What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin Conditioning3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Ethoxydiglycol
HumectantButylene Glycol
Humectant
Ferulic Acid
Antimicrobial
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Humectant
Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingSuccinoglycan
Skin ConditioningSodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Citrate
BufferingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Potassium Metabisulfite
Preservative
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid is one of the most popular "stable" vitamin C derivatives in skincare.
Plain ascorbic acid is fantastic but notoriously fragile; it browns, oxidizes, and loses potency fast. So attaching an ethyl group to the third carbon of the molecule gives it some cool perks:
In a formula, it does the 3 classic vitamin C jobs: it acts as an antioxidant, helps brighten skin tone by inhibiting tyrosinase, and supports collagen.
The evidence is reasonably solid for a cosmetic ingredient; Liao and colleagues (2018) showed it's significantly more stable than ascorbic acid while still being effective.
A 2021 study by Zerbinati and colleagues tested a serum with 30% 3-O-ethyl-l-ascorbic acid and 1% lactic acid significantly increased collagen production, reduced UVB-induced DNA damage, and decreased melanin on a reconstructed pigmented skin model.
Typical real world usage sits around 0.5-5% (and 1-2% is common for daily serums).
Amounts up to 30% have been shown to be non-irritating on human skin samples, but two isolated cases reported allergic contact dermatitis so a patch test is sensible if you have reactive skin.
Learn more about 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic AcidEthoxydiglycol (aka Diethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether) is one of the cosmetic world's quiet problem solvers.
In a formula, it is a solvent that dissolves tricky ingredients that don't want to mix in and helps spread ingredients evenly across your skin without leaving a greasy or sticky feeling
This makes it great for hard-to-dissolve actives like vitamin C, benzoyl peroxide, and self-tanner DHA.
It also has mild humectant and penetration enhancer abilities so it can help some actives absorb a little deeper.
The penetration boost is backed by lab research: studies using human skin samples found it improved how well an active dissolves into the upper layer of skin rather than tearing down your skin barrier. Reviews of its mechanism also describe it interacting gently with the lipids and water in your outermost layer of skin.
Just know this penetration-enhancing effect is not universal. It helps a lot in some formulas and did very little in others (so the benefit really depends on the specific product).
Safety-wise, the evidence is reassuring. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel reviewed it and concluded it's safe for use in cosmetics and recognized it as non-irritating, non-sensitizing, and non-comedogenic in skincare.
Typical leave-on skincare usage lands around 1-10%. The EU has sets caps of 2.6% in non-spray products, 10% in rinse-offs, 7% in oxidative hair dye, and 5% in non-oxidative hair dye.
Learn more about EthoxydiglycolHyaluronic acid (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan (basically a long sugar chain) that your skin already makes on its own. In your skin, HA lives in the extracellular matrix and acts as the body's moisture reservoir.
Topically, HA is a humectant that binds water and helps skin look more plump, smooth, and hydrated.
The only catch is that HA isn't a single thing; it actually comes in a wide range of molecular weights (~50 - 2,000+ kDA) and size matters.
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
This is why the best HA serums blend the two sizes together so you get the best of both worlds.
The majority of cosmetic HA is produced by bacterial fermentation, typically using Streptococcus or Bacillus strains. Typical use levels in skincare sit around 0.1-2%.
A clinical study using a 0.2% low-molecular weight HA gel showed improvement in facial seborrheic dermatitis with excellent tolerance.
These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:
Learn more about Hyaluronic AcidHydroxyethylcellulose 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 HydroxyethylcelluloseWater. 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
