By Mukk Deep Sea Serum Versus Three Ships Beauty Dew Drops Mushroom Hyaluronic Acid + Vitamin C Serum
This barrier-repair serum is formulated around Lactobacillus Ferment to strengthen the skin barrier and calm redness.
This hydrating serum is formulated around Tremella Fuciformis Polysaccharide and Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice to hydrate skin.
What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Tremella Fuciformis Polysaccharide
Emulsion Stabilising
Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract
Antioxidant
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Cocos Nucifera Fruit Juice
Emollient
Kappaphycus Alvarezii Extract
Skin ConditioningCaesalpinia Spinosa Fruit Extract
Skin ProtectingSodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningSodium Anisate
AntimicrobialPicea Mariana Bark Extract
Antioxidant
Acer Rubrum Bark Extract
Skin ConditioningPinus Banksiana Bark Extract
Skin ConditioningBetula Alleghaniensis Bark Extract
Skin ConditioningSalvia Miltiorrhiza Root Extract
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
Humectant
Eucalyptus Globulus Oil
Citrus Sinensis Peel Oil Expressed
Perfuming
Water, Pentylene Glycol, Glycerin, Tremella Fuciformis Polysaccharide, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Juice, Kappaphycus Alvarezii Extract, Caesalpinia Spinosa Fruit Extract, Sodium Levulinate, Sodium Anisate, Picea Mariana Bark Extract, Acer Rubrum Bark Extract, Pinus Banksiana Bark Extract, Betula Alleghaniensis Bark Extract, Salvia Miltiorrhiza Root Extract, Butylene Glycol, Eucalyptus Globulus Oil, Citrus Sinensis Peel Oil Expressed
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 GlycerinWe don't have a description for Kappaphycus Alvarezii Extract yet.
Pentylene Glycol (1,2-pentanediol) is a multitasking little diol with three main roles in a formula:
Research on alkanediols (the family pentylene glycol belongs to) show they work by disrupting microbial cell membranes. This disruption helps the primary preservative system in a product work more effectively at lower doses.
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%.
Learn more about Pentylene GlycolSodium Anisate comes from fennel. It is used as a preservative and to add flavoring.
Sodium Anisate has antimicrobial properties.
Sodium levulinate is the a sodium salt of Levulinic Acid. Oncedissolved in an aqueous solution, the two ingredients become identical. It is usually derived from renewable plant sources like corn starch or sugarcane.
In skincare, it mostly acts as a skin conditioning agent that keeps skin soft and hydrated. It also acts as a preservative booster by inhibiting the growth of mold, yeast, and bacteria.
It's often paired with Sodium Anisate as the two create a broad-spectrum preservative system that is popular in "natural" formulations.
This ingredient is water-soluble.
The CIR Expert Panel for Cosmetic Ingredient Safety has concluded this ingredient to be non-irritated and there are no restrictions for use in EU cosmetics. The FDA also allows this ingredient to be used as a food-grade flavoring agent.
Learn more about Sodium LevulinateWater. 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
