Anyong Hydra-Moist Cream Versus Anyong Barrier Renew Night Cream

Once applied, this ingredient dries down quickly and leaves a dry, silky finish behind. This also helps improve spreadability and texture.

This ingredient has an excellent safety-record and is non-irritating.

Typical concentrations for cosmetics range from 0.5-62%.

Research on Malassezia growth found no growth on fatty acid esters with chain lengths shorter than 12 carbons (it prefers C11-24).

Since Coco-Caprylate/Caprate is built on C8 and C10 fatty acids, it is out of the range that Malassezia metabolizes, and therefore safe for fungal acne.

When applied to the skin, ectoin helps bind water molecules to protect our skin. The water forms a sort of armor for the parts of our skin cells, enzymes, proteins, and more.

Besides this, ectoin has many uses in skincare:

A study from 2004 found ectoin to counteract the damage from UV-A exposure at different cell levels. It has also been shown to protect skin against both UV-A, UV-B rays, infrared light, and visible light.

Studies show ectoin to have dual-action pollution protection: first, it protects our skin from further pollution damage. Second, it helps repair damage from pollution.

In fact, ectoin has been shown to help with:

Fun fact: In the EU, ectoin is used in inhalation medication as an anti-pollution ingredient.

Ectoin is a highly stable ingredient. It has a wide pH range of 1-9. Light, oxygen, and temperature do not affect this ingredient.

The chemical name for this ingredient is Tetrahydromethylpyrimidine Carboxylic Acid.

Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.

Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.

This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.

Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

This keeps everything from separating in a formula and also breaks down the oily into tiny droplets so your skin can't feel them (also why these formulas feel light and non-greasy).

Typical usage dose ranges anywhere from 0.2-4.8% depending on how much oil is in the formula, and this ingredient works across a wide pH (4-11) + temperature range.

Safety-wise, it's pretty solid. It is reported as a non-irritant and is even recommended for sensitive-skin and sun care.

D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.

Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):

Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.

This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.

Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.

This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.

On the safety side, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe as used in current cosmetic practices + concentrations.

Typical use levels in a formula run about 1-5%.

The CIR Expert Panel has confirmed this ingredient to be nontoxic and clinical studies show no sensitization at cosmetic use concentrations.

True allergic reactions are quite rare: a 15-year retrospective study of 6,751 patients found only 0.31% had a positive reaction (and less than half were considered clinically relevant).

It seemed that when sensitization does occur, it's most commonly linked to topical medication (like corticosteroids) and not cosmetics. Allergic contact dermatitis also appears largely limited to individuals with underlying skin conditions.

Overall, propylene glycol is a well-studied ingredient that most people can tolerate without issue.

As a humectant, Sorbitol helps draw water to the skin. This helps keep the skin hydrated. Sorbitol also helps create a thicker texture in products. You might find sorbitol in your toothpaste and other gels.

It is a non-irritating ingredient that is great for those with dry skin.

Sorbitol is a prebiotic. It helps promote the growth of healthy bacteria on your skin. The bacteria on your skin form a microbiome. This microbiome helps protect your skin from infection and harmful bacteria.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!