What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
HumectantGlycerin
HumectantCollagen Extract
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
MaskingNiacinamide
Smoothing1,2-Hexanediol
Skin ConditioningCetearyl Olivate
Cetyl Ethylhexanoate
EmollientSoluble Collagen
HumectantHydrolyzed Collagen
EmollientCollagen Amino Acids
MoisturisingCollagen
MoisturisingHexapeptide-2
BleachingPanthenol
Skin ConditioningAllantoin
Skin ConditioningHydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
HumectantSodium Hyaluronate
HumectantHydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
HumectantPotassium Hyaluronate
Skin ConditioningHydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate
Hyaluronic Acid
HumectantSodium Acetylated Hyaluronate
HumectantHeptyl Undecylenate
EmollientGlyceryl Stearate
EmollientC10-18 Triglycerides
EmollientAcrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingValine
MaskingThreonine
Proline
Skin ConditioningIsoleucine
Skin ConditioningHistidine
HumectantMethionine
Skin ConditioningCysteine
AntioxidantBiotin
AntiseborrhoeicPentylene Glycol
Skin ConditioningGlycine
BufferingSerine
MaskingGlutamic Acid
HumectantAspartic Acid
MaskingLeucine
Skin ConditioningAlanine
MaskingLysine
Skin ConditioningArginine
MaskingTyrosine
MaskingPhenylalanine
MaskingAdenosine
Skin ConditioningSorbitan Olivate
EmulsifyingSorbitan Isostearate
EmulsifyingCetearyl Alcohol
EmollientVinyldimethicone
Tromethamine
BufferingGlyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer
HumectantPvm/Ma Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingDisodium EDTA
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningWater, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Collagen Extract, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Niacinamide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Cetearyl Olivate, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Soluble Collagen, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Collagen Amino Acids, Collagen, Hexapeptide-2, Panthenol, Allantoin, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Potassium Hyaluronate, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate, Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Heptyl Undecylenate, Glyceryl Stearate, C10-18 Triglycerides, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Valine, Threonine, Proline, Isoleucine, Histidine, Methionine, Cysteine, Biotin, Pentylene Glycol, Glycine, Serine, Glutamic Acid, Aspartic Acid, Leucine, Alanine, Lysine, Arginine, Tyrosine, Phenylalanine, Adenosine, Sorbitan Olivate, Sorbitan Isostearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Vinyldimethicone, Tromethamine, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Pvm/Ma Copolymer, Xanthan Gum, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin
Polyisobutene
Diisostearyl Malate
EmollientDibutyl Adipate
EmollientSimmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
EmollientOlea Europaea Fruit Oil
MaskingPetrolatum
EmollientDipropylene Glycol
HumectantMicrocrystalline Wax
Emulsion StabilisingButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin ConditioningMacadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil
EmollientEuphorbia Cerifera Wax
Adenosine
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
HumectantSorbitan Sesquioleate
EmulsifyingPentylene Glycol
Skin ConditioningTocopheryl Acetate
AntioxidantCollagen
MoisturisingCollagen Amino Acids
MoisturisingCollagen Extract
Skin ConditioningSoluble Collagen
HumectantHydrolyzed Collagen
EmollientHexapeptide-2
BleachingAcetyl Hexapeptide-8
HumectantCyanocobalamin
Skin ConditioningLithospermum Erythrorhizon Root Extract
Skin ConditioningNiacinamide
SmoothingHizikia Fusiforme Extract
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
HumectantCaprylyl Glycol
EmollientWater
Skin ConditioningBiotin
Antiseborrhoeic1,2-Hexanediol
Skin ConditioningPolyisobutene, Diisostearyl Malate, Dibutyl Adipate, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Petrolatum, Dipropylene Glycol, Microcrystalline Wax, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Euphorbia Cerifera Wax, Adenosine, Glycerin, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Pentylene Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Collagen, Collagen Amino Acids, Collagen Extract, Soluble Collagen, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Hexapeptide-2, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Cyanocobalamin, Lithospermum Erythrorhizon Root Extract, Niacinamide, Hizikia Fusiforme Extract, Butylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Water, Biotin, 1,2-Hexanediol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.Â
It is a:
- Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
- Emollient, helping to soften skin
- Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
- Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservativesÂ
Adenosine is in every living organism. It is one of four components in nucleic acids that helps store our DNA.
