Glow Recipe Avocado Ceramide Moisture Barrier Cleanser Versus First Aid Beauty Pure Skin Face Cleanser

Glow Recipe Avocado Ceramide Moisture Barrier Cleanser Versus First Aid Beauty Pure Skin Face Cleanser

This mild gel cleanser is made to cleanse while respecting your skin barrier.

This mild cream cleanser is made to cleanse while calming and soothing your skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Glycerin

Sodium Cocoyl Alaninate

Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate

Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer

Inulin

Butylene Glycol

Ceramide NP

Colloidal Oatmeal

Caprylyl Glycol

Lauryl Hydroxysultaine

Coco-Glucoside

Sodium Hyaluronate

Persea Gratissima Oil

Persea Gratissima Fruit Extract

Saccharide Isomerate

Micrococcus Lysate

Glyceryl Caprylate

Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate

Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer

Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate

1,2-Hexanediol

Epidermidibacterium Keratini Ferment Filtrate

Quillaja Saponaria Bark Extract

Sodium Phytate

Lecithin

Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate

Citric Acid

Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil

Sodium Citrate

Butyl Avocadate

Arginine

Phytosphingosine

Hydrogenated Lecithin

Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate

Mannose

Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid

Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate

Maltodextrin

Tocopherol

Hyaluronic Acid

Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate

Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer

Potassium Hyaluronate

Xanthan Gum

Aloe Ferox Leaf Extract

Hexylene Glycol

Triacetin

Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract

Dextrin

Parfum

Water, Glycerin, Sodium Cocoyl Alaninate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Inulin, Butylene Glycol, Ceramide NP, Colloidal Oatmeal, Caprylyl Glycol, Lauryl Hydroxysultaine, Coco-Glucoside, Sodium Hyaluronate, Persea Gratissima Oil, Persea Gratissima Fruit Extract, Saccharide Isomerate, Micrococcus Lysate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Epidermidibacterium Keratini Ferment Filtrate, Quillaja Saponaria Bark Extract, Sodium Phytate, Lecithin, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Citric Acid, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Sodium Citrate, Butyl Avocadate, Arginine, Phytosphingosine, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate, Mannose, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Maltodextrin, Tocopherol, Hyaluronic Acid, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Potassium Hyaluronate, Xanthan Gum, Aloe Ferox Leaf Extract, Hexylene Glycol, Triacetin, Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract, Dextrin, Parfum

Stearic Acid

Hydrogenated Coconut Acid

Sodium Isethionate

Stearyl Alcohol

Allantoin

Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice

Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate

Phenoxyethanol

Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate

Sodium PCA

Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose

Glyceryl Oleate

Sodium Chloride

Disodium EDTA

Potassium Sorbate

Sodium Benzoate

Tetrasodium EDTA

Water, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Hydrogenated Coconut Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Stearyl Alcohol, Allantoin, Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Tocopherol, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Sodium PCA, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Sodium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Maltodextrin, Tetrasodium EDTA

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.

Citric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.

Like 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.

However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.

Due 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.

In skincare formulas, citric acid can:

While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.

Most 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.

Rosacea 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.

However, 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 skin is unique, we recommend a patch test if you are unsure.

Coco-Glucoside is a surfactant, or a cleansing ingredient. It is made from glucose and coconut oil.

Surfactants help gather dirt, oil, and other pollutants from your skin to be rinsed away.

This ingredient is considered gentle and non-comedogenic. However, it may still be irritating for some.

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.

Maltodextrin is a plant-derived carbohydrate made by breaking down starch (usually from corn, potato, or rice). In cosmetic formulas, it's a multitasking absorbent, emulsion stabilizer, and skin conditioner.

This ingredient is mostly used to stabilize emulsions and improve the powdery, non-greasy feel of products (like dry shampoos).

Safety-wise, this ingredient is pretty solid; it's even recognized as a food additive. Both animal and clinical studies found no adverse effects at the levels used in cosmetics.

Industry data shows this ingredient is used up to 45.7% in spray products and up to 33% in powder products.

Sodium cocoyl isethionate is a natural ingredient from coconut oil. It is an ultra gentle cleanser that gives a nice foam without drying the skin or impacting the skin barrier.

The amount of foam created depends on the amount of sodium cocoyl isethionate used in the product.

This ingredient also helps improve the spreadability of a product.

This ingredient hasn’t been shown in studies to feed fungal acne yeast.

Tocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.

You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.

Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.

It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.

This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.

This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.

In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.

Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.

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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