St. Ives Renewing Moisturizer for skin with dark spots
Collagen
Elastin
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil- Hydrolyzed Collagen
- Hydrolyzed Elastin
Average
- AverageNormal Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for skin with dark spots; other moisturizers fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with dark spots: hyperpigmentation, sun spots, and uneven skin tone. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate moisturizing for your normal skin due to ingredients like propylene glycol and dimethicone, which hydrate and smooth skin texture, but these are mostly supportive and irrelevant for your main goal of pigmentation.
- Carthamus tinctorius seed oil and hydrolyzed collagen provide emollient and collagen stimulation actions, offering general skincare benefits that are not optimized for your specific concerns.
- The safety profile is good, with no risks of irritation for your normal skin due to the absence of prohibited or harsh ingredients.
How to apply
- Could be used as part of your AM and PM routine. Start using it 3 times a week and move to daily use if your skin likes it.
- Apply this moisturizer after your cleanser and toner, right before your morning SPF.
- Gently press a small amount of the moisturizer into your skin. Avoid rubbing it too hard so it absorbs nicely.
- For the best moisture, you can apply it when your skin is slightly damp. This helps your skin stay soft and happy.
- Remember to avoid the eye area when applying. Always do a patch test before your first use.
Questions and answers
How well does St. Ives Renewing work for skin with dark spots?
St. Ives Renewing Moisturizer works only moderately for skin with dark spots because its ingredients are mostly supportive and not optimized for fading dark spots. A moisturizing treatment for skin with dark spots needs effective brightening ingredients, soothing components, and moisturizing agents that align with pigmentation goals while keeping skin soft and smooth.
Which ingredients make this cream a good fit for skin with dark spots?
This cream is an average fit for skin with dark spots because its ingredients like propylene glycol, dimethicone, safflower seed oil, and collagen hydrate and smooth the skin, but they do not target pigmentation. A moisturizing treatment that fits this skin better needs effective brightening ingredients and soothing components that address pigmentation concerns while maintaining hydration.
What does Collagen do for skin with dark spots?
Collagen helps reduce skin pigmentation and calm redness when used regularly. It is unlikely to cause irritation and supports an even, smooth skin tone.
What does Hydrolyzed Elastin do for skin with dark spots?
Hydrolyzed elastin helps keep skin soft and smooth, but it does not directly fade or treat dark spots. To effectively target dark spots, skin of this type needs brightening ingredients like vitamin C or niacinamide alongside moisturizers.
Where does this cream go in a skincare routine for skin with dark spots?
This moisturizing treatment goes near the end of your morning and evening routines, right before sunscreen in the morning. It helps hydrate and smooth your normal skin, though skin with dark spots needs targeted brightening ingredients like vitamin C or niacinamide to specifically fade discoloration.
The Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2022International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2020
Can I use this cream with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this moisturizer with retinol by applying it after your retinol treatment to help keep your skin soft and smooth while buffering against potential dryness. A product of this type for skin with dark spots needs targeted brightening ingredients like vitamin C or niacinamide to effectively fade discoloration.
How often should I use this cream?
You can use this moisturizing treatment twice daily to keep your skin soft and hydrated. Daily application helps maintain moisture and supports skin barrier function with a low risk of irritation.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Health Science Reports, 2021
Can this cream clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for skin with dark spots?
This cream is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts for your skin, as it has a good safety profile with no harsh ingredients. However, to truly target dark spots, this skin needs specialized brightening ingredients like vitamin C or niacinamide.
Can I use this cream around the eyes or on my body?
You can use this cream on your body and around the eyes, as it has a good safety profile with a low risk of irritation. This type of product needs hydrating ingredients like propylene glycol and dimethcosine, along with soothing plant oils, to keep these areas soft and smooth.
Is this cream fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no drying alcohol and contains fragrance (parfum, coumarin, geraniol, hexyl cinnamal, and linalool). Cetyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol, which soften the skin.
What the research says
The use of cosmetic products containing collagen or its peptides improves the general condition of the skin, reduces wrinkle depth, improves hydration and density, reduces transepithelial water loss, and delays the aging process, while oral bioactive collagen peptides also reduce nail breakage.
Current Issues in Molecular Biology, 2024Both oral and topical collagen supplements help delay the skin aging process by improving moisture, elasticity, and hydration, with no differences arising between the two types of collagen.
Dermatology Practical & Conceptual, 2022Safflower seed oil and its active compound acacetin inhibit UVB-induced MMP-1 expression and regulate JNK1/2 and c-jun phosphorylation in HaCaT cells and human dermal fibroblasts, indicating potential as anti-wrinkle agents.
Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2020Topical application of TAC/Collagen postbiotics gel improved skin moisture score and inflammation index, and reduced porphyrins and brown spots in 20 volunteers with acne vulgaris.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022Topical collagen tripeptide application improved skin wrinkles, elasticity, and density while reducing advanced glycated end products in 22 Asian women over 4 weeks.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2022Marine collagen extracted from Greenland halibut skin showed a non-cytotoxic effect on fibroblast cells and provided a slight skin hydration effect when incorporated into cosmetic hydrogel formulations at dosages of 0.1, 0.25, and 0.5% in 23 healthy volunteers.
Marine Drugs, 2023Topical application of a 0.1% copper-zinc malonate-containing cream significantly enhanced elastin biosynthesis and induced elastic fibre regeneration in photoaged facial skin of 21 female patients after 6 weeks of treatment compared to baseline.
Experimental Dermatology, 2009A betaine-based deep eutectic solvent successfully enhanced the transdermal delivery of elastin peptide, which improved skin barrier repair, reduced melanin secretion and deposition, and stimulated the secretion of procollagen I and elastin.
Biomaterials Advances, 2024Bioactive recombinant humanized elastin (RHE) gel effectively restores skin elasticity, reverses UV-induced damage and oxidative stress, and promotes extracellular matrix remodeling in zebrafish and aged mice models compared to commercial vitamin E and recombinant humanized collagen gels.
Materials Today. Bio, 2025Safflower oil body-human epidermal growth factor microgel emulsions mixed with xanthan gum enhance transdermal absorption, regulate inflammation, accelerate angiogenesis, and promote re-epithelialization and remodeling in full-layer skin wounds in rats.
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2022
Why other moisturizers fit skin with dark spots better
Niacinamide significantly decreased hyperpigmentation and increased skin lightness compared with vehicle alone after 4 weeks of use in women by inhibiting melanosome transfer.
The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Topical oxidized glutathione significantly decreases the skin melanin index and improves moisture content, smoothness, wrinkle formation, and elasticity compared to placebo in healthy women.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2014Topical application of Lactobacillus plantarum-GMNL6 enhanced collagen synthesis and SPTSSA gene expression while reducing melanin synthesis, Staphylococcus aureus biofilm, and Cutibacterium acnes proliferation, leading to clinical improvements in skin moisture, color, spots, wrinkles, UV spots, and porphyrins in human volunteers.
International Journal of Medical Sciences, 2021
Ingredients
Propylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, Peg-100 Stearate, Stearic Acid, Carbomer, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Hydrolyzed Elastin, Triethanolamine, Cetyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Disodium Edta, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum, Coumarin, Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sof铆a Perea P茅rez, MD, MSc
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Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
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Victoria Derkova, MS
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Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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