Serum
Serum
American United States
Korean South Korea

What's inside

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

No concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

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Water

Skin Conditioning

Methylpropanediol

Solvent

1,2-Hexanediol

Skin Conditioning
Helps hydrate Dry Skin Icon

Niacinamide

Smoothing
Niacinamide IconHelps fight Acne IconHelps with Anti-Aging IconHelps brighten skin IconHelps reduce irritation IconGood for Oily Skin IconGood for Minimizing Pores IconHelps reduce Skin Redness IconGood for Scar Healing IconGood for Dark Spots IconGood for Skin Texture IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

Cyclopentasiloxane

Emollient
Silicon Icon

Cyclohexasiloxane

Emollient
Silicon Icon

Trehalose

Humectant
Helps with Anti-Aging IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

PPG-14 Butyl Ether

Skin Conditioning

Vinyldimethicone

Silicon Icon

Butylene Glycol

Humectant
1 / 0 Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

Glycerin

Humectant
0 / 0 Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconGood for Scar Healing IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl Olivate

Emollient

Cyclomethicone

Emollient
0 / 0 Silicon Icon

Polyglyceryl-2 Stearate

Emulsifying
Not safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Glyceryl Stearate

Emollient
1 / 0 Not safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Stearyl Alcohol

Emollient
2 / 2 Fatty Alcohol IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate

Emollient

Arachidyl Alcohol

Emollient
Fatty Alcohol Icon

Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer

Emulsion Stabilising

Tromethamine

Buffering

Polyglyceryl-4 Oleate

Emulsifying
Not safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Behenyl Alcohol

Emollient
Fatty Alcohol Icon

Centella Asiatica Extract

Cleansing
Helps with Anti-Aging IconHelps reduce irritation IconHelps reduce Skin Redness IconGood for Scar Healing IconGood for Skin Texture IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

Arachidyl Glucoside

Emulsifying

Hydrogenated Lecithin

Emulsifying
Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

Xanthan Gum

Emulsifying

Portulaca Oleracea Extract

Skin Conditioning
Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps reduce irritation IconHelps reduce Skin Redness Icon

Adenosine

Skin Conditioning
Helps with Anti-Aging IconHelps reduce irritation IconGood for Scar Healing Icon

Polysilicone-11

Silicon IconGood for Oily Skin Icon

Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract

Skin Conditioning

Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract

Masking
Helps reduce irritation IconHelps reduce Skin Redness IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

Vitex Agnus Castus Extract

Astringent

Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract

Skin Conditioning

Hydrogenated Olive Oil Unsaponifiables

Emollient
Oil IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract

Skin Conditioning

Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract

Emollient

Solanum Melongena Fruit Extract

Skin Conditioning

Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract

Skin Conditioning

Erythritol

Humectant
Helps hydrate Dry Skin Icon

Mesembryanthemum Crystallinum Extract

Humectant

Mentha Arvensis Leaf Extract

Masking

Corallina Officinalis Extract

Skin Conditioning
Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps reduce Skin Redness Icon

Curcuma Longa Root Extract

Masking
Fragrance Icon

Chlorella Minutissima Extract

Skin Conditioning

Gelidium Cartilagineum Extract

Skin Protecting

Undaria Pinnatifida Extract

Skin Conditioning

Sodium Hyaluronate

Humectant
0 / 0 Hyaluronic Acid IconHelps with Anti-Aging IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps reduce Skin Redness IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

Hydroxyacetophenone

Antioxidant
Antioxidant IconHelps reduce irritation IconHelps reduce Skin Redness Icon

Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid

Humectant
Hyaluronic Acid IconHelps with Anti-Aging IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconGood for Scar Healing Icon

Ethylhexylglycerin

Skin Conditioning

Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate

Humectant
Hyaluronic Acid IconHelps with Anti-Aging Icon

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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.

Skin Conditioning

Ethylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:

The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.

Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.

Learn more about Ethylhexylglycerin
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting

Glycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.

Topically, glycerin does several things at once:

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.

Learn more about Glycerin
Emollient, Emulsifying

Glyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.

Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.

This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.

A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.

Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.

Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.

Learn more about Glyceryl Stearate
Smoothing

Niacinamide is a multitasking form of vitamin B3 that strengthens the skin barrier, reduces pores and dark spots, regulates oil, and improves signs of aging.

And the best part? It's gentle and well-tolerated by most skin types, including sensitive and reactive skin.

You might have heard of "niacin flush", or the reddening of skin that causes itchiness. Niacinamide has not been found to cause this.

In very rare cases, some individuals may not be able to tolerate niacinamide at all or experience an allergic reaction to it.

If you are experiencing flaking, irritation, and dryness with this ingredient, be sure to double check all your products as this ingredient can be found in all categories of skincare.

When incorporating niacinamide into your routine, look out for concentration amounts. Typically, 5% niacinamide provides benefits such as fading dark spots. However, if you have sensitive skin, it is better to begin with a smaller concentration.

When you apply niacinamide to your skin, your body converts it into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD is an essential coenzyme that is already found in your cells as "fuel" and powers countless biological processes.

In your skin, NAD helps repair cell damage, produce new healthy cells, support collagen production, strengthen the skin barrier, and fight environmental stressors (like UV and pollution).

Our natural NAD levels start to decline with age, leading to slower skin repair, visible aging, and a weaker skin barrier. By providing your skin niacinamide, you're recharging your skin's NAD levels. This leads to stronger, healthier, and younger looking skin.

Another name for vitamin B3 is nicotinamide. This vitamin is water-soluble and our bodies don't store it. We obtain Vitamin B3 from either food or skincare. Meat, fish, wheat, yeast, and leafy greens contain vitamin B3.

The type of niacinamide used in skincare is synthetically created.

Learn more about Niacinamide
Humectant, Skin Conditioning

Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt form of hyaluronic acid. It is a long sugar chain that is naturally found in your skin, joints, and connective tissue that maintains hydration and elasticity.

In skincare, it works as a humectant. It pulls water from the environment and deeper layers of skin and binds it to the surface.

Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:

Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.

Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.

You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.

Learn more about Sodium Hyaluronate
Skin Conditioning, Solvent

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. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water
Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising, Gel Forming

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

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