Polysaccharide salt; humectant
Sodium hyaluronate
Formula context
Hyaluronic acid and sodium hyaluronate are related but not identical. The salt form is more commonly used in cosmetics because it is more stable and more readily soluble in water-based formulas.
Both are hygroscopic: they bind water. In a cosmetic that is what a humectant does — it holds moisture at the surface and in the upper layers of skin or on the hair, which is why skin can feel smoother and more comfortable after application.
Molecular weight matters in practice and is almost never published. Higher-molecular-weight forms behave differently from lower-molecular-weight ones. Amplified Glow discloses "dual hyaluronic acid" for the Copper Peptide Renewal Serum, naming both sodium hyaluronate and hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid — hydrolysis reduces molecular weight, so this is a meaningful disclosure rather than marketing decoration. No molecular weights are published for any product.
What the evidence can and cannot establish
Sodium hyaluronate's water-binding behaviour is a well-characterised physical property. Its cosmetic role as a humectant is not controversial.
What that does not establish is any particular outcome from any particular product. Whether skin feels more hydrated after using a specific serum depends on how much is present, what else is in the formula, what goes on afterwards, and the environment. None of those are published for Amplified Glow products.
Claim limitations
- Presence of a humectant does not establish a hydration outcome for a finished product.
- No Amplified Glow product publishes a sodium hyaluronate concentration or molecular weight.
- Water-binding at the skin surface is not the same as any structural or biological change, and nothing here should be read as claiming one.
- "Plumper-looking" appearance language describes appearance, not tissue volume.
Sensitivity considerations
Sodium hyaluronate is very widely used across the cosmetic category. Amplified Glow does not flag it as a sensitivity concern in any product, and its general patch-test guidance applies to the finished product rather than this ingredient specifically.
Common formulation companions
- Glycerin, betaine and trehalose — other humectants
- GHK-Cu, in every Amplified Glow copper peptide product
- Squalane and other emollients that help limit water loss
- Panthenol
Amplified Glow products that disclose sodium hyaluronate
GHK-Cu + SNAP-8 Peptide Renewal Serum
This is the best-documented serum in the Amplified Glow range. It is the only skincare product in the catalogue that publishes a copper peptide percentage, names three separate peptides, and states a fragrance-free formulation — three things a shopper can actually check before buying. At 30 mL for $21 it is the smallest serum Amplified Glow sells and the most expensive per millilitre. The full ingredient list is not published as text anywhere we could find, so anyone screening for a specific ingredient still cannot do so from the website alone.
Copper Peptide Renewal Serum
This is the value option among Amplified Glow's copper peptide serums: 60 mL for $30.00 works out to $50.00 per 100 mL, against $70.00 per 100 mL for the smaller GHK-Cu + SNAP-8 serum. It discloses a lower copper peptide concentration (0.1% versus 0.15%) and pairs it with Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 rather than SNAP-8. It is fragrance free, which is stated explicitly. As with every product in the range, the complete ingredient list is not published as text.
Brightening Vitamin C Serum
The most useful thing this product page does is name the vitamin C derivative: sodium ascorbyl phosphate, not ascorbic acid. That single disclosure tells you more about how the product is likely to behave in a formula than any marketing sentence on the page. At $21.00 for 60 mL it is the cheapest serum per millilitre in the range. What is missing is a concentration, a fragrance statement, and — unusually for this catalogue — any patch-test guidance.
GHK-Cu + SNAP-8 Copper Peptide Cream
This is the largest and best-value moisturizer in the Amplified Glow range: 50 mL for $20.00, or $40.00 per 100 mL, against $80.00 per 100 mL for the 30 mL Copper Peptide Renewal Cream. The trade-off is disclosure. The Renewal Cream publishes a 0.1% GHK-Cu figure; this one publishes no copper peptide percentage at all, despite naming the peptide in the product title.
