Meet the hydrating, barrier-supporting skin-conditioning ingredient quietly becoming one of skincare’s most talked-about actives.
Hyaluronic acid. Niacinamide. Peptides. Ceramides.
Every few years, an ingredient moves from the back of the INCI list to the center of the skincare conversation. And we believe Beta-glucan is the next one.
While beta-glucan isn't actually new, interest in the ingredient is growing alongside a larger shift toward barrier-first skincare. As consumers move away from constantly exfoliating, stripping, and resurfacing their skin, ingredients that prioritize hydration, comfort, and skin barrier support are taking on a new importance.
And beta-glucan does exactly that.
At Lenox and Sixteenth, we formulate with beta-glucan in The Prep Pads Daily Skin Conditioning System, where it works as a skin-conditioning agent to help support the look of a smoother, more balanced complexion.
Here’s everything you need to know about beta-glucan in skincare, its benefits, how it compares to other popular hydrating ingredients, and why you may be seeing much more of it in your skincare routine.
What is beta-glucan?
Beta-glucan is a naturally occurring polysaccharide—a type of complex carbohydrate composed of glucose molecules. Different forms of beta-glucan can be found naturally in sources including oats, barley, yeast, fungi, mushrooms, bacteria, and algae. You might be more familiar with this ingredient in the world of fiber and healthy eating.
And although beta-glucan may sound like a newly discovered skincare active, it has actually been studied for decades. Its potential applications span areas including immune function, wound healing, hydration, and skin health.
What is new is the attention it's receiving from the beauty industry and at Lenox and Sixteenth we always love to be at the forefront of new skincare technology and sourcing exceptional ingredients.
What does beta-glucan do for skin?
Beta-glucan is a multifunctional skincare ingredient, but one of its most relevant roles in a daily skincare routine is as a skin-conditioning and hydrating agent.
It helps attract and retain moisture while supporting a smoother, more comfortable-looking complexion.
Research into different forms of beta-glucan has also investigated potential antioxidant, soothing, barrier-supporting, and skin-repair properties.
That combination is precisely what makes beta-glucan compelling.
Instead of approaching better skin by aggressively removing, peeling, or resurfacing, beta-glucan represents another philosophy:
Support the skin. Hydrate it. Condition it. Help create an environment in which it can function at its best.
What are the benefits of beta-glucan for skin?
1. Beta-glucan helps support skin hydration
One of the primary reasons beta-glucan is used in skincare is its ability to function as a humectant. Humectants help attract and retain water, making them particularly valuable in products designed for dry or dehydrated skin.
Hydration has an immediate impact on the appearance of the complexion. When the outer layers of skin are adequately hydrated, skin can look smoother, softer, plumper, and more luminous.
2. Beta-glucan supports the skin barrier
The skin barrier—primarily associated with the outermost layer of the epidermis—is responsible for helping keep water in and external stressors out.
When that barrier isn't functioning optimally, skin may become more susceptible to dryness, discomfort, roughness, and sensitivity.
Beta-glucan has become especially interesting within the barrier-care conversation because research has explored its potential to support skin barrier function in addition to its moisturizing properties.
This makes it particularly relevant to the modern shift toward barrier-supporting skincare: formulas designed not simply to create visible change, but to help maintain the environment necessary for healthy-looking skin.
3. Beta-glucan can help soothe and condition the complexion
Beta-glucan is also valued for its soothing properties.
For skin that feels stressed by environmental exposure or a complicated skincare routine, conditioning ingredients can provide an important counterbalance.
At Lenox and Sixteenth, we think about beta-glucan through this lens: a skin-conditioning agent that helps support the look of a smoother, more balanced complexion.
Rather than forcing a dramatic overnight transformation, beta-glucan belongs to a category of ingredients that help support the skin consistently.
4. Beta-glucan has antioxidant potential
Research has also examined beta-glucan for its antioxidant activity.
Antioxidants are valuable in skincare because they can help counteract oxidative stress associated with free radicals and environmental exposure.
This is one reason a sophisticated skincare routine doesn't necessarily rely on one hero ingredient. Different ingredients can support different aspects of skin function—from hydration and barrier support to antioxidant protection.
Beta-glucan is particularly interesting because its potential benefits aren't limited to a single function.
Is beta-glucan good for dry or dehydrated skin?
Yes. Beta-glucan can be particularly relevant for dry and dehydrated skin because of its humectant and skin-conditioning properties.
But dry skin and dehydrated skin aren't necessarily the same thing.
Dry skin typically refers to a skin type that produces less sebum, while dehydration describes a lack of water within the skin. That means oily, combination, and acne-prone complexions can still experience dehydration.
Because beta-glucan is focused on hydration and conditioning rather than adding heavy oils, it can have a place in routines across a variety of skin types.
Is beta-glucan good for sensitive skin?
Beta-glucan is increasingly appearing in products developed around sensitive skin and barrier support because of its hydrating and soothing properties.
That doesn't mean every product containing beta-glucan is automatically appropriate for every sensitive complexion. A finished skincare product is more than a single ingredient, and tolerance depends on the complete formula.
But beta-glucan itself has become especially interesting as skincare moves toward ingredients that support comfort and hydration alongside performance.
For people who use retinoids, vitamin C, exfoliating acids, or receive professional treatments, this philosophy becomes particularly relevant: a high-performance routine also needs steps dedicated to conditioning and supporting the skin barrier.
Beta-glucan vs. hyaluronic acid: What's the difference?
Hyaluronic acid has become nearly synonymous with hydration in skincare. So where does beta-glucan fit?
The answer isn't necessarily beta-glucan versus hyaluronic acid.
