First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Lip Therapy Versus First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Intensive Lip Balm

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Lip Therapy Versus First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Intensive Lip Balm

This barrier-repair lip moisturizer is formulated around Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil and Butyrospermum Parkii Butter to strengthen the lip barrier and hydrate lips.

This hydrating lip mask is formulated around Butyrospermum Parkii Butter and Colloidal Oatmeal to hydrate lips and strengthen the lip barrier.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Diisostearyl Malate

Cera Microcristallina

Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil

Butyrospermum Parkii Butter

Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil

Copernicia Cerifera Wax

Glyceryl Diisostearate

Dimethicone

Aroma

Glycerin

Triisostearin

Isostearyl Alcohol

Avena Sativa Kernel Flour

Hyaluronic Acid

Malic Acid

Allantoin

Squalane

Tocopherol

Glycine Soja Oil

Water

Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate

Phenoxyethanol

EDTA

Citral

Limonene

Diisostearyl Malate, Cera Microcristallina, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Copernicia Cerifera Wax, Glyceryl Diisostearate, Dimethicone, Aroma, Glycerin, Triisostearin, Isostearyl Alcohol, Avena Sativa Kernel Flour, Hyaluronic Acid, Malic Acid, Allantoin, Squalane, Tocopherol, Glycine Soja Oil, Water, Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Phenoxyethanol, EDTA, Citral, Limonene

Cera Alba

Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil

Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil

Lecithin

Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil

Colloidal Oatmeal

Urea

Honey

Propolis Extract

Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract

Butylene Glycol

Caprylyl Glycol

Sodium Hydroxide

Eugenol

Cera Alba, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Water, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Lecithin, Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Aroma, Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil, Colloidal Oatmeal, Urea, Honey, Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Propolis Extract, Allantoin, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Butylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Sodium Hydroxide, EDTA, Eugenol

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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.

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.

Aroma refers to an ingredient, or mixture of ingredients, that impart or mask a flavor.

The name is slightly confusing. This is because INCI associates aroma with flavor instead of smell.

Here is the official definition from the The International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook:

“Aroma is a term for ingredient labeling used to identify that a product contains a material or combination of materials normally added to a cosmetic to produce or to mask a particular flavor.”

INCI shows the only purpose of aroma to be "flavouring".

However, due to regulation differences, some companies may use aroma in place of parfum.

In Canada, this ingredient only has to be listed in concentrations above 1%.

This ingredient is also known as shea butter. It is a plant-derived extract from the nuts of the Africa shea tree and one of the most well-studied emollients.

Because it has a high concentration of fatty acids (primarily oleic, stearic, and linoleic) it is able to form a protective barrier on the skin's surface. This helps seal in moisture and prevents transepidermal water loss (TEWL).

In vitro research found an increase in skin hydration by 58% and a decrease in TEWL by 37.8% after 24 hours of applying this ingredient (pretty impressive for a single ingredient!).

Besides hydration, shea butter also contains triterpenes that have anti-inflammatory potential. In particule, lupeol cinnamate has shown the highest anti-inflammatory activity in vivo.

Shea butter also contains vitamins A and E which may contribute to antioxidant activity.

While Shea Butter has an SPF rating of about 3-4, it is not a sunscreen replacement.

This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe because its fatty acids fall within the C11-C24 range that the Malassezia yeast can metabolize.

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).

We don't have a description for Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract yet.

EDTA is the shortened name for ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid. It is a chelating agent and used to stabilize products.

Chelating Agents are used to prevent trace metal ions from binding to other ingredients. This can prevent unwanted reactions or changed efficacy of products.

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.

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract is an extract of the roots of Licorice. It has been found to have several benefits such as skin hydrating, conditioning, and soothing.

One component, glabridin, has extra potent antioxidant and soothing properties. It has also been found to block pigmentation from UVB rays in guinea pigs.

Licorice Root also contains a flavonoid. Flavonoids are a natural substance from in plants. Flavonoids also have antioxidant properties.

Another component, glycyrrhizin, has been found to have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial benefits. This may make licorice root extract effective at treating acne. However, more research is needed to support this.

Liquiritin is one of the flavone compounds found in licorice. It has been found to help lighten skin by preventing tyrosinase from reacting with tyrosine. When the two react, protein is converted to melanin. Melanin is the substance in your body that gives your features pigmentation.

Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate is a natural preservative. It comes from fermenting radish roots with a bacteria called leuconostoc. The trade name for this ingredient is Leucidal.

Leuconostoc comes from lactic acid.

This ingredient has antimicrobial properties and helps prevent the growth of bacteria in a product.

Leuconostoc is used to make the traditional Korean side-dish, kimchi. It is also used to make sourdough bread (both incredibly yummy foods).

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!

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