La Mer The Lifting Contour Serum Versus SkinCeuticals P-Tiox Wrinkle Modulating Peptide Serum

La Mer The Lifting Contour Serum Versus SkinCeuticals P-Tiox Wrinkle Modulating Peptide Serum

This anti-aging serum is formulated around Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 to soften the look of wrinkles.

This anti-aging serum is formulated around Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide Diacetate and Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 to soften the look of wrinkles and refine skin texture.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Butylene Glycol

Methyl Gluceth-20

PEG-75

Alcohol Denat.

Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane

Algae Extract

Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil

Medicago Sativa Seed Powder

Helianthus Annuus Seedcake

Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Seed Meal

Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil

Sodium Gluconate

Copper Gluconate

Calcium Gluconate

Magnesium Gluconate

Zinc Gluconate

Tocopheryl Succinate

Niacin

Sesamum Indicum Seed Powder

Bupleurum Falcatum Root Extract

Sigesbeckia Orientalis Extract

Lens Esculenta Fruit Extract

Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract

Citrullus Lanatus Fruit Extract

Faex Extract

Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract

Helichrysum Arenarium Extract

Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract

Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract

Humulus Lupulus Extract

Palmaria Palmata Extract

Citrus Reticulata Peel Extract

Asparagopsis Armata Extract

Chlorella Vulgaris Extract

Coriandrum Sativum Seed Oil

Glycerin

Oleth-5

Citrus Grandis Peel Oil

Laminaria Saccharina Extract

Punica Granatum Fruit Juice

Glycereth-26

Saccharomyces Lysate Extract

Crithmum Maritimum Extract

Laminaria Digitata Extract

Bifida Ferment Lysate

PEG-8

Squalane

Linoleic Acid

Hydrogenated Lecithin

Micrococcus Lysate

Oleth-10 Phosphate

Sorbitol

Caprylyl Glycol

Ethylbisiminomethylguaiacol Manganese Chloride

Tourmaline

Sucrose

Caffeine

Lecithin

Coenzyme A

Acetyl Glucosamine

Linolenic Acid

Acetyl Hexapeptide-8

Styrene/Vp Copolymer

Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate

Tetraacetylphytosphingosine

Methyldihydrojasmonate

Choleth-24

Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate

Ceteth-24

Sodium Hyaluronate

Hexylene Glycol

Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters

Sodium Benzoate

Sodium Lactate

Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil

Potassium Sorbate

Lavandula Angustifolia Oil

Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract

Octadecenedioic Acid

Carbomer

Sodium PCA

Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid

Ergothioneine

Sodium Hydroxide

Xanthan Gum

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Disodium EDTA

BHT

Phenoxyethanol

Linalyl Acetate

Linalool

Limonene

CI 14700

CI 19140

CI 17200

Butylene Glycol, Methyl Gluceth-20, PEG-75, Alcohol Denat., Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane, Algae Extract, Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil, Medicago Sativa Seed Powder, Helianthus Annuus Seedcake, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Seed Meal, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil, Sodium Gluconate, Copper Gluconate, Calcium Gluconate, Magnesium Gluconate, Zinc Gluconate, Tocopheryl Succinate, Niacin, Sesamum Indicum Seed Powder, Bupleurum Falcatum Root Extract, Sigesbeckia Orientalis Extract, Lens Esculenta Fruit Extract, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Citrullus Lanatus Fruit Extract, Faex Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract, Helichrysum Arenarium Extract, Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract, Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract, Humulus Lupulus Extract, Palmaria Palmata Extract, Citrus Reticulata Peel Extract, Asparagopsis Armata Extract, Chlorella Vulgaris Extract, Coriandrum Sativum Seed Oil, Glycerin, Oleth-5, Citrus Grandis Peel Oil, Laminaria Saccharina Extract, Punica Granatum Fruit Juice, Glycereth-26, Saccharomyces Lysate Extract, Crithmum Maritimum Extract, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Bifida Ferment Lysate, PEG-8, Squalane, Linoleic Acid, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Micrococcus Lysate, Oleth-10 Phosphate, Sorbitol, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylbisiminomethylguaiacol Manganese Chloride, Tourmaline, Sucrose, Caffeine, Lecithin, Coenzyme A, Acetyl Glucosamine, Linolenic Acid, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Styrene/Vp Copolymer, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Tetraacetylphytosphingosine, Methyldihydrojasmonate, Choleth-24, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Ceteth-24, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hexylene Glycol, Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Lactate, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Potassium Sorbate, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Octadecenedioic Acid, Carbomer, Sodium PCA, Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid, Ergothioneine, Sodium Hydroxide, Xanthan Gum, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Phenoxyethanol, Linalyl Acetate, Linalool, Limonene, CI 14700, CI 19140, CI 17200