It's beta-glucan and hyaluronic acid.
Both are used in skincare for their relationship with hydration, but they're distinct molecules with different properties. Hyaluronic acid is a glycosaminoglycan naturally present in the body and widely used in topical skincare for hydration. Beta-glucan is a polysaccharide valued for its hydrating and skin-conditioning properties, with research also exploring its soothing, antioxidant, and barrier-supporting potential.
Rather than asking which ingredient is “better,” look for intelligent formulations that allow complementary hydrators to work together.
Which is exactly what you'll find in The Prep Pads.
Why The Prep Pads pair beta-glucan with hyaluronic acid
Beta-glucan isn't working alone in The Prep Pads Daily Skin Conditioning System.
The formula brings together multiple complementary hydrating and conditioning ingredients, including:
Beta-glucan to help condition the skin and support the look of a smoother, more balanced complexion.
Sodium hyaluronate, a form of hyaluronic acid, as part of the formula's approach to skin hydration.
Saccharide isomerate, a moisture-binding ingredient that complements the formula's long-lasting hydration benefits.
Trehalose, a sugar-derived humectant used to help maintain hydration.
Urea, a component of skin's natural moisturizing factors that supports hydration and conditioning.
Serine, an amino acid associated with the skin's natural moisturizing factors.
Allantoin, a skin-conditioning ingredient valued for its soothing properties.
Together, they create a moisture-binding complex that helps The Prep Pads deliver long-lasting, 24-hour hydration while supporting a barrier-first approach to daily skin prep.
Beta-glucan and skin conditioning
This is where beta-glucan becomes particularly important to the Lenox and Sixteenth philosophy.
We're accustomed to talking about cleansing, exfoliating, treating, and moisturizing our skin.
We don't talk enough about conditioning it.
Daily skin conditioning is the practice of preparing and supporting the complexion through hydration, barrier care, and controlled mechanical stimulation before applying the rest of your skincare.
The Prep Pads were engineered specifically around this idea.
Each dual-sided pad combines a barrier-first conditioning formula with a unique physical mechanism.
One side features soft, non-abrasive silicone beads that provide controlled mechanical stimulation and help evenly distribute the formula across the complexion without relying on rough fibers or aggressive exfoliation.
The other is ultra-smooth, designed to saturate the skin with conditioning hydration.
Beta-glucan is part of what makes that conditioning step possible.
Is beta-glucan an exfoliant?
No—and this distinction matters.
Beta-glucan is not an exfoliating acid.
Unlike AHAs such as glycolic and lactic acid or BHAs such as salicylic acid, beta-glucan isn't included in skincare for the purpose of exfoliating dead surface cells.
Its role is much more aligned with hydration, conditioning, soothing, and barrier support.
This is also an important distinction with The Prep Pads.
Despite the word “pads,” they're not designed as traditional exfoliating pads. The silicone-beaded surface provides controlled mechanical stimulation rather than abrasive exfoliation, while the formula saturates the complexion with conditioning hydration.
Think condition, not strip.
Can you use beta-glucan with retinol?
Beta-glucan can be incorporated into skincare routines that also contain retinoids.
In fact, hydrating and conditioning ingredients can be particularly valuable when building a routine around powerful actives, since retinoids may sometimes be associated with dryness or irritation.
Rather than viewing every skincare ingredient as another “active” that needs its own night in your routine, think of beta-glucan as part of the support system around your actives.
Condition first. Treat second.
Can you use beta-glucan with vitamin C?
Beta-glucan can also be used within routines containing vitamin C.
Again, they serve different purposes.
Vitamin C is commonly incorporated into skincare routines for antioxidant protection and brightening benefits, while beta-glucan can complement the routine through hydration and conditioning.
There is no need to choose between the two simply because they're both skincare ingredients.
A well-engineered routine is about assembling ingredients with complementary functions rather than searching for one molecule expected to do everything.
Can you use beta-glucan every day?
Beta-glucan is commonly formulated into products intended for regular use.
That's particularly important to the philosophy behind The Prep Pads, which were designed as a Daily Skin Conditioning System.
Instead of relying on aggressive exfoliation to create periodic change, daily conditioning focuses on consistency: regularly hydrating, preparing, and supporting the complexion.
It's a fundamentally different way of thinking about skin prep.
Why is beta-glucan becoming so popular in skincare?
For years, skincare innovation largely centered around increasingly powerful actives: stronger acids, sophisticated retinoids, resurfacing treatments, peels, and procedures.
Now the conversation is expanding.
Consumers are increasingly interested in the skin barrier, hydration, recovery, sensitive skin, and maintaining skin resilience alongside visible results.
Beta-glucan sits at the intersection of those conversations.
It's not compelling because it's the newest ingredient.
It's compelling because skincare may have finally caught up to what the ingredient represents.
Performance doesn't have to come at the expense of the skin barrier.
The future of skincare is conditioned.
Beta-glucan may be having its moment, but its relevance goes beyond an ingredient trend.
It represents a larger evolution in how we think about exceptional skin.
Rather than constantly asking what else we can remove, resurface, or correct, we're beginning to ask a different question:
What does our skin need in order to perform at its best?
For Lenox and Sixteenth, the answer begins with conditioning.
The Prep Pads combine beta-glucan with sodium hyaluronate, saccharide isomerate, trehalose, urea, serine, allantoin, and a dual-sided silicone mechanism to create a first-of-its-kind approach to daily skin prep.
24-hour hydration. Barrier-first conditioning. Controlled mechanical stimulation. One daily step.
Because the next era of skincare isn't just about treating your skin.
It's about conditioning it.