Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of Paula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield versus Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum .
Published on July 21, 2022
Overview
What they are
These products are both cruelty-free and reef safe . They have a total of 10 ingredients in common
Cool Features
They both contain Vitamin C and Vitamin E
Suited For
They're both likely to be good for anti aging, dry skin, brightening skin, scar healing, dark spots and better texture
Free From
They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, parabens or sulfates
We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that need an update? Let us know.
Facial Treatment
Facial treatments are specially designed to treat a skin concern. Acne treatments and anti-aging products are common examples of facial treatments.
Serum
Serums are highly concentrated with ingredients to provide skin with benefits. They should be used after cleansing and before moisturizing.
Price
Ingredient Info
Paula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield 46 ingredients
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum 28 ingredients
Alcohol Free
This product is free of harsh alcohols 🎉
Silicon Free
This product is free of silicons 🎉
Contains Fragrance
Ingredients in this product that are forms of fragrance:
Sulfate Free
This product is free of sulfates 🎉
Paraben Free
This product is free of parabens 🎉
Contains Oils
Ingredients in this product that are types of oil:
Not Malassezia Safe
Ingredients in this product that are not malassezia safe:
Reef Safe
This product is free of ingredients that damage reefs 🎉
EU Allergen Free
This product is free of EU allergens 🎉
Non Vegan
This product is not vegan 😥
Cruelty Free
This product is cruelty-free 🎉
Alcohol Free
This product is free of harsh alcohols 🎉
Contains Silicon
Ingredients in this product that are types of silicon:
Fragrance Free
This product is free of fragrances 🎉
Sulfate Free
This product is free of sulfates 🎉
Paraben Free
This product is free of parabens 🎉
Oil Free
This product is free of oils 🎉
Not Malassezia Safe
Ingredients in this product that are not malassezia safe:
Reef Safe
This product is free of ingredients that damage reefs 🎉
EU Allergen Free
This product is free of EU allergens 🎉
Non Vegan
This product is not vegan 😥
Cruelty Free
This product is cruelty-free 🎉
At a glance
Click on any of the items below to learn more
Paula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield 46 ingredients
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum 28 ingredients
Notable Ingredients
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Benefits
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Concerns
This product contains 5 ingredients that may have this attribute:
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Notable Ingredients
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Benefits
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
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This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
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This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 3 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 5 ingredients that may have this attribute:
Concerns
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
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Join SkinSortIngredients Compared
Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.
Paula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield 46 ingredients
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum 28 ingredients
Water • Glycerin • Butylene Glycol • Coco-Caprylate/Caprate • Decyl Oleate • Cucumis Sativus Extract • Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi Leaf Extract • Propanediol • Glutathione • Chondrus Crispus Extract • Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate • Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract • Ubiquinone • Curcumin • Silybum Marianum Fruit Extract • Epigallocatechin Gallate • Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract • Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil • Fucus Vesiculosus Extract • Ficus Carica Fruit Extract • Leontopodium Alpinum Flower Extract • Emblica Officinalis Fruit Extract • Butyrospermum Parkii Butter • Linoleic Acid • Linolenic Acid • Phytosphingosine Phosphate • Thermus Thermophillus Ferment • Tocopherol • Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil • Tocopheryl Acetate • Lecithin • Xanthan Gum • Acacia Senegal Gum • Ectoin • Glyceryl Stearate • Polyacrylamide • Cetearyl Alcohol • Caprylyl Glycol • C13-14 Isoparaffin • C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate • Polysorbate 80 • 1,2-Hexanediol • Laureth-7 • Dipropylene Glycol • Phenoxyethanol • Ethylhexylglycerin
Water • Cyclopentasiloxane • Butylene Glycol • Dimethicone • Glycerin • Polysorbate 20 • Polysilicone-11 • Lauryl Peg-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone • Hyaluronic Acid • Resveratrol • Niacinamide • Quercetin • Adenosine • Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate • Tocopherol • Phospholipids • Ubiquinone • Epigallocatechin Gallate • Sea Whip Extract • Bisabolol • Beta-Glucan • Phytic Acid • Xanthan Gum • Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer • Sodium Hydroxide • Disodium EDTA • Ethylhexylglycerin • Phenoxyethanol
Ingredients Side-by-side
Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.
Learn more about what what Com. / Irr. ratings are
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 WaterPaula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield contains this as ingredient number 1.
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum contains this as ingredient number 1.
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 GlycerinPaula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield contains this as ingredient number 2.
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum contains this as ingredient number 5.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
- It is a solvent, meaning that it helps to dissolve other ingredients. This also enhances the absorption of the product into one's skin.
- It is a humectant, which means that it helps attract moisture into the skin.
- It helps improve product application.
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient. It is unlikely to irritate skin, and works well with pretty much all other ingredients.
Paula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield contains this as ingredient number 3.
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum contains this as ingredient number 3.
Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate is a version of ascorbic acid, or pure Vitamin C.
Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate has many benefits including reducing wrinkles, skin soothing, dark spot fading, and fighting against free radicals.
Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate interferes with the process of skin darkening, helping to reduce hyperpigmentation. It also encourages the skin to produce more collagen.
As an antioxidant, it helps fight free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells.
One study found Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate to degrade in sunlight, but is stabilized when conbined with acetyl zingerone.
Learn more about Ascorbyl TetraisopalmitatePaula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield contains this as ingredient number 11.
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum contains this as ingredient number 15.
Ubiquinone (Coenzyme Q10) is a molecule already found in our bodies. It is a potent antioxidant and skin-soothing ingredient.
Aging and environmental exposure diminishes our skin's natural ubiquinone levels. This is much like our natural collagen and elastin.
The good news is: studies show applying this ingredient topically replenishes ubiquinone levels in our skin. This also comes with a ton of skin benefits. These benefits include:
Ubiquinone is considered a large molecule and cannot be absorbed into the lower layers of skin. This is why it is believed to be such an effective antioxidant: it protects our skin in the upper layers and prevents damage in the deeper layers.
When used in sunscreen, ubiquinone is shown to increase ingredient stability, increase SPF factor, and add to infrared protection.
Fun fact: ubiquinone is fat-soluble.
Learn more about UbiquinonePaula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield contains this as ingredient number 13.
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum contains this as ingredient number 18.
EGCG is most famous for being found in green tea. It is a type of catechin, a potent antioxidant.
Antioxidants protect our skin from oxidative damage, helping with slowing the signs of aging.
A study from 2018 found EGCG to help reduce melanin and melanoma cells.
Learn more about the skin benefits of green tea here.
Learn more about Epigallocatechin GallatePaula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield contains this as ingredient number 16.
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum contains this as ingredient number 19.
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 TocopherolPaula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield contains this as ingredient number 28.
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum contains this as ingredient number 16.
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 GumPaula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield contains this as ingredient number 32.
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum contains this as ingredient number 24.
Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent germ and 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.
Paula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield contains this as ingredient number 45.
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum contains this as ingredient number 29.
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.
Paula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield contains this as ingredient number 46.
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum contains this as ingredient number 28.
Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.
Paula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield 46 ingredients
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum 28 ingredients
Usage
Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.
When to use
Paula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield 46 ingredients
Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum 28 ingredients
Alternatives
Our Dupe Finder has found 2 potential alternatives that have similar ingredients to Paula's Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield.
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