Sucrose
Sucrose is the scientific name for the sugar we all know from the kitchen. In beauty products it is used as a gentle exfoliant, a natural humectant and a skin-conditioning agent. You will find it in face scrubs, lip scrubs, cleansers and moisturising creams.
How it works in skincare
In cosmetics and skincare sucrose works in two ways. Its fine crystals provide mild mechanical exfoliation, buffing away dead skin cells to leave the surface smoother and brighter. At the same time it acts as a humectant, drawing moisture from the air and binding it to the skin, which helps maintain hydration and softness without any greasy feel.
Key benefits
- Gently exfoliates to remove dead skin cells
- Helps smooth rough or bumpy skin texture
- Acts as a humectant to attract and hold moisture
- Improves skin softness and suppleness
- Enhances the spreadability of creams and scrubs
- Gives a natural glow to dull-looking skin
Best for
dry skin, normal skin, dull skin, rough skin texture
Where it comes from
Sucrose is obtained from the juice of sugar cane or sugar beet. Both are fast-growing plants cultivated in many parts of the world, including the UK and Europe.
Products with Sucrose
Not every product on UK Lips lists a full ingredient breakdown — so there may be many more formulas that contain Sucrose than we can show here. These are the comparisons where we’ve confirmed it in the listed ingredients.