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Product Comparison

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of FaceTheory Regenacalm 2% Retinol and Vitamin C Serum S1 versus Paula's Choice Resist Intensive Repair Cream .

Published on May 22, 2021

Overview

What they are

These products are both cruelty-free and reef safe . They have a total of 6 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain hyaluronic acid, retinoid, Vitamin C and Vitamin E

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, anti aging, dry skin, brightening skin, oily skin, reducing pores, scar healing, dark spots and better texture

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, parabens or sulfates

What's Inside

They both contain fragrances

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that need an update? Let us know.

Serum British Brand United Kingdom
General Moisturizer American Brand United States

Serum

Serums are highly concentrated with ingredients to provide skin with benefits. They should be used after cleansing and before moisturizing.

General Moisturizer

All-purpose moisturizers hydrate the top layer of skin cells.

Price

Shop

Buy Regenacalm 2% Retinol and Vitamin C Serum S1

Shop

Buy Resist Intensive Repair Cream

Starts at $37.00

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and view relevant ingredients.
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Notable Ingredients

AHA
BHA
Retinoid
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Hyaluronic Acid

Benefits

Hydrating (2)
Good For Oily Skin (2)
Redness Reducing
Skin Texture (3)
Reduces Large Pores (3)
Anti-Aging (5)
Dark Spots (3)
Scar Healing (5)
Acne Fighting (2)
Brightening (5)

Concerns

Drying (2)
Irritating (4)
Rosacea (2)
Eczema (2)

Notable Ingredients

Retinoid (2)
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Niacinamide
Ceramides
Hyaluronic Acid
Peptides (3)

Benefits

Hydrating (5)
Good For Oily Skin (3)
Redness Reducing (3)
Reduces Irritation
Skin Texture (3)
Reduces Large Pores (3)
Anti-Aging (6)
Dark Spots (5)
Scar Healing (4)
Acne Fighting (3)
Brightening (5)

Concerns

Drying (2)
May Worsen Oily Skin (3)
Acne Trigger (3)
Irritating (3)
Eczema (3)
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Ingredients Compared

Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.

Ingredients Side-by-side

Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.

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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.

1
What it does: Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

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. Talk about multi-purpose! If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water

FaceTheory Regenacalm 2% Retinol and Vitamin C Serum S1 contains this as ingredient number 1.

Paula's Choice Resist Intensive Repair Cream contains this as ingredient number 1.

2
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin

FaceTheory Regenacalm 2% Retinol and Vitamin C Serum S1 contains this as ingredient number 3.

Paula's Choice Resist Intensive Repair Cream contains this as ingredient number 5.

3
What it does: Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Mixed

Retinyl palmitate is a form of retinoid. It is created from palmitic acid and retinol.

This ingredient has antioxidant and exfoliating properties. Like other types of retinols, retinyl palmitate increases cell turnover. Removing dead skin cells and encouraging the growth of new ones improves skin tone and unclogs pores. This in turn promotes brighter looking skin and even skin texture.

As an antioxidant, retinyl palmitate helps neutralize free-radical molecules. These molecules have the potential to damage skin cells. Thus, antioxidants may help with anti-aging.

Retinyl palmitate can be good for be good for oily skin by helping to unclog pores. However, it may not be good for dry skin and fungal acne.

After using this product, you should follow up with sunscreen.

This ingredient is often added to low-fat milk to increase the levels of Vitamin A.

Learn more about Retinyl Palmitate

FaceTheory Regenacalm 2% Retinol and Vitamin C Serum S1 contains this as ingredient number 5.

Paula's Choice Resist Intensive Repair Cream contains this as ingredient number 28.

4
What it does: Antioxidant, Masking, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Liked

Tocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.

Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.

Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.

You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.

There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.

Learn more about Tocopherol

FaceTheory Regenacalm 2% Retinol and Vitamin C Serum S1 contains this as ingredient number 8.

Paula's Choice Resist Intensive Repair Cream contains this as ingredient number 24.

5
What it does: Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising, Gel Forming, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Disliked

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

FaceTheory Regenacalm 2% Retinol and Vitamin C Serum S1 contains this as ingredient number 18.

Paula's Choice Resist Intensive Repair Cream contains this as ingredient number 41.

6
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Loved

Sodium Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid's salt form. It is commonly derived from the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid.

Like hyaluronic acid, it is great at holding water and acts as a humectant. This makes it a great skin hydrating ingredient.

Sodium Hyaluronate is naturally occurring in our bodies and is mostly found in eye fluid and joints.

These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:

Learn more about Sodium Hyaluronate

FaceTheory Regenacalm 2% Retinol and Vitamin C Serum S1 contains this as ingredient number 20.

Paula's Choice Resist Intensive Repair Cream contains this as ingredient number 21.

Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.

52% are loved or liked
9% have mixed ratings
13% are disliked or very disliked
26% have no rating yet
33% are loved or liked
15% have mixed ratings
40% are disliked or very disliked
13% have no rating yet

Usage

Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.

When to use

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Alternatives

Our Dupe Finder has found 16 potential alternatives that have similar ingredients to FaceTheory Regenacalm 2% Retinol and Vitamin C Serum S1.

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Our Dupe Finder has found 50 potential alternatives that have similar ingredients to Paula's Choice Resist Intensive Repair Cream.

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