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Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Cleansing Oil Versus Bobbi Brown Soothing Cleansing Oil

Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Cleansing Oil Versus Bobbi Brown Soothing Cleansing Oil This oil-based cleanser is made to cleanse without leaving your skin tight or dry. This oil-based cleanser is made to cleanse while calming and soothing your skin. What's inside K

Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Cleansing Oil Versus Bobbi Brown Soothing Cleansing Oil

This oil-based cleanser is made to cleanse without leaving your skin tight or dry.

This oil-based cleanser is made to cleanse while calming and soothing your skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Glycine Soja Oil

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate

Sorbeth-30 Tetraoleate

Isododecane

Olea Europaea Fruit Oil

Camellia Japonica Seed Oil

Hydrogenated Coconut Oil

Octyldodecanol

Polybutene

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Water

Tocopherol

Salvia Officinalis Oil

Panax Ginseng Seed Oil

Artemisia Vulgaris Oil

Ocimum Basilicum Oil

Corylus Avellana Seed Oil

Nigella Sativa Seed Oil

Butylene Glycol

Panax Ginseng Berry Extract

Glycerin

1,2-Hexanediol

Methylpropanediol

Panax Ginseng Root Extract

Ethyl Hexanediol

Panax Ginseng Extract

Panax Ginseng Leaf/Stem Extract

Ethylhexylglycerin

Glycine Soja Oil, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Sorbeth-30 Tetraoleate, Isododecane, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Octyldodecanol, Polybutene, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Water, Tocopherol, Salvia Officinalis Oil, Panax Ginseng Seed Oil, Artemisia Vulgaris Oil, Ocimum Basilicum Oil, Corylus Avellana Seed Oil, Nigella Sativa Seed Oil, Butylene Glycol, Panax Ginseng Berry Extract, Glycerin, 1,2-Hexanediol, Methylpropanediol, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Ethyl Hexanediol, Panax Ginseng Extract, Panax Ginseng Leaf/Stem Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin

Isopropyl Palmitate

Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate

PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate

Isohexadecane

PEG-8 Diisostearate

Aleurites Moluccanus Seed Oil

PEG-12 Diisostearate

Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil

Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil

Methyldihydrojasmonate

Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil

Jasminum Officinale Flower Wax

Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed Oil

Lavandula Hybrida Oil

Lavandula Angustifolia Oil

Bisabolol

Glyceryl Laurate

Pentylene Glycol

Dipentaerythrityl Tri-Polyhydroxystearate

Linalyl Acetate

Tocopheryl Acetate

Isopropyl Palmitate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate, Polybutene, PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Isohexadecane, PEG-8 Diisostearate, Aleurites Moluccanus Seed Oil, PEG-12 Diisostearate, Tocopherol, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Methyldihydrojasmonate, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Jasminum Officinale Flower Wax, Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed Oil, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Lavandula Hybrida Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Bisabolol, Glycerin, Glyceryl Laurate, Water, Pentylene Glycol, Dipentaerythrityl Tri-Polyhydroxystearate, Linalyl Acetate, Tocopheryl Acetate

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Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

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

This ingredient is also known as Tsubaki oil, or the fixed oil from the seeds of the Japanese camellia.

It's basically a fatty acid delivery system (~75-85% oleic acid) plus some minor extras like squalene, tocopherols, and phytosterols.

That profile makes it a classic emollient; it works by hanging out with the skin's surface lipids, softens, and slows down water loss.

The most cited study on it was done on skin cells in a dish where this oil got them to make more of the building blocks for collagen while also slowing down the enzyme that breaks collagen down. Researchers tested this on human skin too; it didn't cause irritation and helped skin hold onto moisture better.

Another study done on cells and mice found this oil quieted down some of the body's inflammation signals.

These studies are still small, early, and not done on humans, so it's best to think of this ingredient as a great supporting ingredient for the rest of your routine and not the main active.

Concentrations can range from 1-5% in serums to 100% as a single face oil (how it's most traditionally used).

Because this ingredient is a triglyceride of long-chain fatty acids, this ingredient may not be Malassezia safe.

Allergies to this protein are quite rare as the refined seed oil contains very little residual protein. Human irritation testing also came back clean. But it is a plant and as with any botanical ingredient, contact allergy is possible.

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.

This ingredient is also known as olive oil. It has been used in skincare for centuries and science largely backs up its reputation as a nourishing emollient.

The main components of olive oil are oleic acid (55-83%), linoleic acid (3.5-20%), and palmitic acid (7-20%). Oleic acid promotes skin regeneration and helps regulate inflammatory responses.

Squalene is also naturally present in olive oil and exhibits moisturizing and antioxidant properties.

The polyphenols in olive oil also show anti-aging promise; one clinical study found a measurable improvement in skin appearance after 30 days of topical serum use.

Just be aware that applying olive oil directly to skin can weaken the barrier and cause redness. One study with volunteers found even people without sensitive skin experienced a significant reduction in stratum corneum integrity and induced mild erythema.

It's best to use this ingredient as part of a carefully crafted formula (instead of putting it on skin directly from the bottle).

Because it has a 2-3 on the comedogenic scale, it is a moderate risk for acne-prone skin. However, the overall formulation of a product matters more than a few ingredients with comedogenic ratings.

This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe because of the oleic and palmitic acid content. These fall within the C11-24 fatty acid range that the Malassezia yeast can metabolize to grow.

Overall, olive oil is a well-studied and nourishing skincare ingredient.

Polybutene is used to help control the viscosity of a product. This just means it helps adjusts the texture.

It is a polymer and does not get absorbed into the skin due to its large size.

Studies found this ingredient did not irritate skin in concentrations below 15%.

Tocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.

You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.

Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.

It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.

This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.

This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.

In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.

Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.

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!

Similar Comparisons

The reference edit

Ingredients, questions
& further reading.

Connected source records selected through this article’s public topic index.

01

Formula cabinet

Ingredients & structured notes

Ingredient index

Ingredients Explained

  1. 01These ingredients are found in both products.
  2. 02Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
  3. 031,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.
  4. 04It is a:
  5. 05Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
  6. 06Emollient, helping to soften skin
  7. 07Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
  8. 08Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives
  9. 09Adenosine is a purine nucleoside that your body already makes in every cell. In skincare, it acts mainly as a skin conditioning and anti-aging agent.
  10. 10The way it works is fairly well mapped out:
  11. 11Your skin has cells called fibroblasts that build collagen (the stuff that keeps skin firm and smooth). Adenosine basically flips a switch on these cells that tells them to get to work making more collagen and other proteins. These cells slow down o…
  12. 12The clinical backing is pretty solid too.
  13. 13A blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 126 women aged 45-65 tested a 0.1% cream twice daily and found real improvements in crow's feet and frown lines using a precise 3D skin-mapping technique; these changes showed up by week 3 and held at…
  14. 14A later study using Adenosine-loaded dissolving microneedle patches reported gains in wrinkle depth, dermal density, elasticity, and hydration.
  15. 15On concentrations, South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has set 0.04% as the approved functional anti-wrinkle level. You'll typically see this ingredient used somewhere in the 0.04-0.1% range since it works at low doses.
  16. 16This ingredient has been found safe for cosmetics with the data showing no irritation or sensitization.
  17. 17Overall, this is a great ingredient for any anti-aging routine and has no photosensitizing effect, so it suits both AM and PM use.
  18. 18Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
  19. 19Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
  20. 20Though 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.
Source · skinsort.com
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Product index

Related product references

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Comparison edit

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