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Balance Serum

$92.00

Option

Size

1 oz lasts 3–4 months with twice‑daily use due to our ultra‑concentrated, nutrient‑dense formula.

A regulating tremella mushroom serum (cucumber blueberry & enzymes) that harmonizes oil, hydration, and sensitivity without disruption.
Your skin finds its middle ground.
A nervous system skincare™ formula designed for sensitive women.

SKU: BAL-SERUM

Balance Serum

When your skin can’t seem to settle.

Some skin lives between extremes. Shiny in one place and tight in another. Calm one day and reactive the next. The products sold to fix it swing hard in one direction and leave you more unsettled than before.

This was made for the middle ground. A cucumber and aloe serum carrying 2.5% niacinamide and 1% zinc PCA, with licorice root and a bamboo bioferment. No acids and no enzymes, so there is nothing to activate.

At a glance

Fifteen ingredients · fragrance-free · EWG 2

HydrationBalanced

MinimalMaximum

ActivityBalanced

CalmingActive

ScentNone added

UnscentedAromatic

What is in it

Cucumber Fruit Water · Aqua · Aloe Water · Propanediol · Licorice Root · Glycerin

The first six label lines, largest first.

ScentNone added

WhenAM & PM

UseSerum

The hero · niacinamide and zinc

Two skin-familiar ingredients, at levels you can check against the label. Niacinamide at 2.5% and zinc PCA at 1%.

They are chosen together for the look of even tone and settled shine on skin that swings. Neither one exfoliates, so this can be used twice a day and there is nothing to recover from afterward. One thing worth knowing: zinc PCA is the water-soluble zinc salt. It is not zinc oxide, and it offers no sun protection.

Left out on purpose

No acids. No enzymes. No exfoliation of any kind. No synthetic fragrance and no essential oils. Nothing here strips the skin and nothing rebounds afterward.

The hero pairNiacinamide at 2.5% and zinc PCA at 1%, for the look of even tone and settled shine. Zinc PCA is the water-soluble zinc salt, not zinc oxide.
The baseCucumber fruit water and aloe water. Fresh and soothing, and what gives the serum its light, calming feel.
The fermentsA bamboo bioferment and a vegan silk built from yeast-derived amino acids, for slip and a conditioned feel, with snow mushroom for a plump finish.
Reach for it when youFeel shiny in some places and tight in others. Shift between calm and reactive. React to strong balancing or mattifying actives.
ScentNone added. Only the soft, fresh note of the cucumber and aloe base. No synthetic fragrance and no essential oils.
Where it sits in your routineStep three. Cleanse, then an essence, then this pressed in while skin is still damp, then the Ceramide Barrier Cream or the Defy Face Butter to seal it. If you would rather have it decided for you, the Steady Ritual is exactly that sequence: the Hydrate Cleansing Bar, the Clarity Essence, the Balance Serum, and the Ceramide Barrier Cream.

Full ingredient list

Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Water*+, Aqua (Water), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water*, Propanediol, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Lactobacillus/Arundinaria Gigantea Ferment Filtrate, Gluconolactone****, Zinc PCA, Yeast Amino Acids, Lactobacillus Ferment, Sodium Benzoate****, Tremella Fuciformis (Snow Mushroom) Sporocarp Extract, Sodium Phytate.

*Organic ****ECOCERT-certified +Ethically sourced

Because we prioritize freshness and small-batch production, the list above may occasionally vary from your packaging. The ingredient list printed on your bottle always reflects the exact formula inside.

Free from

Synthetic fragrance · Essential oils · Benzyl alcohol · Acids · Enzymes · Parabens · Dyes · Talc

Truly fragrance-free, with no caveat. The preservation system carries no benzyl alcohol, which is what keeps our water-based butters from using that word.

What you notice

Initial feelFresh, fluid and silky. Never tacky.
AbsorptionSinks in fast, with no tack and nothing to wait for.
LayeringTakes a butter or cream straight over the top.
FinishComfortable and even. Balanced, never shiny or tight.
OverallA quiet, settling layer for skin that cannot quite land.

How to use it

After cleansing

Use on freshly cleansed skin, while it is still slightly damp, for the best slip and absorption.

Place your hands first

Dispense a few pumps into your palms, then rest your hands over your face for a breath before you move. It is a small thing, and it is the part that lets your shoulders drop.

