bondi sands Thirsty Skin Hyaluronic Acid Serum Versus SkinMedica TNS® Advanced+ Serum

bondi sands Thirsty Skin Hyaluronic Acid Serum Versus SkinMedica TNS® Advanced+ Serum

This hydrating serum is formulated around Sodium Hyaluronate to hydrate skin and strengthen the skin barrier.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

No concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Butylene Glycol

Sodium Hyaluronate

Ethoxydiglycol

Phenoxyethanol

Hydroxyacetophenone

Glycerin

Propanediol

Lecithin

Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate

Erythritol

Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract

Aphanizomenon Flos-Aquae Extract

Water, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ethoxydiglycol, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Glycerin, Propanediol, Lecithin, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Erythritol, Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract, Aphanizomenon Flos-Aquae Extract

Pentylene Glycol

Human Neonatal Fibroblast Conditioned Media

Glycereth-7 Triacetate

Shea Butter Ethyl Esters

Lactococcus Ferment Lysate

Whey Protein

Chlorella Vulgaris Extract

Saccharide Isomerate

Dimer Tripeptide-43

Vitis Vinifera Flower Cell Extract

Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract

Tocopheryl Acetate

Xanthan Gum

Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6

Polyacrylate-13

Polyisobutene

Sclerotium Gum

PEG-12 Dimethicone

Pullulan

Sodium Citrate

Polysorbate 20

Aminomethyl Propanol

Disodium EDTA

Ethylhexylglycerin

Water, Pentylene Glycol, Human Neonatal Fibroblast Conditioned Media, Glycereth-7 Triacetate, Shea Butter Ethyl Esters, Glycerin, Ethoxydiglycol, Lactococcus Ferment Lysate, Whey Protein, Chlorella Vulgaris Extract, Saccharide Isomerate, Dimer Tripeptide-43, Vitis Vinifera Flower Cell Extract, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Hydroxyacetophenone, Tocopheryl Acetate, Propanediol, Xanthan Gum, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Polyacrylate-13, Polyisobutene, Sclerotium Gum, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Lecithin, Pullulan, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Citrate, Polysorbate 20, Aminomethyl Propanol, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin

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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.

Butylene 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.

Ethoxydiglycol (aka Diethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether) is one of the cosmetic world's quiet problem solvers.

In a formula, it is a solvent that dissolves tricky ingredients that don't want to mix in and helps spread ingredients evenly across your skin without leaving a greasy or sticky feeling

This makes it great for hard-to-dissolve actives like vitamin C, benzoyl peroxide, and self-tanner DHA.

It also has mild humectant and penetration enhancer abilities so it can help some actives absorb a little deeper.

The penetration boost is backed by lab research: studies using human skin samples found it improved how well an active dissolves into the upper layer of skin rather than tearing down your skin barrier. Reviews of its mechanism also describe it interacting gently with the lipids and water in your outermost layer of skin.

Just know this penetration-enhancing effect is not universal. It helps a lot in some formulas and did very little in others (so the benefit really depends on the specific product).

Safety-wise, the evidence is reassuring. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel reviewed it and concluded it's safe for use in cosmetics and recognized it as non-irritating, non-sensitizing, and non-comedogenic in skincare.

Typical leave-on skincare usage lands around 1-10%. The EU has sets caps of 2.6% in non-spray products, 10% in rinse-offs, 7% in oxidative hair dye, and 5% in non-oxidative hair dye.

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.

Lecithin is a term for a group of substances found in the cell membranes of plants, animals, and humans. They are made up of phospholipids.

Thanks to its amphiphilic structure (water-loving head and oil-loving tail), it is a true multitasker:

It plays well with most ingredients and is typically used at 0.1-1%. However, concentrations up to 50% have been reported in moisturizers.

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.

Propanediol is an all-star ingredient. It softens, hydrates, and smooths the skin.

It’s often used to:

Propanediol is not likely to cause sensitivity and considered safe to use. It is derived from corn or petroleum with a clear color and no scent.

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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