Adenosine has many benefits when used. These benefits include hydrating the skin, smoothing skin, and reducing wrinkles. Once applied, adenosine increases collagen production. It also helps with improving firmness and tissue repair.
Studies have found adenosine may also help with wound healing.
In skincare products, Adenosine is usually derived from yeast.
Learn more about AdenosineBiotin is a B vitamin that is naturally produced by our bodies. It is also called Vitamin H.
Our bodies use biotin in the metabolism process. It also helps our bodies use enzymes and move nutrients around. A biotin deficiency can lead to brittle hair and nails.
More research is needed on applying biotin topically. However, taking biotin orally has been shown to help nourish the skin, hair, and nails. They play a role in forming skin-hydrating fatty acids.
Biotin is water-soluble. It can be found in foods such as fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, and meat. Vitamin H stands for "haar" and "haut". These are the German words for hair and skin.
Learn more about BiotinButylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolCollagen is a big structural protein that your body uses to keep skin firm and bouncy. Despite the marketing, topically applied collagen doesn't "refill" the collagen in your skin.
The molecule is too big to pass through your skin barrier so intact Collagen physically can't get past the surface.
What it actually does in your skincare is work as a humectant and film-former: it binds water, lays down a light moisturizing film, and reduces water loss from the surface. This helps make skin feel smoother and temporarily plumper.
This ingredient has been found safe for use in cosmetics with clinical studies showing no irritation, sensitization, or phototoxicity. It's typically used at low concentrations (often a fraction of a percent up to a few percent).
Collagen will not increase sun sensitivity, but you should always wear sunscreen during the day.
Learn more about hydrolyzed collagen or soluble collagen.
Learn more about CollagenCollagen amino acids are naturally found in the outermost layer of your skin.Your body uses amino acids to build collagen and elastin.
Due to their tiny size, amino acids are able to be absorbed into the skin. They mostly play a role in keeping your skin hydrated and reinforcing your NMF (natural moisturizing factors).
Collagen extract is derived from parts of animals. It has skin conditioning properties and is mostly comprised of glycine, proline, and hydroxypoline. These are amino acids.
While our skin does have collagen, this ingredient is not used by the skin for anti-aging. Applying collagen topically has not been linked to helping with collagen loss in skin. All the benefits of collagen are related to hydration.
This ingredient will not increase sun sensitivity, but you should always wear sunscreen during the day.
Learn more about Collagen ExtractGlycerin (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 GlycerinHexapeptide-2 is a peptide.
Hydrolyzed Collagen is Collagen (usually sourced from fish, bovine, or porcine byproducts) that's been broken down into smaller peptides. This makes it water-soluble and easy to blend into formulations.
In a formula, it works mainly as a skin-conditioning and moisturizing agent.
The small peptides and amino acids (including Natural Moisturizing Factor components like Hydroxyproline, Serine, and Aspartic Acid) help the surface of the skin hold onto water, feel softer, and look temporarily plumper.
This ingredient also has mild film-forming and antioxidant properties with research showing the antioxidant effect is stronger the lower the molecular weight of the peptides.
It's worth being realistic here:
Topically applied Hydrolyzed Collagen conditions the upper layers of skin rather than rebuilding the structural collagen deep in your dermis (the wrinkle-and-firmness benefits people associate with Collagen mostly come from oral supplements in studies, not topicals).
However, recent lab and skin-model work on Hydrolyzed Fish Collagen has shown promising effects on cell viability and wound healing when used as an active.