Water

Niacinamide

Gluconolactone

PEG/PPG/Polybutylene Glycol-8/5/3 Glycerin

Pentylene Glycol

Potassium Hydroxide

Hydroxyethylcellulose

Salicylic Acid

Chlorphenesin

Phytic Acid

Adenosine

Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide Diacetate

Water, Niacinamide, Gluconolactone, Butylene Glycol, PEG/PPG/Polybutylene Glycol-8/5/3 Glycerin, Alcohol Denat., Pentylene Glycol, Methyl Gluceth-20, Glycerin, Potassium Hydroxide, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Salicylic Acid, Chlorphenesin, Phytic Acid, Adenosine, Sodium Benzoate, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide Diacetate, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8

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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.

Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 (also known as Argireline) is a synthetic hexapeptide that is often called a "topical Botox alternative".

It works by mimicking how Botox relaxes muscles; it interferes with the signaling process that tells your facial muscles to contract. This can help soften expression lines like forehead wrinkles or crow's feet over time.

The comparison to Botox does have limits because the molecule is water-loving and relatively large.

Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 has a hard time absorbing deeply enough through the skin's outer barrier to actually reach the muscles.

So whether it truly works the way Botox does at a biological level is still up for debate, but early clinical outcomes are fairly encouraging.

A 12 week human study of a multi-ingredient regimen containing this ingredient saw:

While some studies have observed improvements in wrinkle appearance, it is important to note that more consistent results are seen in multi-ingredient formulations (vs just Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 alone).

Some research studies also used higher concentrations (up to 10%) while this ingredient is usually found in concentrations up to 0.005% in leave-on formulations.

Alcohol Denat. is an alcohol with a denaturant property. It is created by mixing ethanol with other additives.

The "denat" part just means "denatured"; common denaturants include Denatonium Benzoate, t-butyl alcohol, and Diethyl Phthalate. This step makes the alcohol undrinkable (and lets brand skip taxes related to beverage alcohol).

This ingredient gets a bad rep because it is irritating and drying due to its astringent property. Astringents draw out natural oils in tissue to constrict pores and dry out your skin.

However, alcohol denat. is not all that bad.

Due to its low molecular weight, alcohol denat. tends to evaporate quickly. One study on pig skin found half of applied alcohol evaporated in 10 seconds and less than 3% stayed on skin.

This also helps other ingredients become better absorbed upon application.

Studies are conflicted about whether this ingredient causes skin dehydration. One study from 2005 found adding emollients to propanol-based sanitizer decreased skin dryness and irritation. Another study found irritation only occurs if your skin is already damaged.

Small amounts of alcohol are generally tolerated by oily skin or people who live in humid environments.

The rule of thumb is this ingredient will probably not affect your skin much if it is near the end of an ingredients list.

One thing to note: People with ALDH2 (aldehyde dehydrogenase 2) deficiency may experience skin irritation from continued alcohol use. About 8% of the world's population have this deficiency.

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has determined denatured alcohols to be safe for use in concentrations between 0.05% and 12% (depending on which denaturant is used).

Also...

This ingredient has antimicrobial and solvent properties.

The antimicrobial property helps preserve products and increase their shelf life. As a solvent, it helps dissolve other ingredients.

Look for formulas that contain glycerin, hyaluronic acid, or panthenol if you want to offset any drying effect.

