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Product Comparison

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of Peter Thomas Roth PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum versus Sunday Riley A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum .

Published on April 21, 2023

Overview

What they are

These products are both reef safe serums. They have a total of 10 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain hyaluronic acid, retinoid and Vitamin E

Suited For

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

Free From

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

What's Inside

They both contain oils and silicones

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

Serum American Brand United States
Serum 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.

Serum

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

Price

Shop

Buy PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum

Starts at $110.00
Shop

Buy A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum

Starts at $85.00

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

Retinoid
Vitamin E
Ceramides
Hyaluronic Acid
Peptides

Benefits

Hydrating (4)
Good For Oily Skin
Redness Reducing
Reduces Irritation (3)
Skin Texture
Reduces Large Pores
Anti-Aging (3)
Dark Spots
Scar Healing (2)
Acne Fighting
Brightening

Concerns

Drying
May Worsen Oily Skin (4)
Acne Trigger (2)
Irritating (2)
Eczema

Notable Ingredients

Retinoid (2)
Vitamin E
Hyaluronic Acid

Benefits

Hydrating (4)
Good For Oily Skin (2)
Reduces Irritation
Skin Texture (2)
Reduces Large Pores (2)
Anti-Aging (3)
Dark Spots (2)
Scar Healing (2)
Acne Fighting (2)
Brightening (3)

Concerns

Drying (3)
May Worsen Oily Skin (6)
Irritating (3)
Rosacea
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: Emollient, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Dimethicone is a silicone used for making products smooth and silky. It also has the added benefit of sealing in hydration. The amount of dimethicone found in beauty products is considered safe and non-comedogenic, meaning it won't clog pores.

Dimethicone has been found increase absorption in skin, boosting the benefits of other ingredients. While there is concern for the safety of dimethicone, the levels used in skincare are safe for use.

Peter Thomas Roth PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum contains this as ingredient number 2.

Sunday Riley A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 5.

2
What it does: Solvent
Community Rating: Disliked

Dimethyl Isosorbide is a solvent and helps deliver actives into your skin. It is created from sorbitol.

As a solvent, dimethyl isosorbide helps dissolve other ingredients. This helps ensure even distribution of an ingredient. It may also be used to decrease the thickness of a product.

Studies show dimethyl isosorbide is able to penetrate skin to deliver other ingredients into the skin, making them more effective.

Learn more about Dimethyl Isosorbide

Peter Thomas Roth PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum contains this as ingredient number 4.

Sunday Riley A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 3.

3
What it does:
Community Rating: Disliked

We don't have a description for Polysilicone-11.

Peter Thomas Roth PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum contains this as ingredient number 7.

Sunday Riley A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 37.

4
What it does: Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Loved

Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate is a form of retinoid. It can be good for be good for oily skin. It can help to improve skin texture, reduce large pores, reduce the effects of aging, reduce the visibility of dark spots, heal scars, and fight acne. It can be bad for dry skin and cause irritation.

Peter Thomas Roth PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum contains this as ingredient number 10.

Sunday Riley A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 13.

5
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

Peter Thomas Roth PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum contains this as ingredient number 22.

Sunday Riley A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 55.

6
What it does: Emollient, Emulsifying, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Disliked

Lecithin is a term for a group of substances found in plants, animals, and humans. They are made up of mixture of fatty acids. These fatty acids usually are a mixture of phosphoric acid's choline ester connected to stearic, oleic, and palmitic acids. Most lecithins are created from plant ingredients scuh as sunflower.

Lecithin is an emollient. Emollients help soften the skin and creates a barrier to keep moisture in.

As an emulsifier, it also helps prevent water and oil ingredients from separating. Lecithin can help ingredients be better absorbed by the skin. The phospholipids in Lecithin can produce liposomes. Liposomes help other ingredients get through the skin barrier.

Learn more about Lecithin

Peter Thomas Roth PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum contains this as ingredient number 23.

Sunday Riley A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 27.

7
What it does: Cleansing, Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising, Masking
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Stearic Acid is a fatty acid. It is an emollient, emulsifier, and texture enhancer.

As an emollient, stearic acid helps soften skin. It aids the skin's protective barrier by preventing water loss. It also provides a gentle cleansing effect without stripping away natural oils.

Stearic acid may also be used to enhance the texture of products. It can add volume and stabilize ingredients such as water and oil. This can help water and oil ingredients from separating.

Sources of stearic acid include animal or vegetable fats/oils such as coconut or shea. It can be naturally found in butter, cocoa butter, shea butter, vegetable fats, and animal tallow.

This ingredient may not be Malassezia folliculitis, or fungal-acne safe.

Learn more about Stearic Acid

Peter Thomas Roth PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum contains this as ingredient number 27.

Sunday Riley A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 44.

8
What it does: Masking, Skin Conditioning, Soothing
Community Rating: Loved

Bisabolol is pimarily used to add fragrance to a product. However, it is also famous for helping soothe skin.

Bisabolol comes from German chamomile essential oil. Synthetic Bisabolol has been shown to be less effective.

Bisabolol helps soothe skin. It does this by blocking the inflammatory signals, helping to reduce your body's reaction to irritation.

Bisabolol also interferes with the process of hyperpigmentation. This can help with reducing dark spots and uneven tone.

Bisabolol is an antioxidant. Antioxidants help fight free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells. By fighting these free-radicals, Bisabolol may slow down signs of aging.

Studies have shown Bisabolol to have antimicrobial properties and may be a fungicide. These properties help preserve a product's shelf life.

Bisabolol also helps the absorption of other ingredients.

Learn more about Bisabolol

Peter Thomas Roth PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum contains this as ingredient number 30.

Sunday Riley A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 23.

9
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

Peter Thomas Roth PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum contains this as ingredient number 34.

Sunday Riley A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 1.

10
What it does: Preservative
Community Rating: Very Disliked

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.

Peter Thomas Roth PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum contains this as ingredient number 36.

Sunday Riley A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 52.

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

28% are loved or liked
14% have mixed ratings
39% are disliked or very disliked
19% have no rating yet
33% are loved or liked
9% have mixed ratings
40% are disliked or very disliked
18% 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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Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Peter Thomas Roth PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum 36 ingredients

PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum hasn't been rated yet.
Rate it now

Sunday Riley A+ High-Dose Retinol Serum 55 ingredients

5.0 /5
from 1 rating
reneelovesherskin's avatar

reneelovesherskin

1 year ago · Normal Skin
Review

Definitely high-dose retinol!
This is a powerful retinol serum that is no joke. I tried easing into it by going every other night, then moved to...

Definitely high-dose retinol!
This is a powerful retinol serum that is no joke. I tried easing into it by going every other night, then moved to every night. I ended up with signs of a damaged skin barrier (redness) on my chin. I'm going to lay off this on my chin for a couple weeks, then try again, but stick to every other night. I like that I'm getting a strong dose of an excellent skincare ingredient, but I need to take care not to overdo it.

Alternatives

Our Dupe Finder has found 4 potential alternatives that have similar ingredients to Peter Thomas Roth PRO Strength Retinoid Peptide Serum.

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