What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Propanediol
Solvent
Methylpropanediol
SolventTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Pentylene Glycol
Skin ConditioningChondrus Crispus Extract
Skin Conditioning
Astaxanthin
Skin Conditioning
Haematococcus Pluvialis Extract
Antioxidant
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
Antioxidant
Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract
Antioxidant
Tremella Fuciformis Extract
Humectant
Ascorbic Acid
Antioxidant
Resveratrol
Antioxidant
4-Butylresorcinol
Antioxidant
Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Oil
Skin Protecting
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Pinus Pinaster Bark Extract
Antioxidant
Myrciaria Dubia Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningCichorium Intybus Root Extract
MaskingHydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Menadione
MaskingGlycyrrhetinic Acid
Skin ConditioningGlycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Borago Officinalis Seed Oil
Emollient
Beta-Glucan
Skin Conditioning
Adenosine
Skin Conditioning
Linolenic Acid
Cleansing
Crithmum Maritimum Extract
Skin ConditioningBeta-Carotene
Skin ConditioningDaucus Carota Sativa Root Extract
Skin Conditioning
Ferulic Acid
Antimicrobial
Xanthophylls
Skin ConditioningDiamond Powder
Abrasive
Saccharum Officinarum Extract
MoisturisingRosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialTrehalose
Humectant
Proline
Skin ConditioningPhenylalanine
Masking
Glycine
Buffering
Lysine
Skin ConditioningSerine
Masking
Glutamic Acid
Humectant
Lecithin
Emollient
Aspartic Acid
Masking
Leucine
Skin ConditioningAlanine
MaskingArginine
Masking
Tyrosine
MaskingThreonine
Valine
MaskingIsoleucine
Skin ConditioningHistidine
Humectant
Cysteine
Antioxidant
Methionine
Skin ConditioningTromethamine
BufferingDextrin
AbsorbentCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingMaltodextrin
Absorbent
Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer
HumectantPolyglyceryl-10 Diisostearate
Emulsifying
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Sodium Phytate
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Water, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Propanediol, Methylpropanediol, Tocopheryl Acetate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Butylene Glycol, Panthenol, Pentylene Glycol, Chondrus Crispus Extract, Astaxanthin, Haematococcus Pluvialis Extract, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract, Tremella Fuciformis Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Resveratrol, 4-Butylresorcinol, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Pinus Pinaster Bark Extract, Myrciaria Dubia Fruit Extract, Cichorium Intybus Root Extract, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Menadione, Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Glycine Soja Oil, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Beta-Glucan, Adenosine, Linolenic Acid, Crithmum Maritimum Extract, Beta-Carotene, Daucus Carota Sativa Root Extract, Ferulic Acid, Xanthophylls, Diamond Powder, Saccharum Officinarum Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Trehalose, Proline, Phenylalanine, Glycine, Lysine, Serine, Glutamic Acid, Lecithin, Aspartic Acid, Leucine, Alanine, Arginine, Tyrosine, Threonine, Valine, Isoleucine, Histidine, Cysteine, Methionine, Tromethamine, Dextrin, Carbomer, Maltodextrin, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Polyglyceryl-10 Diisostearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sodium Phytate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Xanthan Gum, Caprylyl Glycol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Ascorbic Acid is is pure Vitamin C. This form makes up the largest amount of vitamin C found naturally in our skin.
Not only is vitamin C great for your overall health and immune system, it also has plenty of benefits on your skin.
Vitamin C is best used for brightening skin. It improves dark spots, acne scars, and hyperpigmentation. This is because it blocks the process of skin darkening when exposed to UV.
Remember: Vitamin C should not replace sunscreen!
Your skin uses vitamin C to build collagen. Collagen is one key component in having a strong skin barrier and plump skin. Vitamin C also plays a role in regulating collagen, thus making it effective in improving wrinkles and fine lines.
Ascorbic acid shows potent antioxidant activity. As an antioxidant, it helps fight free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells. These antioxidants also protect skin against UV damage.
The best formulations include Vitamin E and/or ferulic acid. These two ingredients help stabilize and provide a boost in the benefits of ascorbic acid. This is because ascorbic acid becomes unstable when exposed to UV and air. In fact, you can tell your ascorbic acid has oxidized when it turns an orange-yellow color.
Ascorbic acid is generally compatible with other ingredients. However, using ascorbic acid with other active ingredients might cause irritation. Two ingredients: copper ions and benzoyl peroxide, will inactivate ascorbic acid completely.
Read more about other types of Vitamin C:
Foods rich with vitamin C include oranges, strawberries, broccoli, bell peppers, and more. When consuming Vitamin C, your skin receives a portion of the nutrients.
Learn more about Ascorbic AcidFerulic Acid is a plant based antioxidant. By fighting free-radicals, ferulic acid can help reduce the formation of fine lines and hyperpigmentation.
When used with Vitamin C, Ferulic Acid has shown to prevent Vitamin C from breaking down. In other words, it acts as a stabilizer.
Ferulic Acid is sometimes used to preserve food. Foods containing Ferulic Acid include: oats, rice, eggplant, citrus.
In medicine, Ferulic Acid is being studied for helping with diabetes, Alzheimer's, and cardiovascular diseases.
Learn more about Ferulic AcidGlycerin 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 GlycerinPanthenol is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin. It is found naturally in our skin and hair.
There are two forms of panthenol: D and L.
D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.
Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):
Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.
This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.
Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.
This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.
Learn more about PanthenolSodium 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 HyaluronateTocopherol (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 TocopherolWater. 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. Stay hydrated!
Learn more about Water
