HELIOCARE Color Gelcream Light SPF50 Versus First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration

HELIOCARE Color Gelcream Light SPF50 Versus First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration

This hybrid sunscreen covers the full UV range and blocks ~98% of UVB at SPF 50.

This calming moisturizer is formulated around Colloidal Oatmeal and Squalane to calm redness and hydrate skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Butylene Glycol Cocoate

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate

Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine

CI 77891

Diethylhexyl Butamido Triazone

Cetearyl Alcohol

Hexylene Glycol

Ethylhexyl Salicylate

Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane

Polysilicone-15

Titanium Dioxide

Stearalkonium Hectorite

Myristyl Alcohol

Coco-Glucoside

Dipropylene Glycol Dibenzoate

Ceteareth-25

Ethylhexyl Triazone

Polypodium Leucotomos Leaf Extract

Phenoxyethanol

CI 77492

Myristyl Glucoside

Disodium Ethylene Dicocamide PEG-15 Disulfate

Panthenol

Propylene Glycol

PPG-15 Stearyl Ether Benzoate

CI 77491

Dicaprylyl Carbonate

Tocopheryl Acetate

Sodium Hyaluronate

Mica

Camellia Sinensis Callus

Manganese Dioxide

Methylparaben

Propylparaben

Disodium EDTA

Parfum

Propylene Carbonate

BHT

Linalool

Limonene

Water, Butylene Glycol Cocoate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, CI 77891, Diethylhexyl Butamido Triazone, Cetearyl Alcohol, Hexylene Glycol, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Polysilicone-15, Titanium Dioxide, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Myristyl Alcohol, Coco-Glucoside, Dipropylene Glycol Dibenzoate, Ceteareth-25, Ethylhexyl Triazone, Polypodium Leucotomos Leaf Extract, Phenoxyethanol, CI 77492, Myristyl Glucoside, Disodium Ethylene Dicocamide PEG-15 Disulfate, Panthenol, Propylene Glycol, PPG-15 Stearyl Ether Benzoate, CI 77491, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Mica, Camellia Sinensis Callus, Manganese Dioxide, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA, Parfum, Propylene Carbonate, BHT, Linalool, Limonene

Colloidal Oatmeal 0.5%

Stearic Acid

Glycerin

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Glyceryl Stearate Se

Glyceryl Stearate

Dimethicone

Squalane

Butyrospermum Parkii Butter

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

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.

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate is a lightweight emollient made by combinig benzoic acid with fatty alcohols that are 12-15 carbons long.

In cosmetics, it plays several roles:

The Cosmetic Review Expert Panel has concluded the alkyl benzoate group to be safe as used in cosmetics; it wasn't found to be a skin irritant and unlikely to be absorbed due to its low water solubility.

This report recorded almost 1000 reported uses with concentrations up to 59% in leave-on products but your cosmetics will typically use 0.5-15% depending on the product.

It's often called a "SPF booster": this is because it keeps UV filters properly dissolved and evenly distributed to support a sunscreen's performance. It doesn't actually raise SPF on its own.

Overall, this ingredient is well tolerated.

This ingredient is fungal acne safe because it is an ester of benzoic acid.

Think of this ingredient as two parts stuck together: an oily part and an acid part. Malassezia only gets a meal when it can snip off a fatty acid to eat. With C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, the acid part is benzoic acid, which isn't a fatty acid and which the yeast can't use as food.

Benzoic acid is actually used as a preservative to stop yeast from growing.

The oily part is a blend of C12-15 fatty alcohols but fatty alcohols in this size range can support only a little Malassezia growth (mostly for one species of Malassezia as well).

In the ingredient, those alcohols stay locked inside the molecule. The yeast can only reach them by snipping the benzoate bond, and that type of bond is harder for it to cut than a normal fatty bond.

So not much gets released. And whatever does get snipped comes packaged with benzoic acid, which discourages yeast growth.

Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.

Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.

It plays several roles in a formula:

Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.

Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.

However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.

Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.

Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.

Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.

This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.

A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.

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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