Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Firming Moisturizer

Editor's Take

Protini earns its firming pitch: five bio-engineered growth factors and a targeted copper peptide make this one of the few peptide moisturizers worth taking seriously.

Four-pillar formula scores

• Performance: 8.7 / 10
• Innovative Ingredients: 9.2 / 10
• Clean Standards: 7.0 / 10
• Formula Sustainability: 8.0 / 10

The Verdict

The olive-derived liquid crystal base gives lightweight barrier support, while marula oil, glycerin, and amino acids cover everyday moisture. Its nine-peptide complex, including sh-Oligopeptide-1 and Copper Palmitoyl Heptapeptide-14, offers unusually credible signaling support for firmness and repair. The clean profile is good rather than pristine, with trace polysorbates, preservatives, and synthetic polymers, though sustainability remains solid overall. Worth it as a high-performance peptide moisturizer, with the trade-off that its biotech polish relies on conventional formulation helpers.

Is Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Firming Moisturizer clean?

DARE scores Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Firming Moisturizer by Drunk Elephant 7.0 / 10 on Clean Standards, the human-health pillar of the Formulation Architecture Model™. That reading comes from the published INCI list read as a system — preservative, fragrance and surfactant choices in context — not from flagging single ingredients in isolation.

What are the key ingredients in Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Firming Moisturizer?

The formula leads with Water/Aqua/Eau, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate. DARE reads the full INCI list below in order, so position and pairing shape how each ingredient contributes under Performance and Innovative Ingredients.

How does DARE score Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Firming Moisturizer?

Under the Formulation Architecture Model™, Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Firming Moisturizer by Drunk Elephant scores Performance 8.7 / 10, Clean Standards 7.0 / 10, Innovative Ingredients 9.2 / 10, and Formula Sustainability 8.0 / 10. Each pillar is scored from the finished formula rather than from isolated ingredient flags.

Read the Formulation Architecture Model™ →

DARE vs single-ingredient apps like Yuka →

Full INCI list

Water/Aqua/Eau, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Bacillus/ Folic Acid Ferment Filtrate Extract, Nymphaea Alba Root Extract, sh-Oligopeptide-1, sh-Oligopeptide-2, sh-Polypeptide-1, sh-Polypeptide-9, sh-Polypeptide-11, Copper Palmitoyl Heptapeptide-14, Heptapeptide-15 Palmitate, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Alanine, Arginine, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Serine, Threonine, Valine, Acetyl Glutamine, Coconut Alkanes, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Aspartic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Lecithin, Butylene Glycol, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Sodium Lactate, Sodium PCA, PCA, Sorbitan Isostearate, Carbomer, Polysorbate 20, Polysorbate 60, Lactic Acid/Glycolic Acid Copolymer, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Xanthan Gum, Isomalt, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopherol, Sodium Benzoate, Phenylpropanol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Symphytum Officinale Callus Culture Extract.