Is La Mer for Scars, and Worth the Hype? La Mer Ingredients Reviews 2024

• Creme De La Mer – The Backstory

Creme de la Mer was originally created by Dr. Max Huber, a scientist at NASA. Max Huber was suffered major burns from a lab incident, and in his quest to find the develop the product to heal his skin, he formulated Crème de la Mer out of his home in California. It apparently took him 6,000 experiments to come up with the formula. He was inspired by his love for the sea and noticed that sea kelp, one of the ingredients in what La Mer calls its "miracle broth". The issue here is: there is absolutely no evidence that anyone named Max Huber, who allegedly worked for NASA, ever existed. The story Estee Lauder and La Mer tell is that Huber's daughter sold the rights to Estee Lauder, yet there is no evidence either person existed. It's an interesting, attention-catching story to tell, but no one can prove that it is true. Ok. Let's onto the main ingredients review.

Enjoy up to 6% cashback at La Mer / Sephora / Saks Fifth Avenue / Bloomingdale's / Neiman Marcus and more from Extrabux! Sign up for Extrabux! (What is Extrabux?) Sign-Up Bonus: Free to join it & get $20 welcome bonus!

To start, here's a look at the full ingredient list:

Algae (Seaweed) Extract, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Glycerin, Isohexadecane, Microcrystalline Wax, Lanolin Alcohol, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Extract, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Eucalyptus Globulus (Eucalyptus) Leaf Oil, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Powder, Medicago Sativa (Alfalfa) Seed Powder, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Seed Meal, Sodium Gluconate, Copper Gluconate, Calcium Gluconate, Magnesium Gluconate, Zinc Gluconate, Magnesium Sulfate, Paraffin, Tocopheryl Succinate, Niacin, Water, Beta-Carotene, Decyl Oleate, Aluminum Distearate, Octyldodecanol, Citric Acid, Cyanocobalamin, Magnesium Stearate, Panthenol, Limonene, Geraniol, Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal, Citronellol, Benzyl Salicylate, Citral, Sodium Benzoate, Alcohol Denat., Fragrance.

• Creme De La Mer – The Key Ingredients

| Seaweed (algae) Extract

Among the 37 ingredients on this list, the first ingredient is seaweed (algae) extract. Seaweed Extract or as La Mer calls it miracle broth—La Mer claims that inside every tub of Creme de la Mer there is a tiny bit of the original miracle broth batch created that is only harvested twice a year. According to La Mer, this is part of the reason the product is so expensive. The problem here is that seaweed is just about one of the most abundant resources on earth.

While it does have some wonderful anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and detoxifying benefits, it’s surprisingly highly comedogenic. So if you have skin that is prone to acne, clogged pores or blackheads this cream may not be suitable for your skin.

| Mineral Oil

There's a lot of talk about how mineral oil is the devil for your skin because of its close relation to petroleum, but I think petroleum, mineral oil, and paraffin wax when used in skincare are just meh. I don't think its harmful to the skin in the sense that you'll get cancer the second it touches you. It does, however, have a high comedogenic rating, which means it will clog your pores.

| Synthetic Fragrance

Fragrance, so much synthetic fragrance. While it’s listed last on the ingredient deck, that doesn’t necessarily mean it's a low percentage. A little known tidbit, any ingredient below 1% can be rearranged by the brand in any order within that 1% range. This makes it seem as if certain non-desirable ingredients are lower concentrations while more desirable ingredients are higher up and more towards the middle of the ingredient list. It's a completely pointless ingredient that is only there to "enhance" the user experience and/or cover the smell of chemicals that aren’t appealing. It is a known skin irritant and the #1 cause of contact dermatitis according to the American Academy of Dermatology. It’s also been shown to mimic estrogen, cause hormonal imbalances and trigger asthma/allergies.

| Pore cloggers

Decyl Oleate is a fatty acid emollient ingredient, however, it can be pore-clogging. Lanolin alcohol (basically sheep skin oil) is highly comedogenic for the skin.

| Allergens

There are also several potential fragrance allergens like Eucalyptus Globulus (Eucalyptus) Leaf Oil, Limonene, Geraniol, Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal, Citronellol, Benzyl Salicylate, Citral. While these ingredients are technically "natural", it doesn't necessarily mean they are skin-friendly or can't cause a reaction.

The truth about Creme de La Mer is that it's an incredibly cheap and basic moisturizer that's marketed and hyped up as some sort of skincare miracle. All of the ingredients in Creme de la Mer are abundant and affordable. The actual cost of each jar isn't known, but it's in no way even close to the $85-$175 price tag. There are SO many other moisturizers out there that hydrate the skin the way La Mer does without containing fragrances and irritants like eucalyptus.

Shop Onlinstores:

La Mer (up to 6% cashback at Extrabux)

Sephora (up to 5% cashback at Extrabux)

Saks Fifth Avenue (up to 4% cashback at Extrabux)

Bloomingdale's (up to 2% cashback at Extrabux)

Neiman Marcus (up to 3% cashback at Extrabux)

Extrabux is an international cashback shopping site, offering up to 30% cashback from 10,000+ Stores!

LOOKFANTASTIC, SkinStore, SkinCareRx, Feelunique, Cult Beauty, Sephora, Belk, Estee Lauder, Lancome, La Mer, Kiehl's, Clinique, Elizabeth Arden, Adore Beauty, Sol de Janeiro, Hourglass, Lancer, Shiseido, FOREO, Macy's, etc.

Join to get $20 welcome bonus now! (How does Welcome Bonus work?)