Paula's Choice Calm Ultra-Gentle Cleanser Versus Three Ships Beauty Purify Aloe + Amino Acid Gel Cleanser

Paula's Choice Calm Ultra-Gentle Cleanser Versus Three Ships Beauty Purify Aloe + Amino Acid Gel Cleanser

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

This mild gel cleanser is made to cleanse without leaving your skin tight or dry.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate

Glycerin

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Cocamidopropyl Betaine

Sodium Laurylglucosides Hydroxypropylsulfonate

Cellulose Gum

Coco-Caprylate/Caprate

Hydroxyacetophenone

Inulin

Xanthan Gum

Ethylhexylglycerin

Sodium Phytate

Cellulose

Fructose

Glucose

Phenoxyethanol

Water, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Laurylglucosides Hydroxypropylsulfonate, Cellulose Gum, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Hydroxyacetophenone, Inulin, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Phytate, Cellulose, Fructose, Glucose, Phenoxyethanol

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice

Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate

Pentylene Glycol

Populus Tremuloides Bark Extract

Betaine

Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate

Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters

Camellia Sinensis Extract

Cucumis Sativus Extract

Sodium PCA

Sodium Lactate

Arginine

Aspartic Acid

PCA

Glycine

Alanine

Serine

Valine

Proline

Threonine

Isoleucine

Histidine

Phenylalanine

Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Peel Oil

Citric Acid

Linalool

Limonene

Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Populus Tremuloides Bark Extract, Betaine, Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate, Cellulose Gum, Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters, Xanthan Gum, Inulin, Cellulose, Glucose, Fructose, Camellia Sinensis Extract, Cucumis Sativus Extract, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, PCA, Glycine, Alanine, Serine, Valine, Proline, Threonine, Isoleucine, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Peel Oil, Sodium Phytate, Citric Acid, Linalool, Limonene

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.

Cellulose is the main component of plant cell walls. It is used as an emulsifier, absorbent, and texture enhancer.

This ingredient has many functions:

Fun fact: Cellulose is the most abundant form of organic polymer on Earth.

Cellulose Gum is a water-soluble polymer that comes from cellulose. It is used to change the texture of a product and to help stabilize emulsions.

As an emulsifier, cellulose gum specifically thicken the texture of water-based products.

This ingredient is considered hypoallergenic and non-toxic. Cellulose Gum can be found in cosmetics, food, and other household goods such as paper products.

Fructose is fruit/plant sugar. It can be found in apples, figs, and honey.

This ingredient is a humectant. Humectants help draw moisture from the air to your skin, keeping your skin hydrated.

Glucose is a simple sugar (a monosaccharide). In skincare, it is mostly a humectant and skin conditioning agent.

Mechanistically, it has multiple hydroxyl groups that hydrogen-bond to water. This pulls moisture into the upper layers of skin to keep the surface soft and hydrated.

It's worth knowing sugars are already a natural component of the skin's NMF (natural moisturizing factor) so it's a molecule that your stratum corneum is well-acquainted with.

Just so you know, glucose is hydrophilic (water-loving) and the stratum corneum is a strong barrier to hydrophilic compounds. This just means penetration is slow and most of the action is happening on the surface.

Gram-to-gram, glucose is not as efficient as a humectant as glycerin. This is why you'll likely see glycose paired with stronger humectants for a bigger hydration payoff.

In skincare, glucose is typically derived from corn or other starch sources.

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.

Inulin is a polysaccharide (carbohydrate) with prebiotic and antioxidant properties.

The majority of inulin is extracted from chicory, but can also be obtained from other plants such as garlic, onion, asparagus, and sugarcane.

Studies show inulin may help with controlling your skin's natural microbiota when applied topically.

The antioxidant potential of inulin varies depending on the source.

Sodium Phytate is the synthetic salt form of phytic acid. Phytic acid is an antioxidant and can be found in plant seeds.

Sodium Phytate is a chelating agent. Chelating agents help prevent metals from binding to water. This helps stabilize the ingredients and the product.

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!

Xanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.

On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.

Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.

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