Alpha-H Vitamin B Serum With Niacinamide Versus Paula's Choice Peptide Booster

Alpha-H Vitamin B Serum With Niacinamide Versus Paula's Choice Peptide Booster

This barrier-repair serum is formulated around Niacinamide and Salvia Hispanica Seed Extract to strengthen the skin barrier and hydrate skin.

This anti-aging treatment is formulated around Tripeptide-1 and Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 to soften the look of wrinkles and refine skin texture.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

No concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Glycerin

Niacinamide

Propanediol

Methyl Gluceth-20

Salvia Hispanica Seed Extract

Sodium PCA

Panthenol

Sodium Hyaluronate

Phenoxyethanol

Citric Acid

Potassium Hydroxide

Ferulic Acid

Wheat Amino Acids

Caprylyl Glycol

Lactobacillus Ferment

Hydroxyproline

Maltodextrin

Hydrolyzed Gardenia Florida Extract

Water, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Propanediol, Methyl Gluceth-20, Salvia Hispanica Seed Extract, Sodium PCA, Panthenol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenoxyethanol, Citric Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Ferulic Acid, Wheat Amino Acids, Caprylyl Glycol, Lactobacillus Ferment, Hydroxyproline, Maltodextrin, Hydrolyzed Gardenia Florida Extract

PEG-8 Dimethicone

Tripeptide-1

Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1

Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7

Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12

Myristoyl Hexapeptide-16

Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17

Hexanoyl Dipeptide-3 Norleucine Acetate

Azelaoyl Bis-Dipeptide-10

Glycoproteins

Phospholipids

Adenosine

Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate

Arginine

Valine

Glycine

Alanine

Glutamic Acid

Serine

Threonine

Yeast Extract

Isoleucine

Proline

Histidine

Phenylalanine

PCA

Phytic Acid

Panax Ginseng Root Extract

Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract

Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract

Ahnfeltiopsis Concinna Extract

Dextran

Hydrolyzed Silk

Lecithin

Glyceryl Polymethacrylate

C12-16 Pareth-9

Trideceth-12

Sodium Lactate

Carbomer

Aspartic Acid

Polysorbate 20

Butylene Glycol

PEG-8

C11-15 Pareth-7

Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride

Phytosteryl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate

Ectoin

Citrate Buffer

Trimethylsiloxyamodimethicone

Sodium Hydroxide

Ethylhexylglycerin

Water, Glycerin, PEG-8 Dimethicone, Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12, Myristoyl Hexapeptide-16, Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17, Hexanoyl Dipeptide-3 Norleucine Acetate, Azelaoyl Bis-Dipeptide-10, Glycoproteins, Phospholipids, Adenosine, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Arginine, Valine, Glycine, Alanine, Glutamic Acid, Serine, Threonine, Yeast Extract, Isoleucine, Proline, Histidine, Phenylalanine, PCA, Phytic Acid, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Sodium PCA, Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, Ahnfeltiopsis Concinna Extract, Dextran, Hydrolyzed Silk, Lecithin, Glyceryl Polymethacrylate, C12-16 Pareth-9, Trideceth-12, Sodium Lactate, Carbomer, Aspartic Acid, Polysorbate 20, Butylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, PEG-8, C11-15 Pareth-7, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Phytosteryl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Ectoin, Citrate Buffer, Trimethylsiloxyamodimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxide, Ethylhexylglycerin

Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

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

Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.

Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.

Because it is not a free-fatty acid, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).

Glycerin (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.

Phenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).

It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.

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.

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%.

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!

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