La Roche-Posay Effaclar Micro-Peeling Purifying Gel Versus La Roche-Posay Effaclar H Hydrating Cleansing Cream
What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Chloride
MaskingCoco-Betaine
Cleansing
Salicylic Acid
Masking
PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate
Emulsifying
PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides
EmulsifyingZinc Gluconate
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingCapryloyl Salicylic Acid
Exfoliating
Tetrasodium EDTA
Citric Acid
Buffering
Menthol
Masking
Polyquaternium-47
Skin ConditioningHexylene Glycol
EmulsifyingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Decyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Coco-Betaine, Salicylic Acid, PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Zinc Gluconate, Sodium Hydroxide, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Menthol, Polyquaternium-47, Hexylene Glycol, Sodium Benzoate
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Glycerin (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 GlycerinSodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.
Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.
"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.
Learn more about Sodium HydroxideSodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) is a foaming, cleansing, and emulsifying ingredient. It is created from palm kernel oil or coconut oil. SLES is not the same as sodium lauryl sulfate. It is much milder and less likely to irritate.
SLES helps create foam in personal products. It also prevents ingredients from separating, helping to elongate the shelf life.
Sodium Laureth Sulfate is a type of sulfate. It can be drying. We recommend speaking with a professional about using this ingredient if you have concerns.
Learn more about Sodium Laureth SulfateWater. 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
