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First Aid Beauty Brighten + Glow Facial Radiance Pads With Glycolic + Lactic Acids Versus COSRX One Step Original Clear Pad

First Aid Beauty Brighten + Glow Facial Radiance Pads With Glycolic + Lactic Acids Versus COSRX One Step Original Clear Pad This smoothing exfoliating pad uses a pre-saturated pad with Lactic Acid and Glycolic Acid to refine skin texture and brighten dull-look

By Peptide Skincare & Beauty Editorial TeamPublished

First Aid Beauty Brighten + Glow Facial Radiance Pads With Glycolic + Lactic Acids Versus COSRX One Step Original Clear Pad

This smoothing exfoliating pad uses a pre-saturated pad with Lactic Acid and Glycolic Acid to refine skin texture and brighten dull-looking skin.

This acne toner pad uses a pre-saturated pad with Salix Alba Bark Water and Betaine Salicylate to clear breakouts and balance excess oil.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice

Cucumis Sativus Fruit Water

Lactic Acid

Glycolic Acid

Hyaluronic Acid

Phyllanthus Emblica Fruit Extract

Citrus Limon Peel Extract

Citrus Nobilis Fruit Extract

Glycerin

Polysorbate 20

Phenoxyethanol

Potassium Sorbate

Sodium Benzoate

Citric Acid

Chlorphenesin

Sodium Hydroxide

Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Water, Lactic Acid, Glycolic Acid, Hyaluronic Acid, Phyllanthus Emblica Fruit Extract, Citrus Limon Peel Extract, Citrus Nobilis Fruit Extract, Glycerin, Polysorbate 20, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Chlorphenesin, Sodium Hydroxide

Salix Alba Bark Water

Butylene Glycol

Betaine Salicylate

1,2-Hexanediol

Arginine

PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil

Panthenol

Allantoin

Ethyl Hexanediol

Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil

Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil

Sodium Hyaluronate

Salix Alba Bark Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Betaine Salicylate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Arginine, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Panthenol, Allantoin, Ethyl Hexanediol, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil, Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Hyaluronate

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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.

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.

Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.

In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.

Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.

"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.

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The reference edit

Ingredients, questions
& further reading.

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

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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. 03Citric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.
  4. 04Like 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.
  5. 05However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.
  6. 06Due 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.
  7. 07In skincare formulas, citric acid can:
  8. 08While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.
  9. 09Most 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.
  10. 10Rosacea 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.
  11. 11However, 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…
  12. 12Disodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
  13. 13This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
  14. 14On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
  15. 15One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too st…
  16. 16Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
  17. 17You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
  18. 18Glycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.
  19. 19Topically, glycerin does several things at once:
  20. 20Your 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.
Source · skinsort.com ⟶
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