Skin science article
Paula's Choice Earth Sourced Perfectly Natural Cleansing Gel Versus Paula's Choice Hydralight One Step Face Cleanser
Paula's Choice Earth Sourced Perfectly Natural Cleansing Gel Versus Paula's Choice Hydralight One Step Face Cleanser This mild gel cleanser is mild enough to cleanse without leaving skin feeling tight or stripped. What's inside Key Ingredients No key ingredien
Paula's Choice Earth Sourced Perfectly Natural Cleansing Gel Versus Paula's Choice Hydralight One Step Face Cleanser
This mild gel cleanser is mild enough to cleanse without leaving skin feeling tight or stripped.
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Decyl Glucoside
Glycerin
Sodium Cocoamphoacetate
Lauryl Glucoside
Xanthan Gum
Coco-Glucoside
Glucose
Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate
Sodium Lauryl Glucose Carboxylate
Glyceryl Oleate
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Carrageenan
Sodium Phytate
Citric Acid
Ethylhexylglycerin
Phenoxyethanol
Potassium Sorbate
Water, Decyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Lauryl Glucoside, Xanthan Gum, Coco-Glucoside, Glucose, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Sodium Lauryl Glucose Carboxylate, Glyceryl Oleate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Carrageenan, Sodium Phytate, Citric Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Sodium PCA
Sodium Lactate
Glycine
Fructose
Urea
Niacinamide
Inositol
Lactic Acid
Allantoin
Sodium Hyaluronate
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Triethanolamine
Carbomer
Benzophenone-3
Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate
Propylparaben
Methylparaben
Sodium Benzoate
Water, Glycerin, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Glycine, Fructose, Urea, Niacinamide, Inositol, Lactic Acid, Allantoin, Sodium Hyaluronate, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Xanthan Gum, Triethanolamine, Carbomer, Benzophenone-3, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Sodium Benzoate
Alternatives
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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.
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.