Versus

Naturium Niacinamide Cleansing Gelée 3% Versus The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser

Face Cleanser
Face Cleanser
American Brand United States
British Brand United Kingdom

Updated on March 06, 2025

Overview

What they are

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

Cool Features

They both contain hyaluronic acid

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for dry skin, brightening skin, sensitive skin, scar healing and dark spots

Free From

They both do not contain any oils, parabens, silicones or sulfates

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

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

What's inside (and what isn't)

What's inside (and what isn't)

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

found in both products

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Skin Conditioning, Solvent

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. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting

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
Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising, Gel Forming

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
Humectant, Skin Conditioning

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
Preservative

Phenoxyethanol 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.

Skin Conditioning

Ethylhexylglycerin (we can't pronounce this either) is commonly used as a preservative and skin softener. It is derived from glyceryl.

You might see Ethylhexylglycerin often paired with other preservatives such as phenoxyethanol. Ethylhexylglycerin has been found to increase the effectiveness of these other preservatives.

When to use

672 Routines
46% use in am
54% use in pm
95% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->
167 Routines
46% use in am
54% use in pm
98% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Naturium Niacinamide Cleansing Gelée 3% 15 ingredients

4.4 /5
from 5 ratings
Works Well (4) Great Value (2) No Scent (2)
ichigoluvah's avatar

ichigoluvah

6 months ago
Review

I love this gelee! Feels cool, silky, and moisturizing on the skin, and skin feels clean afterward. Might be a bit drying for dry skin, but my normal sensitive skin loves it!

#great value
#works well
lizmena's avatar

Liz Mena

2 months ago
Review

On my second bottle of this cleanser. I like how it brightens my face. I used to use Cetaphil oily to combination fragrance free cleanser and it felt like it wasn’t cleansing my face well but this one is perfect.

#drying
#no scent
#works well

The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser 19 ingredients

3.5 /5
from 6 ratings
Great Value (2) Broke Me Out (1) Absorbs Well (1)
ThomasvV's avatar

Thomas VV

1 month ago
Review

In general, the texture looks like it is a fine mild cleanser. Yet, I unfortunately broke out from it. My skin (and also personally) doesn't like cetaeryl alcohol, stearic acid and especially not Coco-Glucoside made from coconut oil. I'd recommend the Geek and Gorgeous, Jelly Joker cleanser, instead!

#great value
#hydrating
#broke me out
#light
SamanthaTan_417's avatar

SamanthaTan_417

2 years ago
Review

It works fine for me and lasts ages
It's a pretty good cleanser for the price. It's nothing to write home about, but I have no complaints.

Needs to be paired with some sort of cleansing balm in a double cleanse if you have make-up on.