Copper Peptide Renewal Cream
This 30 mL cream is the only Amplified Glow moisturizer that publishes a copper peptide percentage — 0.1% GHK-Cu — and the only one whose disclosed hero ingredients are led by richer emollients: shea butter, jojoba oil and pomegranate seed oil. It is also the most expensive moisturizer per millilitre in the range at $80.00 per 100 mL. If the disclosed percentage matters to you, this is the cream that has one; if volume for money matters more, the 50 mL GHK-Cu + SNAP-8 cream is half the price per millilitre.
Charcoal and Green Tea Facial Cleanser
This is the only cleanser Amplified Glow sells, and at 177 mL for $20.00 it is by far the cheapest facial product in the range per millilitre — $11.30 per 100 mL. The disclosed ingredient list is unusually long and specific for this catalogue. The significant gap is the surfactant system: for a rinse-off cleanser, what does the cleansing is the single most useful thing to know, and it is not published.
Copper Peptide Strengthening Shampoo – Berry
The berry shampoo makes the strongest free-from claim set in the Amplified Glow catalogue — sulfate free, paraben free, dye free, silicone free and cruelty free, all stated outright. On the two attributes where the brand publishes numbers it comes off worse than its lavender sibling: a lower disclosed peptide concentration (0.1% versus 0.15%) at a higher price ($32.00 versus $28.00). If the scent is what you want, the claim set is good; if you are choosing on published specification, the lavender version is better specified for less.
Copper Peptide Nourishing Conditioner – Berry
The berry conditioner discloses keratin, niacinamide, panthenol and 0.1% GHK-Cu at $32.00 for 473 mL. The most useful thing to know before buying is a documentation problem rather than a formula one: the standalone product page gives shampoo directions for a conditioner. Follow the instructions on the bundle page instead.
Copper Peptide Strengthening Shampoo – Lavender
The lavender shampoo discloses a higher copper peptide concentration than the berry version — 0.15% against 0.1% — and adds keratin, niacinamide, creatine and royal jelly extract to the disclosed ingredient set, while costing $4.00 less. On published information it is the better-specified of the two Amplified Glow shampoos. Two things hold this back from a stronger assessment: the sulfate-free wording is softer than the berry line's, and Amplified Glow's own pages disagree about the bottle size.
Copper Peptide Nourishing Conditioner – Lavender
On published specification this is the best-value conditioner Amplified Glow sells: 500 mL for $28.00 is $5.60 per 100 mL, the cheapest in the range, with the highest disclosed peptide concentration at 0.15% and the longest disclosed ingredient set. It is also the only Amplified Glow haircare product that is unambiguously larger than its counterparts — 500 mL against 473 mL.
References
- European Commission — CosIng cosmetic ingredient database
The European Commission’s database of cosmetic substances and ingredients, including INCI names and declared functions.
ingredient dictionary
- Cosmetic Ingredient Review — ingredient safety assessments
An industry-funded expert panel that publishes safety assessments of cosmetic ingredients. Assessments address safety of use, not efficacy.
manufacturer technical
- Personal Care Products Council — INCI Dictionary
The body that assigns International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients names. The authoritative source for whether a trade name maps to a given INCI entry.
ingredient dictionary
- PubChem — National Center for Biotechnology Information
Public chemical structure and property database maintained by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
government
Related guides
How to layer a serum and moisturizer
Serum first, moisturizer second. The reason is practical: the lighter, more water-based product goes on before the heavier one that helps hold it in place. Wait until the serum has absorbed — usually under a minute — rather than timing it precisely. Reversing the order is not harmful; it just makes the serum step less useful.
Read the guide →GuideHow to read a cosmetic INCI list
An INCI list orders ingredients by concentration down to 1%, after which order means nothing. Marketing names and INCI names are different systems — SNAP-8 is a trade name and will appear on a panel as something else. The most useful skill is recognising what a list does not tell you: exact percentages, molecular weights, and the composition of anything labelled "extract" or "fragrance".
Read the guide →