What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Collagen
Moisturising
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingAllantoin
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Bakuchiol
Antimicrobial
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Centella Asiatica Extract
Cleansing
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Camellia Sinensis Extract
Antioxidant
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Phospholipids
Skin Conditioning
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Astaxanthin
Skin Conditioning
Arginine/Lysine Polypeptide
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Panthenol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Collagen, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Allantoin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Propanediol, Bakuchiol, Polysorbate 20, Centella Asiatica Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Camellia Sinensis Extract, Propylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Phospholipids, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Astaxanthin, Arginine/Lysine Polypeptide, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
Water
Skin ConditioningCyclopentasiloxane
Emollient
Methylpropanediol
SolventIsohexadecane
EmollientNiacinamide
Smoothing
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Bakuchiol
Antimicrobial
Polyglutamic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Glucosyl Ceramide
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Phospholipids
Skin Conditioning
Cholesterol
Emollient
Phytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
Skin Conditioning
Dipeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Acetyl Tetrapeptide-9
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
Humectant
Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate
Humectant
Potassium Hyaluronate
Skin ConditioningHydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate
Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate
Skin Conditioning
Dimethylsilanol Hyaluronate
Humectant
Sodium Carboxymethyl Hyaluronate
HumectantSoluble Collagen
Humectant
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Humectant
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Polyacrylamide
C13-14 Isoparaffin
Emollient
Laureth-7
EmulsifyingSodium PCA
Humectant
Trimethylpentanediol/Adipic Acid Copolymer
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
DMDM Hydantoin
Preservative
Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Methylpropanediol, Isohexadecane, Niacinamide, Polysorbate 20, Bakuchiol, Polyglutamic Acid, Glucosyl Ceramide, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Phospholipids, Cholesterol, Phytosphingosine, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Dipeptide-1, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-9, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hyaluronic Acid, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Potassium Hyaluronate, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Dimethylsilanol Hyaluronate, Sodium Carboxymethyl Hyaluronate, Soluble Collagen, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Allantoin, Polyacrylamide, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Laureth-7, Sodium PCA, Trimethylpentanediol/Adipic Acid Copolymer, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, DMDM Hydantoin
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Allantoin is a soothing ingredient known for its protective and moisturizing properties; it's basically a quiet workhorse ingredient you can find in a huge range of cosmetics.
Though it can be derived from the comfrey plant, allantoin is produced synthetically for cosmetic products to ensure purity.
Research shows it can encourage your skin cells to turn over and renew by stimulating keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation.
It also has mild keratolytic properties to help loosen and shed dead skin cells without being harsh.
Studies also suggest allantoin can help calm inflammation by dialing down some of the chemical signals your skin sends out when it is irritated.
This ingredient is typically used in the 0.1-0.5% range, and the FDA recognizes it as a skin protectant in OTC products up to 2%.
Overall, allantoin is a wonderful addition to most routines; it is stable across a wide pH range (~4-8), works well with other ingredients, and is considered non-sensitizing/non-irritating.
Fun fact: Allantoin is naturally occurring in comfrey root, beets, chamomile, and wheat sprouts. Our bodies even produce it as a byproduct of uric acid metabolism.
Learn more about AllantoinBakuchiol is a plant-derived antioxidant from the seeds of the Psoralea corylifolia plant. It has antimicrobial, emollient, skin conditioning, and antioxidant properties.
You'll likely see it called a "retinol replacement" but the two are technically not related. This is because bakuchiol is able to flip many of the same switches in your skin cells to tell them to:
1) produce more collagen (type I, III, and IV)
2) activate the same genes retinoids do
Unlike retinoids, this ingredient will not increase photosensitivity and is safe to use during pregnancy (but please still check in with your doctor!).
The flagship clinical trial from Dhaliwal et al. 2019 found 0.5% bakuchiol (twice daily) and 0.5% retinol (once daily) reduced wrinkles and hyperpigmentation equally, but bakuchiol had significantly less irritation.
Systematic reviews also back this up:
Bakuchiol is comparable to retinol for photoaging but with better tolerability. It also has mild antibacterial properties against Cutibacterium acnes and antifungal activity in vitro against Candida and dermatophytes.
The reason bakuchiol works well is due to its structure; it is a meroterpene phenol, or a hybrid molecule. The phenol half acts as an antioxidant while the terpene half is fat-loving. This helps the molecule slip through the skin barrier.
This ingredient is usually used between 0.5-2%. Only one case of contact dermatitis has ever been reported for this ingredient.
Learn more about BakuchiolGlycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.
Topically, glycerin does several things at once:
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.
Learn more about GlycerinPalmitoyl Tripeptide-1 (aka Pal-GHK) is a synthetic signal peptide made of three amino acids attached to palmitic acid.
That fatty acid attachment is the key: it boosts the peptide's ability to penetrate the skin barrier. This puts it closer to the dermal cells where it can actually make a difference.
Once there, it acts as a matrikine, a signaling peptide that prompts fibroblasts to produce more collagen, fibronectin, and hyaluronic acid.
In vitro studies show it can boost collagen production in skin cells even when UV-damaged skin samples were treated with it at a tiny concentration (it almost fully restored dermal collagen at 5ppm). It achieved this at 100x lower concentration than retinoic acid, which needed 500 ppm to do the same thing.
Human clinical data is promising, but modest:
A study of 23 female volunteers found a small but statistically significant increase (~4%) in skin thickness after treatment at 4 ppm.
A separate small trial of 15 women showed statistically significant reductions in wrinkle length, depth, and skin roughness after applying it twice daily for four weeks.
You'll likely see Pal-GHK paired with Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 as part of the Matrixyl 3000 complex.
Fungal acne note:
Usually a palmitic acid component can feed Malassezia in unbound form, but here is is covalently bonded to the peptide. This means it is very difficult for Malassezia to access, and therefore very unlikely to cause fungal acne.
Phospholipids are a family of skin-identical lipids that makeup the structural backbone of every cell membrane in your body.
In cosmetics, they function as skin conditioning agents with emulsifier and surfactant properties. They're typically sourced from soybean or sunflower lecithin (or sometimes egg yolk or marine sources).
Because they mirror the lipids naturally found in the deeper layers of your skin, topical phospholipids help reinforce the lipid matrix, reduce transepidermal water loss, and leave skin feeling conditioned.
They're also used to form liposomes, or tiny self-assembling vesible used to stabilize actives like vitamin c or retinol. This helps these ingredients integrate into the upper layers of skin more easily.
Phospholipids are compatible with everything and the CIR Expert Panel has concluded them to be safe at current use levels.
Some types of phospholipids include:
Learn more about PhospholipidsPolysorbate 20 is a gentle, water-soluble emulsifier and mild surfactant. It stops oil and water from separating to keep your formulas blended and stable.
It also acts as a mild penetration enhancer by helping active ingredients absorb slightly better.
The common safety discussion around this ingredient involves a manufacturing byproduct called 1,4-dioxane.
Trace amounts can form during production but the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety has concluded that levels at/below 10 ppm in finished products are safe (commercial products consistently fall within acceptable margins).
True allergic reactions are uncommon and the CIR Expert Panel has confirmed this ingredient to be safe as used in cosmetics.
Because it is derived from lauric acid, it may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Polysorbate 20Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt form of hyaluronic acid. It is a long sugar chain that is naturally found in your skin, joints, and connective tissue that maintains hydration and elasticity.
In skincare, it works as a humectant. It pulls water from the environment and deeper layers of skin and binds it to the surface.
Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.
You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium HyaluronateWater. 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
