Selfless by Hyram wants you to feel like a saint for buying this. The bottle screams “planet-friendly” like it’s a personality trait.
Here’s the thing nobody’s talking about: the sodium benzoate in this formula breaks down into benzene under heat. That’s the same stuff in car exhaust. The brand counts on you not reading the fine print on preservative degradation.
It’s $38 for 30ml. The claim that got me: “barrier support without compromise.”
Squalane Base
Featherlight — absorbs in 8 seconds flat. No greasy film.
Oat Lipid Blend
Supposedly mimics your skin’s natural lipid ratio. Sounds fancy, feels thin.
Fragrance-Free
Thank god. Smells like nothing. That’s the win.
Photo: Maria Lupan / Unsplash
Hero ingredients are decent — oat lipids for barrier repair, squalane for hydration. But the preservative system is the real story here. Sodium benzoate + citric acid = potential benzene formation at 40°C. That’s a summer car interior.
- Oat Lipids: Softens barrier without suffocating pores
- Squalane: Hydrates fast, doesn’t clog
- Sodium Benzoate: Preservative that degrades into questionable compounds
- Glycerin: Basic humectant, nothing special
Photo: ibnu ihza / Unsplash
Slips on like water — almost too thin. First pump I thought it was a toner. Dries down to nothing, which is both impressive and suspicious for a “barrier” product.
Week 2: My cheeks stopped flaking. But I also got two tiny whiteheads on my jaw — places I never break out. The irony of a barrier serum causing bumps isn’t lost on me.
Photo: Element5 Digital / Unsplash
Redness dropped maybe 15%. Texture stayed exactly the same. Not bad, not life-changing — just expensive water with a guilt complex.
Photo: ONNE Beauty / Unsplash
It’s not greenwash — it’s just mediocre. The formula’s clean enough, but the “planet-friendly” hype outweighs what’s actually in the bottle. You’re paying for the story, not the science.