Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum Versus Paula's Choice Discoloration Repair Serum

Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum Versus Paula's Choice Discoloration Repair Serum

This smoothing serum is formulated around Glycolic Acid and Lactic Acid to refine skin texture and brighten dull-looking skin.

This brightening serum is formulated around Niacinamide and Tranexamic Acid to fade the look of dark spots and brighten dull-looking skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Glycolic Acid

Butylene Glycol

Glycerin

Sodium Hydroxide

Lactic Acid

Salicylic Acid

Tartaric Acid

Vitis Vinifera Juice Extract

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice

Opuntia Ficus-Indica Extract

Aesculus Hippocastanum Seed Extract

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Rubus Idaeus Fruit Extract

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Extract

Buddleja Davidii Meristem Cell Culture

Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil

Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer

Allantoin

Hydroxyethylcellulose

Galactoarabinan

Propanediol

Citric Acid

Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate

Xanthan Gum

Hexylene Glycol

Phenoxyethanol

Sodium Benzoate

Caprylyl Glycol

Potassium Sorbate

Pentylene Glycol

Sodium Carbonate

Sodium Chloride

Disodium Phosphate

Sodium Phosphate

Ethylhexylglycerin

Water, Glycolic Acid, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Lactic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Tartaric Acid, Vitis Vinifera Juice Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Extract, Aesculus Hippocastanum Seed Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Rubus Idaeus Fruit Extract, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Extract, Buddleja Davidii Meristem Cell Culture, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Allantoin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Galactoarabinan, Propanediol, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Xanthan Gum, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Caprylyl Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, Pentylene Glycol, Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Chloride, Disodium Phosphate, Sodium Phosphate, Ethylhexylglycerin

Niacinamide

Tranexamic Acid

C13-15 Alkane

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Dicaprylyl Carbonate

Ethyl Macadamiate

Behenyl Alcohol

Glyceryl Stearate

Silybum Marianum Seed Oil

Tocopherol

Lactobacillus/Coconut Fruit Juice Ferment Filtrate

Lecithin

Bakuchiol

Hydrogenated Lecithin

Glycine Soja Oil

Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract

Glycine Soja Sterols

Sodium Phytate

Malic Acid

Water, Niacinamide, Glycerin, Tranexamic Acid, C13-15 Alkane, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Ethyl Macadamiate, Behenyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Butylene Glycol, Silybum Marianum Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Lactobacillus/Coconut Fruit Juice Ferment Filtrate, Lecithin, Bakuchiol, Xanthan Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Allantoin, Glycine Soja Oil, Hexylene Glycol, Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract, Glycine Soja Sterols, Citric Acid, Sodium Phytate, Malic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin

Reviews

Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

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

Allantoin is a soothing ingredient known for its protective and moisturizing properties; it's basically a quiet workhorse ingredient you can find in a huge range of cosmetics.

Though it can be derived from the comfrey plant, allantoin is produced synthetically for cosmetic products to ensure purity.

Research shows it can encourage your skin cells to turn over and renew by stimulating keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation.

It also has mild keratolytic properties to help loosen and shed dead skin cells without being harsh.

Studies also suggest allantoin can help calm inflammation by dialing down some of the chemical signals your skin sends out when it is irritated.

This ingredient is typically used in the 0.1-0.5% range, and the FDA recognizes it as a skin protectant in OTC products up to 2%.

Overall, allantoin is a wonderful addition to most routines; it is stable across a wide pH range (~4-8), works well with other ingredients, and is considered non-sensitizing/non-irritating.

Fun fact: Allantoin is naturally occurring in comfrey root, beets, chamomile, and wheat sprouts. Our bodies even produce it as a byproduct of uric acid metabolism.

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.

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).

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.

Hexylene Glycol is a multitasker ingredient that works as a solvent, humectant, emulsifier, viscosity reducer, and preservative booster.

It is able to dissolve both water and oil-soluble ingredients to stabilize tricky actives and make products spread more easily.

As a humectant, it pulls water into the skin. But it's a pretty minor moisturizing ingredient compared to other humectants, like glycerin.

Interestingly, it can act as a mild penetration enhancer. One in vitro study on human skin found a 12% concentration upped the absorption of mometasone furoate (a medicinal ingredient used to treat inflammatory skin conditions) up to 7%.

This ingredient is typically used at levels of 0.1-10% depending on the role it's playing.

A patch test study on eczema patients didn't find a significant increase in irritation versus the control group, but the potential for irritation rises at higher concentrations.

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.

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!

Xanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.

On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.

Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.

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