What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Panax Ginseng Root Water
Masking
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingPropanediol
Solvent
Lycium Chinense Stem Extract
Skin ConditioningDipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Humectant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningRehmannia Glutinosa Root Extract
Skin ConditioningLycium Chinense Fruit Extract
Antioxidant
Artemisia Vulgaris Extract
Skin Conditioning
Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract
Skin ConditioningMelia Azadirachta Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningPaeonia Lactiflora Root Extract
Skin ConditioningScrophularia Buergeriana Root Extract
EmollientPanax Ginseng Root Extract
Emollient
Betaine
Humectant
Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Corallina Officinalis Extract
Skin Conditioning
Zinc PCA
Humectant
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Persea Gratissima Fruit Extract
EmollientHydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide Ns
Skin Conditioning
Cholesterol
Emollient
Phytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide As
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Panax Ginseng Root Water, Water, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium PCA, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Propanediol, Lycium Chinense Stem Extract, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Rehmannia Glutinosa Root Extract, Lycium Chinense Fruit Extract, Artemisia Vulgaris Extract, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Paeonia Lactiflora Root Extract, Scrophularia Buergeriana Root Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Betaine, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Zinc PCA, Maltodextrin, Persea Gratissima Fruit Extract, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Ceramide NP, Ceramide Ns, Cholesterol, Phytosphingosine, Ceramide As, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Ceramide NP (formerly known as Ceramide 3) is one of the skin's naturally occurring lipids.
Since ceramides are the major lipid components of the skin, they are crucial for maintaining skin barrier and hydration. Ceramide NP most closely mirrors the dominant kind in human skin amongst ceramide subtypes.
This ceramide works by slotting into gaps within the stratum corneum's lipid matrix to limit trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and shield the skin against external irritants.
A study with 312 patients found that using a ceramide-containing routine for 4 weeks reduced the severity of atopic dermatitis by over 61%.
Another clinical study in subjects aged 60 and older found that a ceramide body wash and moisturizer improved skin dryness and itchy skin in 15 days.
Overall, ceramides are considered non-irritating and safety tests have found little to no observable adverse effects from using this ingredient.
Ceramide NP is usually sourced from plants (like soybean or rice bran), or produced synthetically.
Learn more about Ceramide NPGlycerin (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 GlycerinHydroxyethylcellulose is used to improve the texture of products. It is created from a chemical reaction involving ethylene oxide and alkali-cellulose. Cellulose is a sugar found in plant cell walls and help give plants structure.
This ingredient helps stabilize products by preventing ingredients from separating. It can also help thicken the texture of a product.
This ingredient can also be found in pill medicines to help our bodies digest other ingredients.
Learn more about HydroxyethylcelluloseWater. 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 WaterZinc PCA is a clever two-in-one molecule: the zinc salt of pyrrolidone carboxylic acid (PCA).
Think of it as two useful things bonded together; the PCA half is one of your skin's own natural moisturizing factors (NMF) so it helps hold water in the upper layers. On the other hand, the zinc half does the heavy lifting on oil and bacteria.
The zinc part slows down an enzyme that turns testosterone into DHT, the hormone that tells your oil glands to pump out more sebum. Less of that signal means less oil. It also gently fights acne-causing bacteria and soothes redness/irritation.
This is why Zinc PCA often shows up in products for oily, breakout-prone skin and greasy scalps.
One lab study also hinted it might have a small anti-aging perk because it seemed to protect collagen from UVA damage and even helped the skin make a bit more of it. That last bit is still early research done in a dish and not real skin, so take it as a nice bonus rather than a promise for now.
As for scar healing, the picture is more "maybe" than a firm yes. Zinc itself plays a real role in wound repair because it is a cofactor for the enzymes involved in collagen building, calming inflammation, and helping new skin cells cover a wound. Lower zinc levels are also linked to slower healing.
Most of the scar healing research is on zinc oxide or oral zinc rather than zinc PCA specifically, with a focus on healing fresh wounds instead of scars that are already there.
Direct evidence that zinc PCA improves the look of established scars is still limited at this time. Though it would be fair to say zinc PCA supports the general skin-repair environment thanks to its zinc content .
This ingredient is water-soluble and plays nicely with other actives like niacinamide and salicylic acid. It works best at mildly acidic formulas (~4-6 pH) and is effective at low levels. Around 0.1% is enough to be active and finished products commonly use it anywhere up to 4%.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-drama multitasker that suits oily and acne-prone skin.
Learn more about Zinc PCA
