Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence versus COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence .
Last updated on January 04, 2024. Published on February 18, 2021
Overview
What they are
These products are both reef safe essences. They have a total of 3 ingredients in common
Suited For
They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, dry skin, brightening skin, sensitive skin, reducing pores, scar healing and dark spots
Free From
They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, fragrances, oils, 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.
Essence
Essences are used to prep skin for further treatment and may provide extra skin benefits. They are usually used before serum and moisturizers. Essences are thought to have originated in either Japan or Korea and is an essential step in K-Beauty.
Essence
Essences are used to prep skin for further treatment and may provide extra skin benefits. They are usually used before serum and moisturizers. Essences are thought to have originated in either Japan or Korea and is an essential step in K-Beauty.
Price
Ingredient Info
Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence 18 ingredients
COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence 12 ingredients
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 😥
Not Cruelty Free
This product is not cruelty-free 😥
Alcohol Free
This product is free of harsh alcohols 🎉
Silicon Free
This product is free of silicons 🎉
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 🎉
Vegan
This product is vegan 🎉
Cruelty Free
This product is cruelty-free 🎉
At a glance
Click on any of the items below to learn more
Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence 18 ingredients
COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence 12 ingredients
Benefits
This product contains 3 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 5 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 4 ingredients 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:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Concerns
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Notable Ingredients
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Benefits
This product contains 3 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient 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 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
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Join SkinSortIngredients Compared
Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.
Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence 18 ingredients
COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence 12 ingredients
Water • Glycerin • Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate • Butylene Glycol • Arbutin • Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice • Oligopeptide-123 Rh-Oligopeptide-1 • Dimethicone • Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract • Centella Asiatica Extract • Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract • Physalis Alkekengi Fruit Extract • Acanthopanax Senticosus Root Extract • Ganoderma Lucidum Extract • Panax Ginseng Root Extract • Hamamelis Virginiana Extract • Oryza Sativa Bran Extract • Portulaca Pilosa Extract
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.
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 GlycerinSecret Key Starting Treatment Essence contains this as ingredient number 2.
COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence contains this as ingredient number 6.
Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate (GFF) is a yeast traditionally used to make the Japanese alcoholic beverage, sake. GFF has moisturizing and antioxidant properties.
Studies show GFF applied to the skin improves our skin's natural moisturizing factors (NMF). Our NMF consists of many components that naturally moisturize our skin. Having healthy NMF keeps our skin plump, protected, and hydrated.
GFF tells our skin to create more filaggrin, an important component for NMF. Filaggrin gathers all the structural proteins in our outer layer of skin and creates a tight barrier, helping to protect our skin against allergens and bacteria. This also helps prevent moisture loss.
Thanks to its antioxidant properties, GFF also protects our skin against oxidative stress and UV induced inflammation. One study found GFF helped regulate sebum and keratin in participants.
GFF may not be fungal-acne safe. We recommend speaking with a professional if you have concerns.
Many components of sake, such as GFF, are studied for their anti-aging benefits today. This is because sake brewers are known to have youthful hands.
Learn more about Galactomyces Ferment FiltrateSecret Key Starting Treatment Essence contains this as ingredient number 3.
COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence contains this as ingredient number 1.
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.
Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence contains this as ingredient number 4.
COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence contains this as ingredient number 9.
Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.
Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence 18 ingredients
COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence 12 ingredients
Usage
Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.
When to use
Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence 18 ingredients
COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence 12 ingredients
Reviews
Here's what our community thinks
Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence 18 ingredients
COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence 12 ingredients
screamadelica
love this!
i love how hydrating and soothing this product is. if your skin can handle fermented ingredients, then this essence is a great...
love this!
i love how hydrating and soothing this product is. if your skin can handle fermented ingredients, then this essence is a great alternative to their snail essence (unfortunately, there are a ridiculous number of fakes of the snail essence on the internet, but i don’t see as many counterfeits of this one).
this product actually contains more galactomyces (ahem sorry i meant PITERA™) than the significantly more costly SK-II essence. interesting, huh?
Alternatives
Our Dupe Finder has found 6 potential alternatives that have similar ingredients to Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence.
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