The Body Shop Vitamin E Night Cream Versus REN Clean Skincare V-Cense Revitalising Night Cream

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.

Safety-wise, it's deemed safe to use in cosmetics by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel. Dermal animal testing found it to be non-toxic and non-irritating.

This ingredient has a comedogenic reputation; it's important to know comedogenic ratings come from outdated rabbit ear tests. Rabbit ears are way more sensitive than human skin and prone to clogging. How likely a formula will clog pores depends on the overall formulation rather than a few comedogenic ingredients.

Because this ingredient is an ester of Myristic acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. Myristic acid is a C14 fatty acid that sits in the C11-24 range that feeds the Malassezia yeast.

For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.

The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.

For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.

One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.

Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.

Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.

The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.

On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.

Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).

You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.

Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.

Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.

Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.

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.

Wheat germ oil's real claim to fame is its vitamin E content; it has the highest vitamin E of any vegetable oil. This gives is strong antioxidant properties and helps the oil resist going rancid.

Patch-testing of wheat-germ products has shown no irritation or sensitization, and this ingredient is a great choice for dry skin. It might be a bit heavy for acne-prone or oily skin.

There are just three caveats worth knowing:

Like other plant oils, it contains the C11-24 fatty acids that Malassezia can metabolize. Therefore, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.

Refined oils carry very little protein, but anyone diagnosed with a wheat or gluten allergy should patch test just to be cautious.

While blogs like to list this ingredient with a comedogenic rating of 5, the original study was actually done on a different ingredient: wheat germ triglycerides. Wheat germ triglycerides actually scored a 3 and not a 5. The 5 appears to be a mix-up that spread across charts over the years, with no actual data behind it.

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!