Skin science article
IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare Versus The Ordinary Serum Foundation
IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare Versus The Ordinary Serum Foundation What's inside Key Ingredients Benefits Concerns Ingredients Side-by-side Water Dimethicone Isododecane Cyclohexasiloxane Glycerin PEG-10 Dimethicone Methyl Methacrylat
IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare Versus The Ordinary Serum Foundation
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Dimethicone
Isododecane
Cyclohexasiloxane
Glycerin
PEG-10 Dimethicone
Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer
Butylene Glycol
Pentylene Glycol
Synthetic Fluorphlogopite
Disteardimonium Hectorite
Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid
Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone
Sodium Chloride
Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate
Hexyl Laurate
Caprylyl Glycol
Phenoxyethanol
Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate
Tocopherol
Silica
Panthenol
Aluminum Hydroxide
Hydroxyethyl Urea
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder
Sodium Hyaluronate
Tin Oxide
Hydrated Silica
Methicone
Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate
CI 77891
CI 77491
CI 77492
CI 77499
Mica
CI 77007
CI 15985
CI 42090
CI 45410
CI 15850
Water, Dimethicone, Isododecane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Glycerin, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Sodium Chloride, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Hexyl Laurate, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Tocopherol, Silica, Panthenol, Aluminum Hydroxide, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tin Oxide, Hydrated Silica, Methicone, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, CI 77891, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, Mica, CI 77007, CI 15985, CI 42090, CI 45410, CI 15850
Cyclopentasiloxane
Caprylyl Methicone
Coconut Alkanes
Trimethylsiloxysilicate
PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate
Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer
Cetyl Diglyceryl Tris(Trimethylsiloxy)Silylethyl Dimethicone
Dipropylene Glycol
Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate
Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate
Hectorite
Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer
Stearic Acid
Alumina
Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
Chlorphenesin
Iron Oxides
CI 77163
Magnesium Stearate
Triethoxycaprylylsilane
Cyclopentasiloxane, Water, Caprylyl Methicone, Coconut Alkanes, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Cetyl Diglyceryl Tris(Trimethylsiloxy)Silylethyl Dimethicone, Dipropylene Glycol, Tocopherol, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Hectorite, Sodium Chloride, Hexyl Laurate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Stearic Acid, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Alumina, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, CI 77891, Iron Oxides, Tin Oxide, Aluminum Hydroxide, CI 77163, Mica, Magnesium Stearate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane
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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.
Aluminum Hydroxide is a form of aluminum. It can be naturally found in nature as the mineral gibbsite. In cosmetics, Aluminum Hydroxide is used as a colorant, pH adjuster, and absorbent.
As a colorant, Aluminum Hydroxide may add opacity, or reduce the transparency. Aluminum hydroxide is contains both basic and acidic properties.
According to manufacturers, this ingredient is an emollient and humectant. This means it helps hydrate the skin.
In medicine, this ingredient is used to help relieve heartburn and help heal ulcers.
There is currently no credible scientific evidence linking aluminum hydroxide in cosmetics to increased cancer risk.
Major health organizations allow the use of aluminum hydroxide in personal care products and have not flagged it as a carcinogenic risk at typical usage levels.
Ci 77891 is a white pigment from Titanium dioxide. It is naturally found in minerals such as rutile and ilmenite.
It's main function is to add a white color to cosmetics. It can also be mixed with other colors to create different shades.
Ci 77891 is commonly found in sunscreens due to its ability to block UV rays.
Disteardimonium Hectorite comes from the clay mineral named hectorite. It is used to add thickness to a product.
It can also help stabilize a product by helping to disperse other ingredients.
Hectorite is a rare, white clay mineral.
Hexyl Laurate isn't fungal acne safe.
This ingredient comes as a powder made up of small, porous, microbeads. It is used to add a silky feel to products and also helps absorb oil.
Mica is a naturally occurring mineral used to add shimmer and color in cosmetics. It can also help improve the texture of a product or give it an opaque, white/silver color.
Serecite is the name for very fine but ragged grains of mica.
This ingredient is often coated with metal oxides like titanium dioxide. Trace amounts of heavy metals may be found in mica, but these metals are not harmful in our personal products.
Mica has been used since prehistoric times throughout the world. Ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek, Roman, Aztec, and Chinese civilizations have used mica.
Peg-10 Dimethicone is silicone with conditioner and emulsifier properties. It mostly acts as an emollient in skincare and and humectant in haircare.
According to the manufacturer, acidic formulations decrease the stability of this ingredient. It works best in neutral or near neutral formulations.
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.
Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate is a plant-derived, PEG-free emulsifier.
It's made by hooking isostearic acid onto a chain of glycerin units to give it a water-loving "head" and oil-loving "tail". This allows it to keep the oil and water mixed in a formula.
The highest reported concentration is about 24% in eye makeup but most suppliers recommend a level below 10%.
It has a clean track record for safety and found to be non-irritating.
Because it is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, Malassezia can potentially metabolize it (it sits in the C11-24 range that Malassezia likes). Therefore, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Tin Oxide is an inorganic oxide used to add opacity and volume to a product. In nature, it is already found in mineral form. The main ore of tin is an opaque and shiny mineral called casseterite.
Tin Oxide helps remove translucency in a product, or make it more opaque. Besides adding opacity, tin oxide is used for bulking to add volume.
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!