Skin science article
First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration Versus Laneige Cream Skin Toner & Moisturizer
First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration Versus Laneige Cream Skin Toner & Moisturizer This calming moisturizer is formulated around Colloidal Oatmeal and Squalane to calm redness and hydrate skin. This hydrating toner is formulated around Limnant
First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration Versus Laneige Cream Skin Toner & Moisturizer
This calming moisturizer is formulated around Colloidal Oatmeal and Squalane to calm redness and hydrate skin.
This hydrating toner is formulated around Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil and Ceramide AP to hydrate skin and strengthen the skin barrier.
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Colloidal Oatmeal 0.5%
Water
Stearic Acid
Glycerin
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Glyceryl Stearate
Cetearyl Alcohol
Dimethicone
Squalane
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Phenoxyethanol
Caprylyl Glycol
Xanthan Gum
Allantoin
Sodium Hydroxide
Tetrasodium EDTA
Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
Ceramide NP
Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil
Colloidal Oatmeal 0.5%, Water, Stearic Acid, Glycerin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Squalane, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Allantoin, Sodium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium EDTA, Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Ceramide NP, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil
Butylene Glycol
Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil
Ceramide AP
1,2-Hexanediol
Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate
Glyceryl Stearate Citrate
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate
Inulin Lauryl Carbamate
Glyceryl Caprylate
Ethylhexylglycerin
Propanediol
Disodium EDTA
Carbomer
Mannitol
Acrylates/Stearyl Methacrylate Copolymer
Tremella Fuciformis Sporocarp Extract
Hyaluronic Acid
Camellia Japonica Flower Extract
Tocopherol
Acetyl Tetrapeptide-11
Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, Ceramide AP, 1,2-Hexanediol, Squalane, Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Inulin Lauryl Carbamate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Propanediol, Disodium EDTA, Carbomer, Mannitol, Acrylates/Stearyl Methacrylate Copolymer, Tremella Fuciformis Sporocarp Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Xanthan Gum, Ceramide NP, Camellia Japonica Flower Extract, Tocopherol, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-11
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.
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (tea extract) is one of the most well-researched plant extracts in skincare with an impressive resume.
Black tea, green tea, and oolong tea are all harvested from the Camellia Sinensis plant.
Studies show green tea extract and its catechins (like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)) help your skin cells product energy more efficiently and reducing the number of free-radicals that can damage your skin from the inside.
In lab-grown skin models, this translated to younger, healthier, and stronger skin.
There's also good sun protection data; researchers saw less DNA damage and redness on human skin when green tea was applied before UVB exposure. And the more they applied, the better the protection.
Needless to say, this ingredient shouldn't replace your sunscreen. But it is a great supportive ingredient that you can already find in many sunscreens and antioxidant serums.
A 2009 study found a 2% green tea lotion was effective for mild-to-moderate acne thanks to its anti-inflammatory and mild antimicrobial activity.
The quality of the extract matters a lot here:
Good extracts contain 50-90% catechins while lower quality ones are mostly there for marketing. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the quality or source of their ingredients.
Human Repeated Insult Patch Testing showed no irritation or sensitization at use concentrations (0.86% in leave-on products and up to 30% as leaf water).
Ceramide NP (formerly known as Ceramide 3) is one of the skin's naturally occurring lipids.
Since ceramides are the major lipid components of the skin, they are crucial for maintaining skin barrier and hydration. Ceramide NP most closely mirrors the dominant kind in human skin amongst ceramide subtypes.
This ceramide works by slotting into gaps within the stratum corneum's lipid matrix to limit trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and shield the skin against external irritants.
A study with 312 patients found that using a ceramide-containing routine for 4 weeks reduced the severity of atopic dermatitis by over 61%.
Another clinical study in subjects aged 60 and older found that a ceramide body wash and moisturizer improved skin dryness and itchy skin in 15 days.
Overall, ceramides are considered non-irritating and safety tests have found little to no observable adverse effects from using this ingredient.
Ceramide NP is usually sourced from plants (like soybean or rice bran), or produced synthetically.
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.
Squalane is the hydrogenated and shelf-stable form of squalene (a lipid that naturally occurs in human sebum).
It is an emollient and skin conditioning agent that is able to integrate seamlessly into the skin's lipid barrier without clogging pores.
This is due to how structurally similar it is to what your skin already produces.
Though it is mostly an emollient that helps soften and hydrate skin, it also has some humectant and occlusive action. Humectants help the skin retain moisture while occlusives seal it in, making squalane a triple-threat moisturizer.
Research shows it has antioxidant capabilities that help protect against stressors like UV exposure, specifically UVA induced oxidative stress. This study also found that it supports collagen biosynthesis in human dermal fibroblasts.
No clinical study has reported significant adverse effects and irritation reactions are very rare from this ingredient (even at 100% concentration).
Overall, it's a fantastic ingredient for hydration and is suitable for all skin types.
This depends on the source. Squalane can be derived from both plants and animals. Most squalane used in skincare comes from plants.
Please note: the source of squalane is only known if disclosed by the brand. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have any questions about their squalane.
Read more about squalene with an "e".
Though squalane is often called an oil, it’s technically not one. It is a hydrocarbon, meaning it is only made of carbon and hydrogen. True oils are triglycerides and made of fatty acids and glycerol.
The term “oil-free” isn’t regulated so companies can define it however they want. Some exclude all oils, while others just avoid mineral oil or comedogenic oils.
Squalane has a comedogenic rating of 1 from the original 1972 study that tested raw ingredients under occlusion on rabbit ears. This system is not standardized or peer-reviewed, and using the raw ingredients is very different from how diluted cosmetic formulations are used on human skin.
A comedogenic rating of 1 means it is "unlikely to clog pores" according to the original rating system.
The overall formula of a product matters more than the individual ingredients on whether or not it will cause clogged pores.
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.