What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate
Humectant
Saccharomyces/Panax Ginseng Root Ferment Filtrate
Skin Conditioning
Lactobacillus/Centella Asiatica Extract Ferment Filtrate
Skin ConditioningWater
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Bifida Ferment Lysate
Skin Conditioning
Saccharomyces Lysate
Skin Conditioning
Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate Filtrate
Skin ConditioningLactobacillus/Rye Flour Ferment
Skin ConditioningLactobacillus/Soybean Extract Ferment Filtrate
Skin ConditioningLactobacillus/Ganoderma Lucidum Extract/Lentinus Edodes Extract Ferment Filtrate
Skin ConditioningSaccharomyces/Xylinum/Black Tea Ferment
Skin Conditioning
Lactobacillus/Algae Extract Ferment
Skin Protecting3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Glucomannan
Skin ConditioningSorbitol
Humectant
Xylitol
Humectant
Acetyl Glucosamine
Skin Conditioning
Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract
Skin Conditioning
Glutathione
Pseudoalteromonas Ferment Extract
Humectant
Sh-Polypeptide-121
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12
Skin Conditioning
Acetyl Hexapeptide-8
Humectant
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Sodium Citrate
BufferingHydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate
Skin Conditioning
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate
Humectant
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane
EmollientGalactomyces Ferment Filtrate, Saccharomyces/Panax Ginseng Root Ferment Filtrate, Lactobacillus/Centella Asiatica Extract Ferment Filtrate, Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Bifida Ferment Lysate, Saccharomyces Lysate, Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate Filtrate, Lactobacillus/Rye Flour Ferment, Lactobacillus/Soybean Extract Ferment Filtrate, Lactobacillus/Ganoderma Lucidum Extract/Lentinus Edodes Extract Ferment Filtrate, Saccharomyces/Xylinum/Black Tea Ferment, Lactobacillus/Algae Extract Ferment, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Glucomannan, Sorbitol, Xylitol, Acetyl Glucosamine, Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract, Glutathione, Pseudoalteromonas Ferment Extract, Sh-Polypeptide-121, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Sodium Citrate, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Citric Acid, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Caprylyl Glycol, Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane
Panax Ginseng Root Water
Masking
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Niacinamide
Smoothing
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Water
Skin ConditioningHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Glyceryl Glucoside
Humectant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPanthenol
Skin Conditioning
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Humectant
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Adenosine
Skin Conditioning
Panax Ginseng Callus Culture Extract
Skin ConditioningTheobroma Cacao Extract
Skin ConditioningDextrin
AbsorbentGlucose
Humectant
Panax Ginseng Root Extract
Emollient
Panax Ginseng Berry Extract
Skin Conditioning
Lactobacillus/Panax Ginseng Root Extract Ferment Filtrate
Skin ConditioningSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningDisodium EDTA
Panax Ginseng Root Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Propanediol, Niacinamide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Water, Hydroxyacetophenone, Glyceryl Glucoside, Xanthan Gum, Panthenol, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Allantoin, Adenosine, Panax Ginseng Callus Culture Extract, Theobroma Cacao Extract, Dextrin, Glucose, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Panax Ginseng Berry Extract, Lactobacillus/Panax Ginseng Root Extract Ferment Filtrate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.
It is a:
- Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
- Emollient, helping to soften skin
- Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
- Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolGlycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.
Topically, glycerin does several things at once:
Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.
Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.
This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.
Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.
Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.
Learn more about GlycerinHydroxyacetophenone is a small phenolic molecule that earns its place in a formulas as an antioxidant and preservative booster.
As a phenol, it is able to neutralize free radicals to protect both the product and the skin from oxidative stress.
Though it can't kill microbes on its own, it works as a good supporting agent when combined with other preservatives like Phenoxyethanol or 1,2-Hexanediol.
This ingredient naturally occurs as piceol in Norwegian spruce needles (~0.4-1.1% dry weight and in cloudberries). Though the cosmetic-grade material is synthesized for purity and consistency.
You'll usually see it used at low levels and suppliers recommend up to 1% added to a water phase.
Safety testing was done at concentrations like 0.05% in SPF products and 0.5% in a Human Repeated Insult Patch Test. The safety evidence is assuring; this ingredient is safe for cosmetics in current use and also holds safety status as a food flavoring as well.
An honest caveat: the "soothing" and "anti-inflammatory" claims come mostly from supplier marketing rather than published clinical trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review's own literature search found no useful efficacy studies on this ingredient.
So the antioxidant and preservative-boosting roles are the well supported ones while the calming benefit is plausible but thinly evidenced.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-irritation multitasker that quietly helps a formula stay fresh and stable.
Learn more about HydroxyacetophenoneWater. 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. Remember to stay hydrated!
Learn more about Water
