Paula's Choice Defense Essential Glow Moisturizer SPF 30 Versus Paula's Choice Water-Infusing Electrolyte Moisturizer

Paula's Choice Defense Essential Glow Moisturizer SPF 30 Versus Paula's Choice Water-Infusing Electrolyte Moisturizer

This brightening moisturizer is formulated around Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract and Tetrapeptide-30 to brighten dull-looking skin and fade the look of dark spots.

This moisturizer is formulated around Potassium PCA and Magnesium PCA to hydrate skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate

Zinc Oxide

Titanium Dioxide

Glycerin

Isononyl Isononanoate

Butylene Glycol

Cetearyl Alcohol

Potassium Cetyl Phosphate

Dimethicone

Glyceryl Stearate

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract

Actinidia Chinensis Fruit Extract

Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil

Tetrapeptide-30

Linoleic Acid

Resveratrol

Ascorbyl Glucoside

Niacinamide

Tocopheryl Acetate

Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate

Bisabolol

Tocopherol

Phospholipids

Lecithin

Glycine Soja Sterols

Xanthophylls

Pullulan

Sodium Gluconate

Xanthan Gum

Sclerotium Gum

Alumina

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Citric Acid

Triethoxycaprylylsilane

C13-14 Isoparaffin

Acrylates Copolymer

Polyhydroxystearic Acid

Caprylyl Glycol

Polyacrylamide

Ceteareth-20

Aluminum Stearate

Laureth-7

Ethylhexylglycerin

Phenoxyethanol

Water, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Glycerin, Isononyl Isononanoate, Butylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Actinidia Chinensis Fruit Extract, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Tetrapeptide-30, Linoleic Acid, Resveratrol, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Niacinamide, Tocopheryl Acetate, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Bisabolol, Tocopherol, Phospholipids, Lecithin, Glycine Soja Sterols, Xanthophylls, Pullulan, Sodium Gluconate, Xanthan Gum, Sclerotium Gum, Alumina, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Citric Acid, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Acrylates Copolymer, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Polyacrylamide, Ceteareth-20, Aluminum Stearate, Laureth-7, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol

Propanediol

Stearic Acid

Isohexadecane

Potassium PCA

Magnesium PCA

Calcium PCA

Ethylhexyl Olivate

Polyglyceryl-4 Olivate

Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract

Laminaria Saccharina Extract

Coffea Arabica Seed Extract

Biotin/Folic Acid/Cyanocobalamin/Niacinamide/Pantothenic Acid/Pyridoxine/Riboflavin/Thiamine/Yeast Polypeptides

Garcinia Mangostana Peel Extract

Prunus Serotina Fruit Extract

Squalane

Ceramide EOP

Ceramide AP

Ceramide NP

Pisum Sativum Extract

Phytosphingosine

Cholesterol

Acetyl Hexapeptide-37

Oryza Sativa Bran Extract

Creatine

Sorbitol

Inositol

Xylitol

Sodium Levulinate

Behenyl Behenate

Tribehenin

Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate

Sodium Acrylates Copolymer

Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer

Carbomer

Sodium Hydroxide

Tetrasodium EDTA

Water, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Propanediol, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Isohexadecane, Potassium PCA, Magnesium PCA, Calcium PCA, Ethylhexyl Olivate, Polyglyceryl-4 Olivate, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Laminaria Saccharina Extract, Actinidia Chinensis Fruit Extract, Coffea Arabica Seed Extract, Biotin/Folic Acid/Cyanocobalamin/Niacinamide/Pantothenic Acid/Pyridoxine/Riboflavin/Thiamine/Yeast Polypeptides, Garcinia Mangostana Peel Extract, Prunus Serotina Fruit Extract, Squalane, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide AP, Ceramide NP, Pisum Sativum Extract, Phytosphingosine, Cholesterol, Acetyl Hexapeptide-37, Oryza Sativa Bran Extract, Tocopherol, Creatine, Bisabolol, Sorbitol, Inositol, Xylitol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sodium Levulinate, Behenyl Behenate, Tribehenin, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Carbomer, Sodium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin

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.

Actinidia Chinensis is the extract from kiwi fruit. It contains antioxidants in the forms of Vitamin C and polyphenols.

Antioxidants help protect your skin against free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin.

Bisabolol is a gentle skin conditioner, antioxidant, and soothing ingredient.

It's primary claim to fame is soothing and research shows topically applied bisabolol can quiet the chemical messengers that cause your skin to become inflamed, helping to sooth any irritation.

A clinical study found that applying 0.5% bisabolol daily for 8 weeks produced an average 9% decrease in skin pigmentation. Researchers found it can also suppress the process that leads to excess melanin production in skin.

In vitro studies found that bisabolol combined with propylene glycol significantly increased skin permeability by increasing lipid fluidity in the stratum corneum.

You'll likely see use concentrations quite low, usually 0.1-0.2%.

Overall, this is a well-tolerated ingredient that works well in formulas designed for sensitive, reactive, or post-procedure skin.

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.

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (aka MCT Oil) is a lightweight emollient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It is considered a skin-softener by helping to prevent moisture loss.

Though it behaves like an oil, it is not technically one due to its chemical composition. One perk of this ingredient is that it is very stable, resistant to oxidation, and unlikely to go rancid.

In practice, that translates to a long shelf life and a consistently elegant skin feel.

While there is an assumption Caprylic Triglyceride can clog pores due to it being derived from coconut oil, there is no research supporting this. Just patch test if you have concerns.

Fractionated coconut oil and MCT Oil are both listed as Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride according to INCI. This is because INCI names are based on the ingredient’s final chemical composition and not its marketing name or source.

This ingredient is treated as the gold standard fungal acne safe oil. Even though it is coconut derived, the problematic lauric acid is stripped out.

This leaves just caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) acid. These chain lengths actually trend antifungal; a 2020 study found caprylic acid was enough to disrupt Malassezia furfur cell membrane, with a caprylic acid derivative damaging membrane structures at concentrations as low as 0.2%.

Dimethicone is a type of synthetic silicone created from natural materials such as quartz. It is also known as polydimethylsiloxane.

What it does:

Dimethicone comes in different viscosities:

Depending on the viscosity, dimethicone has different properties.

Ingredients lists don't always show which type is used, so we recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the viscosity.

This ingredient is unlikely to cause irritation because it does not get absorbed into skin. However, people with silicone allergies should be careful about using this ingredient.

Note: Dimethicone may contribute to pilling. This is because it is not oil or water soluble, so pilling may occur when layered with products. When mixed with heavy oils in a formula, the outcome is also quite greasy.

Ethylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:

The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.

Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.

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.

Glyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.

Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.

This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.

A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.

Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.

Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.

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.

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!

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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