate collagen synthesis up to 32% and thus have a great anti-aging effect.
  • BG has been clinically proven to be more superior in terms of providing moisturization than HA.
  • For years Hyaluronic acid (HA) has been a well-known moisturizing ingredient in the skincare world and is probably the first ingredient that pops into your head when you think of a moisturizing ingredient. HA is considered the KING of moisturization.
  • Apparently, the Beta-Glucan moisture content measurement result shows that it has a 20% higher moisture storing ability than hyaluronic acid.

My Thoughts

One of the most popular HA products here in Japan is the Hada Labo series, which didn’t impress me at all. But this Beta-Glucan serum is unlike any other HA serums that I have tried.

The texture of this serum is stringy & viscous and at first, I thought it would end up being a tacky/sticky serum. But I was wrong, as this absorbs beautifully without any tackiness and just like its claims, my skin feels plump and deeply moisturized. The serum feels slimy to touch but glides over the skin like silk. After applying this all over my face, I gently pat it in for better absorption. There is hardly any scent to this.

True to its name, this is one powerful moisture serum. Prior to this, I used to think Hyaluronic Acid was THE KING of moisture. Well, now the new KING moisture and hydration are Beta-Glucans.

Conclusion

I have been applying this straight after my toner step and sometimes before my toner. My skin feels plump and moisturized. Having discovered a true beta-glucan serum, there is no turning back from this. This is a simple serum yet highly effective in providing that deep moisturization. Like I said this is a basic simple serum that plumps and hydrates and since I love layering different serums, this goes well with other serums as well. I feel this will be ideal for all skin types as well as sensitive skin.

Ingredients

Water, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Beta-Glucan
(98%), Sodium PCA (2%)

Iunik Beta-Glucan Serum review

Where to buy?

This product was gifted by the brand iUNIK in exchange for my honest opinion. All reviews are my honest opinion. This page contains affiliate links from YesStyle (clearly disclosed) which will help in generating a small commission to maintain this blog.