First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Face Moisturizer Versus Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Face Moisturizer Versus Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream

This barrier-repair moisturizer is formulated around Avena Sativa Kernel Flour and Squalane to strengthen the skin barrier and calm redness.

This barrier-repair moisturizer is formulated around Saccharomyces/Rice Ferment Filtrate and Squalane to strengthen the skin barrier and hydrate skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Glyceryl Stearate Se

Glycerin

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Dimethicone

Urea

Cetyl Alcohol

Avena Sativa Kernel Flour

Squalane

Caprylyl Glycol

Butyrospermum Parkii Butter

Allantoin

Persea Gratissima Oil

N-Butyl Alcohol

Carbomer

Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract

Sodium Hydroxide

Ceramide NP

Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate

Phenoxyethanol

Tetrasodium EDTA

Water, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dimethicone, Urea, Cetyl Alcohol, Avena Sativa Kernel Flour, Squalane, Caprylyl Glycol, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Allantoin, Persea Gratissima Oil, N-Butyl Alcohol, Carbomer, Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Sodium Hydroxide, Ceramide NP, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Phenoxyethanol, Tetrasodium EDTA

Saccharomyces/Rice Ferment Filtrate

Propanediol

Diisostearyl Malate

Behenyl Alcohol

Myristyl Myristate

Dipentaerythrityl Hexahydroxystearate

Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2

Tridecyl Trimellitate

Inositol

Sorbitan Tristearate

Beheneth-20

Cladosiphon Okamuranus Extract

Chondrus Crispus Extract

Betaphycus Gelatinum Extract

Oryza Sativa Bran Extract

Panax Ginseng Root Extract

Origanum Majorana Leaf Extract

Thymus Serpyllum Extract

Malva Sylvestris Flower Extract

Sodium Hyaluronate

Gold

Sericin

Phytosteryl Macadamiate

Tocopherol

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Sorbitan Isostearate

Polysorbate 60

Butylene Glycol

Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer

Sodium Benzoate

Gluconolactone

Ethylhexylglycerin

Parfum

Alcohol

Citral

Limonene

Linalool

Mica

Tin Oxide

CI 77891

CI 60725

Water, Saccharomyces/Rice Ferment Filtrate, Glycerin, Propanediol, Dimethicone, Squalane, Diisostearyl Malate, Behenyl Alcohol, Myristyl Myristate, Dipentaerythrityl Hexahydroxystearate, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Inositol, Sorbitan Tristearate, Beheneth-20, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Cladosiphon Okamuranus Extract, Chondrus Crispus Extract, Betaphycus Gelatinum Extract, Oryza Sativa Bran Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Origanum Majorana Leaf Extract, Thymus Serpyllum Extract, Malva Sylvestris Flower Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Gold, Sericin, Phytosteryl Macadamiate, Tocopherol, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Sorbitan Isostearate, Polysorbate 60, Butylene Glycol, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Sodium Benzoate, Gluconolactone, Ethylhexylglycerin, Parfum, Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Citral, Limonene, Linalool, Mica, Tin Oxide, CI 77891, CI 60725

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).

Dimethicone is a type of synthetic silicone created from natural materials such as quartz. It is also known as polydimethylsiloxane.

What it does:

Dimethicone comes in different viscosities:

Depending on the viscosity, dimethicone has different properties.

Ingredients lists don't always show which type is used, so we recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the viscosity.

This ingredient is unlikely to cause irritation because it does not get absorbed into skin. However, people with silicone allergies should be careful about using this ingredient.

Note: Dimethicone may contribute to pilling. This is because it is not oil or water soluble, so pilling may occur when layered with products. When mixed with heavy oils in a formula, the outcome is also quite greasy.

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.

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.

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!

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