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Product Comparison

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of Shani Darden Cleansing Serum versus Prequel Gleanser Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser For Face And Body .

Published on October 17, 2023

Overview

What they are

These products are both vegan and reef safe . They have a total of 8 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain exfoliants

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for dry skin and brightening skin

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, oils, parabens, silicones 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.

Serum Brand
Face Cleanser 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.

Face Cleanser

Face cleansers are used to remove makeup, dead skin cells, pollutants, oil, dirt, and/or clean out pores on the skin. Face cleansers may specialize in having one function (exa. just removing makeup) or may have multiple functions (exa. Removing makeup and cleaning pores).

Price

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

Exfoliators
Hyaluronic Acid

Benefits

Hydrating (2)
Brightening

Concerns

Drying
Acne Trigger
Irritating
Rosacea

Notable Ingredients

Exfoliators

Benefits

Hydrating
Redness Reducing
Reduces Irritation
Brightening

Concerns

Drying
Acne Trigger
Rosacea
Eczema
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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: 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

Shani Darden Cleansing Serum contains this as ingredient number 1.

Prequel Gleanser Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser For Face And Body contains this as ingredient number 2.

2
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

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

Shani Darden Cleansing Serum contains this as ingredient number 5.

Prequel Gleanser Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser For Face And Body contains this as ingredient number 1.

3
What it does: Masking
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt.

This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.

You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.

There is much debate on whether this ingredient is comedogenic. The short answer - comedogenic ratings don't tell the whole story. Learn more about comegodenic ratings here.

The concensus about this ingredient causing acne seems to be divided. Research is needed to understand if this ingredient does cause acne.

Scrubs may use salt as the primary exfoliating ingredient.

Learn more about Sodium Chloride

Shani Darden Cleansing Serum contains this as ingredient number 14.

Prequel Gleanser Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser For Face And Body contains this as ingredient number 5.

4
What it does: Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising, Gel Forming, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Disliked

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

Shani Darden Cleansing Serum contains this as ingredient number 15.

Prequel Gleanser Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser For Face And Body contains this as ingredient number 18.

5
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.

Shani Darden Cleansing Serum contains this as ingredient number 17.

Prequel Gleanser Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser For Face And Body contains this as ingredient number 14.

6
What it does: Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Mixed

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.

Shani Darden Cleansing Serum contains this as ingredient number 18.

Prequel Gleanser Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser For Face And Body contains this as ingredient number 13.

7
What it does: Buffering, Masking
Community Rating: Disliked

Citric Acid is an AHA derived from citrus fruits (think oranges, lemons, and limes!).

If you spot Citric Acid near the end of an ingredient list, it's likely there as a pH adjuster rather than an active ingredient.

As an AHA, Citric Acid removes the top layer of skin cells from the newer layer of skin underneath. This helps skin to remove dark spots and look more even.

Read more about some other popular AHA's here:

Learn more about Citric Acid

Shani Darden Cleansing Serum contains this as ingredient number 20.

Prequel Gleanser Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser For Face And Body contains this as ingredient number 12.

8
What it does: Buffering
Community Rating: Mixed

Sodium 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 Hydroxide

Shani Darden Cleansing Serum contains this as ingredient number 21.

Prequel Gleanser Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser For Face And Body contains this as ingredient number 20.

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

30% are loved or liked
17% have mixed ratings
39% are disliked or very disliked
13% have no rating yet
30% are loved or liked
20% have mixed ratings
40% are disliked or very disliked
10% 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

Shani Darden Cleansing Serum 23 ingredients

Cleansing Serum hasn't been rated yet.
Rate it now

Prequel Gleanser Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser For Face And Body 20 ingredients

5.0 /5
from 7 ratings
Hydrating (2) Works Well (2) Great Value (1) No Scent (1)
Clover's avatar

Clover

21 days ago · Dry Skin
Review

Best cleanser for dehydrated skin!
With 50% glycerin, this is the best cleanser I’ve found for dehydrated skin. It’s smooth, gentle, and fragrance...

Best cleanser for dehydrated skin!
With 50% glycerin, this is the best cleanser I’ve found for dehydrated skin. It’s smooth, gentle, and fragrance free. The texture is a little slimy which is fun but it still foams up very nicely. Plus, this comes in a huge 13.5 oz bottle, so if you are only using this for your face then it’s gonna last you a long time. However, personally I’ve found I actually prefer this as a body wash. That’s not to say that I don’t like this cleanser for my face, it’s just that the skin on my face suffers more from dryness than dehydration so I prefer a cleanser that delivers moisture as well as hydration to the skin. What I mean by that is that this cleanser contains glycerin which is a great hydrating ingredient that delivers water to the skin (ingredients like glycerin, hyaluronic acid, polyglutamic acid, etc, are hydrating), but it doesn’t really moisturize my skin by locking in water to help prevent transepidermal water loss (ingredients like petroleum jelly, shea butter, and some types of oils like jojoba oil, argan oil, etc, are moisturizing). Having said that, if you’re dealing with dehydrated skin than this is a cleanser that I think you must check out, but if it’s dryness you are dealing with I suggest looking for a cleanser that is labeled as creamy or milky and isn’t oil free (my moisturizing cleanser recommendations would be the Hero Cosmetics Gentle Milky Cleanser or the Isntree Yam Root Vegan Milk Cleanser). For dehydrated skin, this is easily a five star product so I hope you give it a try if it sounds like something you’d enjoy. This product is definitely gonna remain a staple in my body routine.

SkylerMikalson's avatar

SkylerMikalson

8 days ago · Sensitive Skin
Review

Gentlest water-based—or should I say glycerin-based—you can find.

Alternatives

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Our Dupe Finder has found 50 potential alternatives that have similar ingredients to Prequel Gleanser Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser For Face And Body.

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