Typical concentrations range from 0.2-2%, but the percentage can go much higher in rinse-off or hair products (sometimes even above 50%).
Clinical studies on this ingredient showed no irritation, sensitization, or phototoxicity.
If you are looking for vegan collagen, it usually goes by a different INCI name like hydrolyzed soy protein. Vegan collagen is derived from yeast, bacteria, or plant sources.
The results are varied.
A study from 2021 found hydrolyzed collagen increased elasticity and improved wrinkles in 1,125 participants between age 20 and 70. Another study found increased skin thickness in participants between the ages of 45 to 59.
However, It is difficult to prove that oral collagen will end up working on your skin. Many of the studies using hydrolyzed collagen also add several vitamins and nutrients into the test mixture as well.
Further studies are needed at this time.
Learn more about Hydrolyzed CollagenNiacinamide is a multitasking form of vitamin B3 that strengthens the skin barrier, reduces pores and dark spots, regulates oil, and improves signs of aging.
And the best part? It's gentle and well-tolerated by most skin types, including sensitive and reactive skin.
You might have heard of "niacin flush", or the reddening of skin that causes itchiness. Niacinamide has not been found to cause this.
In very rare cases, some individuals may not be able to tolerate niacinamide at all or experience an allergic reaction to it.
If you are experiencing flaking, irritation, and dryness with this ingredient, be sure to double check all your products as this ingredient can be found in all categories of skincare.
When incorporating niacinamide into your routine, look out for concentration amounts. Typically, 5% niacinamide provides benefits such as fading dark spots. However, if you have sensitive skin, it is better to begin with a smaller concentration.
When you apply niacinamide to your skin, your body converts it into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD is an essential coenzyme that is already found in your cells as "fuel" and powers countless biological processes.
In your skin, NAD helps repair cell damage, produce new healthy cells, support collagen production, strengthen the skin barrier, and fight environmental stressors (like UV and pollution).
Our natural NAD levels start to decline with age, leading to slower skin repair, visible aging, and a weaker skin barrier. By providing your skin niacinamide, you're recharging your skin's NAD levels. This leads to stronger, healthier, and younger looking skin.
Another name for vitamin B3 is nicotinamide. This vitamin is water-soluble and our bodies don't store it. We obtain Vitamin B3 from either food or skincare. Meat, fish, wheat, yeast, and leafy greens contain vitamin B3.
The type of niacinamide used in skincare is synthetically created.
Learn more about NiacinamidePentylene glycol is typically used within a product to thicken it. It also adds a smooth, soft, and moisturizing feel to the product. It is naturally found in plants such as sugar beets.
The hydrophilic trait of Pentylene Glycol makes it a humectant. As a humectant, Pentylene Glycol helps draw moisture from the air to your skin. This can help keep your skin hydrated.
This property also makes Pentylene Glycol a great texture enhancer. It can also help thicken or stabilize a product.
Pentylene Glycol also acts as a mild preservative and helps to keep a product microbe-free.
Some people may experience mild eye and skin irritation from Pentylene Glycol. We always recommend speaking with a professional about using this ingredient in your routine.
Pentylene Glycol has a low molecular weight and is part of the 1,2-glycol family.
Learn more about Pentylene GlycolSoluble collagen is a large, water-loving protein typically extracted from cattle hides or marine sources like fish skin.
In cosmetics, it works purely as a humectant and film-former.
Despite the marketing that surrounds the word "collagen", its molecule is far too large to penetrate skin so it can't rebuild the collagen in your dermis.
Instead, it sits on the surface and binds water to help reduce transepidermal water loss and leave skin feeling soft, plump, and temporarily tightened.
Suppliers commonly recommend using it around 3-6% though industry data shows concentrations are often much lower (down to a fraction of a percent).
This ingredient has been found safe to use in cosmetics with no reported irritation, sensitization, or phototoxicity.
Learn more about Soluble CollagenWater. 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