Press it in, slowly

Press gently over the face and neck, moving upward. No rubbing and no pulling. Let the essence sink in on its own while you keep breathing.

Pause before you layer

Let the watery layer settle for a moment. Then follow with your serum, butter, or cream while skin is still dewy.

Morning or evening

Gentle enough for daily use. Nothing here needs to be rushed.

Allergens and sensitivityEvery ingredient named, and who each one matters to

I formulate for skin that reacts to almost everything, including my own. So I build for less, and I name all of it. Here is everything in the bottle, written for anyone with a specific allergy.

Niacinamide & Zinc PCA2.5% and 1% · the hero

The two ingredients doing the evening-out, at levels printed on the label. Neither exfoliates. Zinc PCA is the water-soluble zinc salt and not zinc oxide, so nothing here is a mineral sunscreen and nothing offers sun protection.

Bamboo Bioferment & Snow MushroomLactobacillus/Arundinaria ferment filtrate, Tremella

A gentle ferment and a polysaccharide mushroom, for a conditioned, cushioned feel. Ferment- and fungal-derived, so this is the note for anyone with a mould, yeast, or ferment sensitivity.

Vegan SilkYeast amino acids, Lactobacillus ferment

A silk alternative built from yeast-derived amino acids and a ferment, for slip and a soft, conditioned feel. No silkworm silk and nothing animal-derived. It is yeast- and ferment-derived, so it belongs in the same note above.

Cucumber & Aloe BaseCucumis Sativus, Aloe Barbadensis

The fresh, soothing base. Cucumber is in the melon (Cucurbitaceae) family, named here for anyone with a melon-family allergy, though reactions are uncommon.

Licorice RootGlycyrrhiza Glabra · Fabaceae

A soothing botanical for an even, comfortable look. Licorice is in the pea family, named here for anyone with a legume allergy.

Texture & preservationPropanediol, glycerin, gluconolactone, sodium benzoate, sodium phytate

Texture, humectants and a naturally derived ECOCERT preservation system. It is the reason this one can be called fragrance-free, with no benzyl alcohol.

That is everything in the bottle. Nothing hidden, nothing implied. If a particular ingredient gives you pause, the bamboo ferment, the vegan silk and the snow mushroom especially if you are sensitive to mould or yeast, patch test a small area first. You know your body best.

Care and keepingHow long a bottle lasts, why it is preserved, and keeping it clean

How long a bottle lasts

A few drops covers a face, so a bottle goes further than the size suggests. Most people use less after the first fortnight, once they stop pouring it like a toner.

We have not printed a month figure, because ours would not be yours.

Whether it is preserved, and why

Yes, and it has to be. This is a water-based formula, and water is what makes a preservative necessary. Without one it would not be safe to keep on a bathroom shelf for months.

The system is gluconolactone and sodium benzoate, both ECOCERT-certified. It carries no benzyl alcohol. Benzyl alcohol is a declarable fragrance allergen, and its absence here is the reason this one is called fragrance-free with no caveat attached.

Storing it, and keeping it clean

Cool, out of direct sun, closed between uses. Because it is water-based, dispense onto clean hands rather than dipping wet fingers into the bottle, and keep it off the wet edge of the sink. A preserved product is protected, and it still does better when you are not adding tap water to it twice a day.

If it arrives warm, and when to stop

Warmth in transit is normal, and a hot mailbox is nothing to worry about here. A water-light formula has nothing to melt. Leave it somewhere cool for an hour and it will be exactly as it should be.

What to watch for instead is a change in the formula itself. Separation or cloudiness that was not there when you opened it, or a smell that has shifted. Any of those and you should stop using it and tell us, and we will replace it.

Community accessIncluded free with your purchase

Your purchase includes free access to Rooted & Well™, our holistic community with monthly founder sessions, journaling prompts, meditations, and practitioner-supported resources.

Please note

Formulated for reactive, easily-overwhelmed skin. We suggest a patch test on the inner forearm, left 24 hours, before facial use.

For external use only. Keep away from the eyes, and rinse with water if it gets in.

Nervous System Skincare™ is a language for noticing. It is not a diagnosis, and it belongs alongside your doctors, never instead of them.

Indiefog products are cosmetics, made to cleanse, soften, and comfort skin. They do not treat, cure, or prevent any condition.

Make it a guided ritual

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