What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Paraffin
Perfuming
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialCyclomethicone
Emollient
Titanium Dioxide
Cosmetic Colorant
Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate
UV Absorber
Water
Skin ConditioningDisodium EDTA
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Glycol Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Ceramide Ns
Skin Conditioning
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Ceteareth-20
CleansingPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Triethanolamine
BufferingCeramide AP, Hyaluronic Acid, Paraffinum Liquidum, Paraffin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cyclomethicone, Titanium Dioxide, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Water, Disodium EDTA, Carbomer, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Glycol Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Ceramide Ns, Stearic Acid, Ceteareth-20, Propylene Glycol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Triethanolamine
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Carbomer is a high-molecular weight polymer of acrylic acid. It is used to form gels and thicken formulas.
Due to its large molecular size, carbomer has minimal skin penetration and is considered an inert ingredient.
A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.
Learn more about CarbomerCeramide AP is is a skin-identical lipid that mimics what your skin already makes naturally. Ceramides help maintain epidermal integrity and barrier function.
You'll often see this ingredient paired with other ceramides (like ceramide NP), cholesterol, or fatty acids because this combination best mimics the natural lipid mix your skin already has.
The skin's ability to produce ceramides gets disrupted in skin conditions like eczema. This in turn weakens the skin barrier and applying ceramides topically has been shown to replenish what's been lost to restore barrier function.
Most of the studies with Ceramide AP test it as part of a multi-ceramide complex; studies reinforce ceramide AP's role in rebalancing ceramides in skin and improving skin hydration.
Learn more about Ceramide APGlycerin (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 GlycerinHyaluronic 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 AcidWater. 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
