Peptide Skincare & BeautySkin science and ingredient guides

Skin science article

Beauty of Joseon Green Plum Refreshing Cleanser Versus Thank You Farmer Phyto Relieful Cica Gel Cleanser

Beauty of Joseon Green Plum Refreshing Cleanser Versus Thank You Farmer Phyto Relieful Cica Gel Cleanser This mild gel cleanser is made to cleanse while calming and soothing your skin. What's inside Key Ingredients Benefits Concerns Ingredients Side-by-side Wa

Beauty of Joseon Green Plum Refreshing Cleanser Versus Thank You Farmer Phyto Relieful Cica Gel Cleanser

This mild gel cleanser is made to cleanse while calming and soothing your skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Prunus Mume Fruit Water

Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine

Phaseolus Radiatus Seed Extract

Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate

Glycerin

Sodium Chloride

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Houttuynia Cordata Extract

Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract

Oryza Sativa Extract

Prunus Mume Fruit Extract

Vaccinium Angustifolium Fruit Extract

Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride

Coconut Acid

Ethylhexylglycerin

Caprylyl Glycol

Sodium Isethionate

Citric Acid

Butylene Glycol

1,2-Hexanediol

Hydroxyacetophenone

Dextrin

Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract

Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract

Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract

Propylene Glycol Laurate

Sodium Citrate

Disodium EDTA

Water, Prunus Mume Fruit Water, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Phaseolus Radiatus Seed Extract, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Oryza Sativa Extract, Prunus Mume Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Angustifolium Fruit Extract, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Coconut Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Isethionate, Citric Acid, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Dextrin, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract, Propylene Glycol Laurate, Sodium Citrate, Disodium EDTA

Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate

Coco-Betaine

Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate

Acrylates Copolymer

Centella Asiatica Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract

Centella Asiatica Extract

Ficus Carica Fruit Extract

Solanum Melongena Fruit Extract

Lonicera Japonica Flower Extract

Forsythia Suspensa Fruit Extract

Angelica Gigas Root Extract

Cnidium Officinale Root Extract

Gardenia Jasminoides Fruit Extract

Coptis Japonica Root Extract

Glycyrrhiza Uralensis Root Extract

Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil

Juniperus Virginiana Oil

Artemisia Vulgaris Oil

Hydrogenated Lecithin

Mentha Arvensis Leaf Oil

Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate

Beta-Glucan

Tromethamine

Hexylene Glycol

Sodium Phytate

Panthenol

Ceramide NP

Water, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Glycerin, Coco-Betaine, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Chloride, 1,2-Hexanediol, Centella Asiatica Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Ficus Carica Fruit Extract, Solanum Melongena Fruit Extract, Lonicera Japonica Flower Extract, Forsythia Suspensa Fruit Extract, Angelica Gigas Root Extract, Cnidium Officinale Root Extract, Gardenia Jasminoides Fruit Extract, Coptis Japonica Root Extract, Glycyrrhiza Uralensis Root Extract, Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil, Juniperus Virginiana Oil, Artemisia Vulgaris Oil, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Mentha Arvensis Leaf Oil, Citric Acid, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Beta-Glucan, Tromethamine, Hexylene Glycol, Sodium Phytate, Panthenol, Ceramide NP, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hydroxyacetophenone

Reviews

Be the first to review

Alternatives

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.

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 preservatives

Citric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.

Like other AHAs, citric acid can exfoliate skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.

However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.

Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.

In skincare formulas, citric acid can:

While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.

Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.

Rosacea skin has a lower threshold for acids generally, with 62.5% of rosacea subjects in one study reacting to lactic acid in a sting test. This is why we mark citric acid as a potential rosacea trigger.

However, this ingredient shows up as a pH adjuster or chelator at roughly 0.1-1% in many products. These low levels are unlikely to be an issue for rosacea skin and becomes a potential trigger at exfoliating concentrations (20%). Because everybody's skin is unique, we recommend a patch test if you are unsure.

Ethylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:

The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.

Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.

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.

Hydroxyacetophenone is a small phenolic molecule that earns its place in a formulas as an antioxidant and preservative booster.

As a phenol, it is able to neutralize free radicals to protect both the product and the skin from oxidative stress.

Though it can't kill microbes on its own, it works as a good supporting agent when combined with other preservatives like Phenoxyethanol or 1,2-Hexanediol.

This ingredient naturally occurs as piceol in Norwegian spruce needles (~0.4-1.1% dry weight and in cloudberries). Though the cosmetic-grade material is synthesized for purity and consistency.

You'll usually see it used at low levels and suppliers recommend up to 1% added to a water phase.

Safety testing was done at concentrations like 0.05% in SPF products and 0.5% in a Human Repeated Insult Patch Test. The safety evidence is assuring; this ingredient is safe for cosmetics in current use and also holds safety status as a food flavoring as well.

An honest caveat: the "soothing" and "anti-inflammatory" claims come mostly from supplier marketing rather than published clinical trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review's own literature search found no useful efficacy studies on this ingredient.

So the antioxidant and preservative-boosting roles are the well supported ones while the calming benefit is plausible but thinly evidenced.

Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-irritation multitasker that quietly helps a formula stay fresh and stable.

Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.

You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.

You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.

You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.

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. 093-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid is one of the most popular "stable" vitamin C derivatives in skincare.
  10. 10Plain ascorbic acid is fantastic but notoriously fragile; it browns, oxidizes, and loses potency fast. So attaching an ethyl group to the third carbon of the molecule gives it some cool perks:
  11. 11In a formula, it does the 3 classic vitamin C jobs: it acts as an antioxidant, helps brighten skin tone by inhibiting tyrosinase, and supports collagen.
  12. 12The evidence is reasonably solid for a cosmetic ingredient; Liao and colleagues (2018) showed it's significantly more stable than ascorbic acid while still being effective.
  13. 13A 2021 study by Zerbinati and colleagues tested a serum with 30% 3-O-ethyl-l-ascorbic acid and 1% lactic acid significantly increased collagen production, reduced UVB-induced DNA damage, and decreased melanin on a reconstructed pigmented skin model.
  14. 14Typical real world usage sits around 0.5-5% (and 1-2% is common for daily serums).
  15. 15Amounts up to 30% have been shown to be non-irritating on human skin samples, but two isolated cases reported allergic contact dermatitis so a patch test is sensible if you have reactive skin.
  16. 16Betaine is a humectant. Like hyaluronic acid, it helps attract and retain moisture in the skin. It’s known for being gentle and for helping the skin maintain balanced hydration.
  17. 17Betaine is mainly used to improve hydration and support calmer skin. It helps skin cells regulate water balance because it functions as an osmolyte.
  18. 18Some studies suggest betaine may support making skin tone more even.
  19. 19Fun fact: Betaine naturally exists in the skin and the body. In cosmetic products, it can be either plant-derived (most commonly from sugar beets) or synthetically produced for consistency and stability.
  20. 20Betaine is also known as trimethylglycine.
Source · skinsort.com
02

Product index

Related product references

03

Comparison edit

Read side by side