What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin Conditioning3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Glycerin
Humectant
Ethoxydiglycol
HumectantPropanediol
Solvent
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Ferulic Acid
Antimicrobial
Citric Acid
Buffering
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingHydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingDisodium EDTA
Sodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningAllantoin
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Alpha-Arbutin
Antioxidant
Laminaria Digitata Extract
Skin Protecting
Cetyl-Pg Hydroxyethyl Palmitamide
Skin ConditioningCeramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract
MaskingTerminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract
Antioxidant
Cucurbita Pepo Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Water, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Niacinamide, Glycerin, Ethoxydiglycol, Propanediol, Butylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ferulic Acid, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Gluconate, Allantoin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Alpha-Arbutin, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Cetyl-Pg Hydroxyethyl Palmitamide, Ceramide AP, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract, Cucurbita Pepo Fruit Extract
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
You might know this ingredient as Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, a more stable version of ascorbic acid.
Like other types of vitamin C, this ingredient has many benefits including reducing wrinkles, skin soothing, dark spot fading, and fighting against free radicals.
3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid interferes with the process of skin darkening, helping to reduce hyperpigmentation. It also encourages the skin to produce more collagen.
Once applied, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid is converted to Vitamin C deeper in the skin's layers. This process is slow but makes this ingredient more tolerable for skin.
The optimum pH range for this ingredient is 4 - 5.5
Learn more about 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic AcidEthoxydiglycol is a synthetic solvent.
Solvents are used to keep ingredients together in a product. They can help dissolve ingredients to stable bases or help evenly distribute ingredients throughout the product.
Ethoxydiglycol also helps deliver other key ingredients into the skin.
Learn more about EthoxydiglycolGlycerin (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 GlycerinHydroxyethylcellulose is used to improve the texture of products. It is created from a chemical reaction involving ethylene oxide and alkali-cellulose. Cellulose is a sugar found in plant cell walls and help give plants structure.
This ingredient helps stabilize products by preventing ingredients from separating. It can also help thicken the texture of a product.
This ingredient can also be found in pill medicines to help our bodies digest other ingredients.
Learn more about HydroxyethylcellulosePhenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent 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.
This is the synthetic salt of gluconic acid, a form of PHA and mild exfoliant.
It is mainly used to stabilize oil and butter formulations from going bad. Sodium gluconate is a humectant, pH regulator, and chelating agent.
Chelating agents help neutralize unwanted metals from affecting the formulation.
Sodium gluconate is water-soluble.
Learn more about Sodium GluconateWater. 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 WaterXanthan 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
