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Product Comparison

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of Stacked Skincare Advanced Retinol Serum versus MediCube Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum .

Last updated on February 02, 2024. Published on February 08, 2024

Overview

What they are

These products are both cruelty-free and reef safe serums. They have a total of 12 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain hyaluronic acid, niacinamide 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 and dark spots

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, fragrances, 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 American Brand United States
Serum South Korean Brand South Korea

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 Advanced Retinol Serum

Shop

Buy Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum

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 C
Vitamin E
Niacinamide
Hyaluronic Acid (3)

Benefits

Hydrating (3)
Good For Oily Skin (2)
Redness Reducing (3)
Reduces Irritation
Skin Texture (2)
Reduces Large Pores (2)
Anti-Aging (5)
Dark Spots (4)
Scar Healing (3)
Acne Fighting (2)
Brightening (5)

Concerns

Drying
May Worsen Oily Skin
Irritating (2)

Notable Ingredients

Vitamin E
Niacinamide
Ceramides
Hyaluronic Acid (5)

Benefits

Hydrating (6)
Good For Oily Skin
Redness Reducing (4)
Reduces Irritation (3)
Reduces Large Pores
Anti-Aging (3)
Dark Spots
Scar Healing (2)
Acne Fighting
Brightening (4)

Concerns

Irritating
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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: 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

Stacked Skincare Advanced Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 1.

MediCube Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum contains this as ingredient number 1.

2
What it does: Solvent
Community Rating: Liked

Propanediol helps absorb ingredients into your skin, boosting their benefits. It can act as an emollient, making your skin softer. Propanediol can help products last longer by boosting the properties of preservatives within the formulation.

Propanediol is not likely to cause sensitivity and considered safe to use.

It is derived from corn or petroleum with a clear color and no scent.

Learn more about Propanediol

Stacked Skincare Advanced Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 2.

MediCube Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum contains this as ingredient number 22.

3
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

Stacked Skincare Advanced Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 8.

MediCube Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum contains this as ingredient number 2.

4
What it does: Smoothing
Community Rating: Loved

Niacinamide has emerged as an all-star ingredient due to its many benefits.

It is known to treat acne by reducing inflammation. It also helps fade dark-spots and strengthen the skin by promoting the growth of the ceramide barrier.

Other benefits include smoothing wrinkles and minimizing redness.

The cherry on top? Niacinamide can also help build keratin, a protein that keeps skin firm.

When incorporating niacinamide into your routine, look out for concentration amounts. Typically, 5% niacinamide provides benefits such as fading dark spots. However, if you have sensitive skin, it is better to begin with a smaller concentration.

Niacinamide can be mixed with other ingredients to boost benefits. For instance, it has shown to be effective when used with copper, folic acid, and zinc to treat acne.

Learn more about Niacinamide

Stacked Skincare Advanced Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 9.

MediCube Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum contains this as ingredient number 4.

5
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Liked

Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer is a type of hyaluronic acid. In fact, it is modified version of hyaluronic acid.

The structure of Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer allows it to stay in the skin's top layer for a longer period of time. This allows for even more hydration and humectant action than hyaluronic acid.

These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:

Learn more about Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer

Stacked Skincare Advanced Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 10.

MediCube Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum contains this as ingredient number 36.

6
What it does: Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Loved

Beta-Glucan is a polysaccharide. It can be derived from the cell walls of seaweed, oats, yeast, and fungi.

Beta-Glucan is a humectant, meaning it can hold large amounts of water. This helps hydrate the skin. It also helps boost your skin's natural barrier.

Beta-Glucan has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help fight free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.

Studies show Beta-Glucan may be an effective wrinkle reducer as it can deeply penetrate into skin. It has also been show to help with wound healing.

Learn more about Beta-Glucan

Stacked Skincare Advanced Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 11.

MediCube Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum contains this as ingredient number 34.

7
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Loved

Sodium Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid's salt form. It is commonly derived from the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid.

Like hyaluronic acid, it is great at holding water and acts as a humectant. This makes it a great skin hydrating ingredient.

Sodium Hyaluronate is naturally occurring in our bodies and is mostly found in eye fluid and joints.

These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:

Learn more about Sodium Hyaluronate

Stacked Skincare Advanced Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 16.

MediCube Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum contains this as ingredient number 31.

8
What it does: Humectant
Community Rating: Liked

Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate is a type of Hyaluronic Acid.

Hyaluronic Acids help moisturize, soothe, and protect the skin.

Stacked Skincare Advanced Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 18.

MediCube Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum contains this as ingredient number 42.

9
What it does: Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Loved

Panthenol (also referred to as pro-vitamin B5) is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin.

lt is a humectant, meaning that it helps the skin attract and retain moisture.

Another benefit is the anti-inflammatory abilities. This means that it's great for sensitive, irritation-prone skin.

Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.

Learn more about Panthenol

Stacked Skincare Advanced Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 20.

MediCube Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum contains this as ingredient number 14.

10
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

Stacked Skincare Advanced Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 21.

MediCube Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum contains this as ingredient number 37.

11
What it does:
Community Rating: Liked

Sodium Phytate is the synthetic salt form of phytic acid. Phytic acid is an antioxidant and can be found in plant seeds.

Sodium Phytate is a chelating agent. Chelating agents help prevent metals from binding to water. This helps stabilize the ingredients and the product.

Stacked Skincare Advanced Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 32.

MediCube Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum contains this as ingredient number 28.

12
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.

Stacked Skincare Advanced Retinol Serum contains this as ingredient number 33.

MediCube Age-R Glutathione Glow Serum contains this as ingredient number 24.

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

54% are loved or liked
26% have mixed ratings
11% are disliked or very disliked
9% have no rating yet
65% are loved or liked
19% have mixed ratings
14% are disliked or very disliked
2% have no rating yet

Usage

Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.

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