Let’s stir up some magic in the lab with today’s hot topic: skin delivery systems in cosmetics and how they can make or break the performance of your formula.

If you have ever compared two products with the same active and wondered why one delivers results while the other does nothing, the answer is usually not the ingredient list. It is the delivery system. The skin is designed to keep things out. That means your clever molecule needs the right vehicle to reach the right place on or in the skin, at the right speed, without ruining the texture or the user’s experience.

Why Skin Delivery Systems In Cosmetics Matter So Much

Your active is only as good as the way you deliver it. Skin delivery systems in cosmetics do three big jobs at once. They decide where the active spends most of its time. They influence how quickly the active appears on the skin. They shape the sensorial experience. A beautiful delivery system allows good spread, pleasant slip and a clean finish. A poor one feels sticky, greasy or tight, even if the chemistry on paper looks perfect. This is why thinking about skin delivery systems in cosmetics early in development saves months of frustration later.

Start With One Simple Question: Where Should The Active Work

Before you choose liposomes, lamellar emulsions, CO2 extracts, freeze-dried, etc., pause and answer a few simple questions.

Where should the active mainly act? Surface radiance and optical effect, light barrier support in the top layers, or deeper comfort over time.

Is the molecule mainly water loving, oil loving or somewhere in between?

What kind of release does your concept need? A quick, fresh feel or a gentle, slow release story.

What finish does your brand promise? Fresh and weightless, silky and satin, or rich and cocooning.

Once you know the job, it becomes much easier to pick between the main skin delivery systems in cosmetics instead of trying to force every active into the same cream or serum base.

Water Based Gels: Clean Homes For Hydrophilic Actives

Water based gels and hydrogels are the most honest and simple skin delivery systems in cosmetics for water loving actives. Think niacinamide, many peptides, panthenol, caffeine, sodium PCA and a lot of plant based polysaccharides.

A good gel gives immediate freshness, low occlusion and a very intuitive story for sensitive skin, oily skin and layering routines. It sits comfortably under SPF and make up and can be made almost fragrance free if you want a calm sensorial profile.

Design points that matter:

• Keep pH in the comfort zone for your active and your gelling system.

• Build a balanced humectant blend so glide is smooth without heavy tack.

• Use chelating agents to keep trace metals under control and slow down oxidation.

• If you add a hint of perfume or lipophilic co-actives, use gentle solubilisers and accept a slight opalescence rather than fighting for “water clear” at any cost.

• Choose your gelling agent carefully to avoid stickiness

Gels struggle when you try to carry very lipophilic actives such as retinol, bakuchiol or many UV filters. In those cases you either encapsulate, move to an emulsion or choose an oil based vehicle.

Lamellar Emulsions: The Everyday Workhorses

Lamellar oil in water emulsions are some of the most useful skin delivery systems in cosmetics because they can comfortably carry both water soluble and oil soluble ingredients in one elegant, daily product.

They mimic aspects of the skin’s own lipid organisation, which is why they often feel plush yet light, reduce visible dryness and still set quickly enough for day use. The water phase is a natural home for hydrophilic actives. The oil phase carries lipophilic ones. The lamellar structure itself gives that soft, cushioned, “water cream” feel.

When you design a lamellar emulsion, pay attention to:

• The oil phase, using a polarity cascade of esters, stable plant oils and squalane so each lipophilic active dissolves where it should.

• The pH of the water phase, so peptides, niacinamide or acid derivatives all stay in their comfort zones.

• The overall sensorial arc, from first slip to final finish, because this is where your brand’s signature texture lives.

Lamellar emulsions are excellent choices for brightening creams that combine niacinamide with fat soluble vitamin C derivatives, daily moisturisers with multiple actives and barrier creams that need both humectants and lipids in one step.

Oil Gels And W/O Emulsions: When Lipophilic Actives Take The Lead

Sometimes the best skin delivery systems in cosmetics are oil continuous. Water in oil emulsions and anhydrous oil serums shine when your stars are lipophilic or when you need extra protection and richness.

Retinoids, bakuchiol, lipid based antioxidants, many CO₂ extracts and fat soluble vitamins usually feel more at home in an oil rich environment. Night products, cold climate formulas and very dry or compromised skin often respond better to these richer, more occlusive vehicles.

To keep them modern and wearable:

• Protect the oils with a good antioxidant system and smart packaging so they stay fresh.

• Use a touch of modern oil gellants to turn runny oils into smooth, serum like textures that do not drip or feel waxy.

• Balance fast spreading esters with more substantive emollients so the product feels cocooning but not greasy.

Oil based systems are not ideal if you want a fast, shine free daytime finish or if the concept depends on high loads of water soluble actives. In those cases, lamellar emulsions or water serums are usually better choices.

Encapsulation And Lipid Particles: When Simple Vehicles Are Not Enough

Encapsulation is where many founders first fall in love with the idea of advanced skin delivery systems in cosmetics. Liposomes, niosomes, solid lipid nanoparticles and other carriers can genuinely help when used intelligently.

They can:

• Shield fragile molecules from light, oxygen and hydrolysis.

• Soften the irritation curve of strong actives by slowing their release.

• Help bias deposition toward the stratum corneum or follicles, depending on size and composition.

Liposomes and niosomes often pair beautifully with gels and lamellar emulsions for delicate, water soluble actives such as certain peptides. Lipid nanoparticles work well for retinoids and other lipophiles that you want to stabilise and deliver more gently in creams or lotions. 

The key is to choose encapsulation when you have a real reason, not just for marketing theatre. Always check that your carrier stays intact and elegant in the final base across stability, because surfactants, electrolytes and alcohol can disrupt these systems if they are not chosen carefully.

Matching Actives To Skin Delivery Systems In Cosmetics

Here is a simple way to think about matching your hero ingredients to the right delivery family.

Vitamin C:

• L ascorbic acid prefers low pH water gels or serums, in protected packs.

• More stable derivatives like ascorbyl glucoside or SAP or MAP usually fit well into mid to neutral pH gels and lamellar creams.

• Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate is lipophilic and often works best in oil gels, water in oil or as the oil phase active in lamellar emulsions.

Retinoids and bakuchiol:

• Love oil based environments, benefit from antioxidants and opaque or tinted packs.

• Often feel and perform better in oil gels, water in oil systems or lamellar creams where the oil phase is designed around them.

• Encapsulation is preferred, to soften irritation or simply use bakuchiol instead of vitamin A

Niacinamide and many peptides:

• Hydrophilic. They are very happy in gels and lamellar emulsions that keep pH in a gentle range.

Salicylic acid:

• Needs smart handling. It can be used in low pH water gels or cleansers, and sometimes in encapsulated forms in more comfortable leave ons.

Before saying goodbye

Skin delivery systems in cosmetics are not just a technical detail. They are the engine room of performance and the backbone of your sensorial story. Choose the delivery system early, place each active in the phase it prefers, design the feel deliberately and then test that behaviour over time. And as always, remember that whatever delivery strategy you choose, your formulas, labels and claims still need to respect the cosmetic regulations in every country where you sell.

Here’s to formulas that work and brands that thrive!

From my lab to yours,
Rose