What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPropylene Glycol
Humectant
3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Alcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Tri (Polyglyceryl-3/Lauryl) Hydrogenated Trilinoleate
EmulsifyingPolyisobutene
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Sorbitan Isostearate
Emulsifying
Polyacrylate-13
Parfum
Masking
Tetrasodium EDTA
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingBenzoic Acid
Masking
Disodium EDTA
Sorbic Acid
Preservative
Sodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Citric Acid
Buffering
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Limonene
Perfuming
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Water, Propylene Glycol, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Alcohol Denat., Tocopheryl Acetate, Tri (Polyglyceryl-3/Lauryl) Hydrogenated Trilinoleate, Polyisobutene, Polysorbate 20, Sorbitan Isostearate, Polyacrylate-13, Parfum, Tetrasodium EDTA, Xanthan Gum, Benzoic Acid, Disodium EDTA, Sorbic Acid, Sodium Polyacrylate, Citric Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Geraniol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid is one of the most popular "stable" vitamin C derivatives in skincare.
Plain ascorbic acid is fantastic but notoriously fragile; it browns, oxidizes, and loses potency fast. So attaching an ethyl group to the third carbon of the molecule gives it some cool perks:
In a formula, it does the 3 classic vitamin C jobs: it acts as an antioxidant, helps brighten skin tone by inhibiting tyrosinase, and supports collagen.
The evidence is reasonably solid for a cosmetic ingredient; Liao and colleagues (2018) showed it's significantly more stable than ascorbic acid while still being effective.
A 2021 study by Zerbinati and colleagues tested a serum with 30% 3-O-ethyl-l-ascorbic acid and 1% lactic acid significantly increased collagen production, reduced UVB-induced DNA damage, and decreased melanin on a reconstructed pigmented skin model.
Typical real world usage sits around 0.5-5% (and 1-2% is common for daily serums).
Amounts up to 30% have been shown to be non-irritating on human skin samples, but two isolated cases reported allergic contact dermatitis so a patch test is sensible if you have reactive skin.
Learn more about 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
