Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme Versus Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream - UK

See how these products line up with your preferences

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme versus Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream UK .

Last updated on February 19, 2024. Published on February 25, 2024

Overview

What they are

These products are both reef safe general moisturizers. They have a total of 10 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain BHA and Vitamin E

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, anti aging, dry skin, brightening skin and scar healing

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, parabens or sulfates

What's Inside

They both contain fragrances, oils and silicones

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that need an update? Let us know.

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Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream

General Moisturizer American Brand United States

General Moisturizer

All-purpose moisturizers hydrate the top layer of skin cells.

General Moisturizer

All-purpose moisturizers hydrate the top layer of skin cells.

Price

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Buy Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme

Starts at $51.25

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Buy Ultra Facial Cream

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and view relevant ingredients.

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme 40 ingredients

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream 35 ingredients

alcohol-free

silicon-free

fragrance-free

sulfate-free

paraben-free

oil-free

fungal-acne safe

reef-safe

eu-allergen-free

vegan

cruelty-free

alcohol-free

silicon-free

fragrance-free

sulfate-free

paraben-free

oil-free

fungal-acne safe

reef-safe

eu-allergen-free

vegan

cruelty-free

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme 40 ingredients

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream 35 ingredients

Notable Ingredients

BHA

Vitamin E

Exfoliators

Hyaluronic Acid

Benefits

Hydrating (2)

Good For Oily Skin

Reduces Large Pores

Anti-Aging

Scar Healing (2)

Acne Fighting

Brightening (3)

Concerns

Drying (2)

May Worsen Oily Skin (2)

Irritating (4)

Rosacea (3)

Eczema (3)

Notable Ingredients

BHA

Vitamin E

Ceramides

Benefits

Hydrating (4)

Anti-Aging

Scar Healing

Acne Fighting

Brightening (3)

Concerns

May Worsen Oily Skin (3)

Acne Trigger (2)

Irritating

Rosacea

Eczema

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Ingredients Compared

Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme 40 ingredients

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream 35 ingredients

Water • Heptyl Undecylenate • Glycerin • Propanediol • Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter • Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride • Stearic Acid • Elaeis Guineensis Oil • Algae Extract • Chlorella Vulgaris Extract • Salicornia Herbacea Extract • Caffeine • Sea Salt • Lauroyl Lysine • Salicylic Acid • Hydrolyzed Algin • Sodium Hyaluronate • Tocopherol • Dimethicone • Polyglyceryl-10 Pentastearate • Cetyl Alcohol • Hydrogenated Lecithin • Glyceryl Stearate • Sodium PCA • Peg-100 Stearate • Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate • Behenyl Alcohol • Xanthan Gum • Caprylyl Glycol • Sodium Hydroxide • Parfum • Farnesol • Linalool • Citronellol • Citral • Limonene • Benzyl Benzoate • Geraniol • Sodium Citrate • Phenoxyethanol

Water • Glycerin • Cyclohexasiloxane • Squalane • Bis-Peg-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane • Sucrose Stearate • Stearyl Alcohol • Peg-8 Stearate • Myristyl Myristate • Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate • Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil • Phenoxyethanol • Persea Gratissima Oil • Glyceryl Stearate • Cetyl Alcohol • Oryza Sativa Bran Oil • Olea Europaea Fruit Oil • Chlorphenesin • Stearic Acid • Palmitic Acid • Disodium EDTA • Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer • Carbomer • Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil • Xanthan Gum • Ethylhexylglycerin • Sodium Hydroxide • Tocopherol • Glycine Soja Oil • Pseudoalteromonas Ferment Extract • Myristic Acid • Hydroxypalmitoyl Sphinganine • BHT • Salicylic Acid • Citric Acid

Ingredients Side-by-side

Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.

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Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Water

What it does: Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Community Rating: Loved

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. Talk about multi-purpose! If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme contains this as ingredient number 1.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream UK contains this as ingredient number 1.

Glycerin

What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Solvent

Community Rating: Loved

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

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

Learn more about Glycerin

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme contains this as ingredient number 3.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream UK contains this as ingredient number 2.