This ingredient will trip away your skin's natural oils/lipids that help it lock in moisture. This can worsen dryness, trigger eczema flare-ups, and aggravate rosacea.

Be sure to patch test any product with this ingredient if you have dry or sensitive skin, eczema, or rosacea.

Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:

Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.

Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.

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.

Laminaria Digitata Extract comes from the big brown seaweed (or kelp) that grows in the North Atlantic. In skincare, it's mostly used as a skin protectant and conditioning agent.

The most interesting stuff inside is mostly just sugars and minerals: fucoidan (a sulfated polysaccharide), laminarin (a beta-glucan), alginates, and phlorotannins (seaweed polyphenols).

Any antioxidant and soothing claims mostly come from those polysaccharides; crude laminarin and fucoidan from Laminaria digitata do show antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in lab assays.

Just know that the lab assays are test-tube work on isolated compounds and not clinical trials on the finished extract.

Realistically, this ingredient is a nice-feeling and hydrating skin conditioner (not really an active).

Safety-wise, it's one of the better documented seaweeds and safe to be used in cosmetics according to the CIR Expert Panel.

Industry surveys find that usage concentrations run can be found up to 5% in bubble baths and leave-on usage is more likely 0.1-3%.

The risk of allergy is also quite low as human repeat insult patch tests (under 5% and blends containing 8-12%) came back non-irritating and non-sensitizing. Rabbit studies came back negative too, though one trade mixture at 1.5-2.5% in water + propylene glycol did cause moderate irritation at 30 minutes.

Reported seaweed allergies in the literature are almost all occupational (people handling wet kelp) or from a totally unrelated blue/green alga.

At this time, there's actually no published comedogenicity test on it and the evidence that does exist points away from clogging.

Laminaria Digitata Extract has never been run through the rabbit ear assay or the Mills & Kligman human model and it isn't in Fulton's 1989 list of tested comedogenic ratings.

The CIR's brown algae review pulled every published and unpublished study industry had on 82 seaweed ingredients and found no comedogenicity data for any of them.

So any number you see online was assigned by a person and not actually measured.

In 2012, Capitanio et al. ran an 8-week double-blind, vehicle-controlled trial in 60 people with mild acne using a Laminaria digitata-derived oligosaccharide complexed with 0.1% zinc pyrrolidone.

They found comedones, papules and pustules dropped significantly more in the active group than the vehicle group at 2, 4 and 8 weeks.

Caveats for this study: a Laminaria digitata-derived oligosaccharide is just fraction and not the plain extract, and the zinc is likely doing real work. Still, the study found comedones went down in acne-prone skin.

This fits mechanistically. Comedogenesis is largely a lipid story and this is water-soluble polysaccharides, minerals, and polyphenols. There's nothing really to plug a follicle with.

The real caveat is the carrier: some supplier versions come dispersed in caprylic/capric triglycerides.

The 0-5 scale comes from applying ingredients to the inside of an albino rabbit's ear. Rabbit follicles are far more reactive than human ones so it over-predicts. Even petrolatum was reassigned as non-comedogenic by the original scientist, Kligman.

Here are three more problems of comedogenic ratings:

Methyl Gluceth-20 is a humectant. Humectants help draw moisture from the air to your skin.

It is created by combining polyethylene glycol with glucose.

Sodium Benzoate is a preservative. It's used in both cosmetic and food products to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria. It is typically produced synthetically.

Both the US FDA and EU Health Committee have approved the use of sodium benzoate. In the US, levels of 0.1% (of the total product) are allowed.

Sodium benzoate works as a preservative by inhibiting the growth of bacteria inside of cells. It prevents the cell from fermenting a type of sugar using an enzyme called phosphofructokinase.

It is the salt of benzoic acid. Foods containing sodium benzoate include soda, salad dressings, condiments, fruit juices, wines, and snack foods.

Studies for using ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate in cosmetics are lacking, especially in skincare routines with multiple steps.

We always recommend speaking with a professional, such as a dermatologist, if you have any concerns.

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