This smoothing toner is formulated around Glycolic Acid to refine skin texture and brighten dull-looking skin.

This smoothing exfoliator is formulated around Salicylic Acid and Resveratrol to refine skin texture and refine the look of pores.

Toner
Exfoliator
Canadian Canada
German Germany

What's inside

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

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4.04
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Great Value 66% Works Well 59% Light 46%
4.25
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Works Well 63% Absorbs Well 38% Drying 38%

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Humectant, Skin Conditioning

Sodium PCA (the salt of PCA) is one of the most well-established humectants in skincare.

Why is it so special? Your skin already makes it naturally; it's a natural component of your skin's Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF), or the mix of water-binding compounds inside your skin cells that keeps things soft and hydrated.

As a cosmetic ingredient, it grabs water and holds it in the upper layers of skin to smooth roughness and ease dehydration.

There's some clinical support for the NMF approach with a study showing that a cream built to mimic the skin's NMF significantly boosted hydration.

Safety-wise, this ingredient non-irritating, non-comedogenic, and non-phototoxic in testing, with minimal skin absorption.

It also works really well with other hydrators like glycerin or hyaluronic acid, and typical usage is somewhere between 0.2-4%.

Learn more about Sodium PCA
Skin Conditioning, Solvent

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. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water

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