Stearic Acid

What it does: Cleansing, Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising, Masking

Community Rating: Very Disliked

Stearic Acid is a fatty acid. It is an emollient, emulsifier, and texture enhancer.

As an emollient, stearic acid helps soften skin. It aids the skin's protective barrier by preventing water loss. It also provides a gentle cleansing effect without stripping away natural oils.

Stearic acid may also be used to enhance the texture of products. It can add volume and stabilize ingredients such as water and oil. This can help water and oil ingredients from separating.

Sources of stearic acid include animal or vegetable fats/oils such as coconut or shea. It can be naturally found in butter, cocoa butter, shea butter, vegetable fats, and animal tallow.

This ingredient may not be Malassezia folliculitis, or fungal-acne safe.

Learn more about Stearic Acid

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme contains this as ingredient number 7.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream UK contains this as ingredient number 19.

Salicylic Acid

What it does: Masking, Preservative, Skin Conditioning

Community Rating: Liked

Salicylic Acid (also known as beta hydroxy acid or BHA) is one of the most well-known ingredients for treating skin that struggles with blackheads and acne. It helps to exfoliate both the skin's surface and pores, and also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.

This multitasking property makes it a great ingredient for cleaning out pores, controlling oil production, and reducing inflammation.

Unlike AHAs which are water soluble, Salicylic Acid is oil soluble. This means that it's able to exfoliate the inside of pores and reduce blackheads.

Concentrations of 0.5-2% are recognized by the U.S. FDA as an over-the-counter topical acne product.

It can cause irritation and/or dryness if one's skin already has a compromised moisture barrier, so it's best to focus on repairing that before introducing a Salicylic Acid into your routine.

In general, Salicylic Acid is a great ingredient for oily acne-prone skin.

While salicylic acid does not increase sun-sensitivity, we still recommend wearing SPF.

If you are looking for the ingredient called BHA or Butylated Hydroxyanisole, click here.

Learn more about Salicylic Acid

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme contains this as ingredient number 15.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream UK contains this as ingredient number 34.

Tocopherol

What it does: Antioxidant, Masking, Skin Conditioning

Community Rating: Liked

Tocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.

Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.

Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.

You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.

There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.

Learn more about Tocopherol

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme contains this as ingredient number 18.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream UK contains this as ingredient number 28.

Cetyl Alcohol

What it does: Emollient, Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising, Masking

Community Rating: Very Disliked

Cetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.

Cetyl Alcohol is not related to SD alcohol, denatured alcohol, or ethyl alcohol. The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.

Its main roles are:

Learn more about Cetyl Alcohol

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme contains this as ingredient number 21.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream UK contains this as ingredient number 15.

Glyceryl Stearate

What it does: Emollient, Emulsifying

Community Rating: Disliked

Glyceryl Stearate is a mix of glycerin and stearic acid.

Glyceryl Stearate is used to stabilize the mixing of water and oil ingredients. By preventing these ingredients from separating, it can help elongate shelf life. It can also help thicken the product's texture.

As an emollient, it helps soften skin and supports barrier-replenishing ingredients.

In cosmetics, Glyceryl Stearate is often made from vegetable oils or synthetically produced. The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.

Learn more about Glyceryl Stearate

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme contains this as ingredient number 23.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream UK contains this as ingredient number 14.

Xanthan Gum

What it does: Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising, Gel Forming, Skin Conditioning

Community Rating: Disliked

Xanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.

On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.

Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.

Learn more about Xanthan Gum

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme contains this as ingredient number 28.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream UK contains this as ingredient number 25.

Sodium Hydroxide

What it does: Buffering

Community Rating: Mixed

Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.

In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.

Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.

"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.

Learn more about Sodium Hydroxide

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme contains this as ingredient number 30.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream UK contains this as ingredient number 27.

Phenoxyethanol

What it does: Preservative

Community Rating: Very Disliked

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent germ and microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.

It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme contains this as ingredient number 40.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream UK contains this as ingredient number 12.

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