Deconstruct Oil-Free Moisturizer For Oily Skin Versus Mamaearth Aloe Refresh Hydrating Light Gel Moisturizer
This calming moisturizer is formulated around Calendula Officinalis Extract and Aloe Barbadensis Extract to calm redness and hydrate skin.
This barrier-repair moisturizer is formulated around Niacinamide and Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract to strengthen the skin barrier and hydrate skin.
What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCalendula Officinalis Extract
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Diheptyl Succinate
EmollientAloe Barbadensis Extract
Skin Conditioning
Triethanolamine
BufferingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Betaine
Humectant
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium PCA
Humectant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Gluconate
ChelatingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningSodium Lactate
Buffering
PCA
Humectant
Capryloyl Glycerin/Sebacic Acid Copolymer
Skin ConditioningSerine
Masking
Alanine
Masking
Glycine
Buffering
Glutamic Acid
Humectant
Lysine Hcl
Skin Conditioning
Threonine
Arginine
Masking
Proline
Skin Conditioning
Water, Calendula Officinalis Extract, Glycerin, Diheptyl Succinate, Aloe Barbadensis Extract, Triethanolamine, Phenoxyethanol, Betaine, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium PCA, Panthenol, Sodium Gluconate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Lactate, PCA, Capryloyl Glycerin/Sebacic Acid Copolymer, Serine, Alanine, Glycine, Glutamic Acid, Lysine Hcl, Threonine, Arginine, Proline
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water
MaskingGlycerin
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Dicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientNiacinamide
Smoothing
Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer
Ethyl Olivate
Emollient
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Isohexadecane
EmollientErythritol
Humectant
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
Humectant
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate
Humectant
Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate
Skin Conditioning
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Xylitylglucoside
Humectant
Anhydroxylitol
Humectant
Xylitol
Humectant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Beheneth-25 Methacrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium PCA
Humectant
Triheptanoin
Skin ConditioningTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Linoleamidopropyl Pg-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate
Parfum
Masking
Sodium Gluconate
ChelatingAloe Barbadensis Leaf Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Propanediol, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Niacinamide, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer, Ethyl Olivate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Isohexadecane, Erythritol, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Pentylene Glycol, Xylitylglucoside, Anhydroxylitol, Xylitol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Beheneth-25 Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium PCA, Triheptanoin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Linoleamidopropyl Pg-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Parfum, Sodium Gluconate
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 EthylhexylglycerinGlycerin (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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).
It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.
On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.
Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).
You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.
Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.
Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.
Learn more about PhenoxyethanolSodium Gluconate is the sodium salt of gluconic acid. In skincare, its main job is as a chelator.
Chelators grab onto stray metal ions like iron and copper that sneak in through water, raw materials, or manufacturing equipment. This stops them from triggering reactions that cause oils to go rancid, formulas to change color, and actives like vitamin C to fall apart.
This ingredient is often chosen as a biodegradable, gentler-sounding alternative to EDTA. It also pulls double duty as a mild humectant and pH buffer.
Typical use levels sit around 0.1-1% and supplier documents list up to 10% as an acceptable ceiling. Industry data found this ingredient family is mostly used well below 1% in leave on products.
Allergy risk is very low; animal testing has found it to be non-irritating to skin and eyes, mutagenicity assays came back negative, and there are no published reports of allergic contact dermatitis to it.
Learn more about Sodium GluconateSodium PCA (the salt of PCA) is one of the most well-established humectants in skincare.
Why is it so special? Your skin already makes it naturally; it's a natural component of your skin's Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF), or the mix of water-binding compounds inside your skin cells that keeps things soft and hydrated.
As a cosmetic ingredient, it grabs water and holds it in the upper layers of skin to smooth roughness and ease dehydration.
There's some clinical support for the NMF approach with a study showing that a cream built to mimic the skin's NMF significantly boosted hydration.
Safety-wise, this ingredient non-irritating, non-comedogenic, and non-phototoxic in testing, with minimal skin absorption.
It also works really well with other hydrators like glycerin or hyaluronic acid, and typical usage is somewhere between 0.2-4%.
Learn more about Sodium PCA
