Peptide Skincare & BeautySkin science and ingredient guides

Skin science article

Equate Hyaluronic Acid Serum Versus Timeless Skin Care Matrixyl Synthe'6 Serum

Equate Hyaluronic Acid Serum Versus Timeless Skin Care Matrixyl Synthe'6 Serum This hydrating serum is formulated around Sodium Hyaluronate to hydrate skin and strengthen the skin barrier. This anti-aging serum is formulated around Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 and

Equate Hyaluronic Acid Serum Versus Timeless Skin Care Matrixyl Synthe'6 Serum

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

This anti-aging serum is formulated around Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 and Hyaluronic Acid to soften the look of wrinkles and refine skin texture.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Glycerin

Sodium Hyaluronate

Citric Acid

Polysorbate 20

Potassium Sorbate

Sodium Benzoate

Water, Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Citric Acid, Polysorbate 20, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate

Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin

Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf

Hyaluronic Acid

Benzyl Alcohol

Dehydroacetic Acid

Water, Glycerin, Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf, Hyaluronic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Dehydroacetic Acid

Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

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

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.

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. 03Benzyl Alcohol is an aromatic alcohol with several roles: it's a preservative, solvent, and mild fragrance component with a floral scent.
  4. 04This ingredient has been deemed safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 5%, and up to 10% in hair dyes. You'll typically see 0.5-2% in most rinse-off or leave-on products.
  5. 05As a preservative, it works by disrupting the membrane of microbial proteins. This helps keep bacteria and fungi from growing in your products.
  6. 06The sensitization picture is actually quite assuring as well:of nearly 71,000 patients patch tested with benzyl alcohol, only 0.21% showed a positive reaction with most of them being weakly positive.
  7. 07This led researchers to conclude that benzyl alcohol cannot be regarded as a significant contact allergen.
  8. 08It is worth noting this ingredient is classified as one of the EU's regulated fragrance allergens and restricted to 1% in finished products.
  9. 09Labels must also declare it in concentrations above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.
  10. 10At concentrations around 5%, localized redness and itching can appear as a direct irritant response and not as a true allergic reaction.
  11. 11Dehydroacetic Acid is a synthetic preservative that keeps your products safe from microbes.
  12. 12As an organic acid, it penetrates microbial cell walls and disrupts cellular metabolism. This makes it effective against bacteria, yeast, and mold.
  13. 13It is effective at low concentrations (<0.6%). Clinical studies have found it to be non-irritating, non-sensitizing, and non-photosensitizing.
  14. 14Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan (basically a long sugar chain) that your skin already makes on its own. In your skin, HA lives in the extracellular matrix and acts as the body's moisture reservoir.
  15. 15Topically, HA is a humectant that binds water and helps skin look more plump, smooth, and hydrated.
  16. 16The only catch is that HA isn't a single thing; it actually comes in a wide range of molecular weights (~50 - 2,000+ kDA) and size matters.
  17. 17Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
  18. 18This is why the best HA serums blend the two sizes together so you get the best of both worlds.
  19. 19The majority of cosmetic HA is produced by bacterial fermentation, typically using Streptococcus or Bacillus strains. Typical use levels in skincare sit around 0.1-2%.
  20. 20A clinical study using a 0.2% low-molecular weight HA gel showed improvement in facial seborrheic dermatitis with excellent tolerance.
Source · skinsort.com
02

Product index

Related product references

03

Comparison edit

Read side by side