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Skin science article

Paula's Choice Hydrating Treatment Mask Versus Paula's Choice Super Hydrate Overnight Mask

Paula's Choice Hydrating Treatment Mask Versus Paula's Choice Super Hydrate Overnight Mask This wash off mask is made with Borago Officinalis Seed Oil and Oenothera Biennis Oil for a rinse-off hydration boost. This hydrating overnight mask is formulated around

Paula's Choice Hydrating Treatment Mask Versus Paula's Choice Super Hydrate Overnight Mask

This wash off mask is made with Borago Officinalis Seed Oil and Oenothera Biennis Oil for a rinse-off hydration boost.

This hydrating overnight mask is formulated around Chondrus Crispus Extract and Ganoderma Lucidum Extract to hydrate skin and calm redness.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate

Butylene Glycol

Glycerin

Sorbitan Stearate

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Cetearyl Alcohol

Glyceryl Stearate

Dicaprylyl Carbonate

Ethyl Macadamiate

Cyclopentasiloxane

Cyclohexasiloxane

Glyceryl Behenate/Eicosadioate

Borago Officinalis Seed Oil

Oenothera Biennis Oil

Olea Europaea Fruit Oil

Prunus Armeniaca Fruit

Glycine Soja Sterols

Tocopheryl Acetate

Tocopherol

Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate

Ascorbyl Palmitate

Linoleic Acid

Phospholipids

Sodium Hyaluronate

Retinyl Palmitate

Sodium Dilauramidoglutamide Lysine

Cetearyl Glucoside

Sclerotium Gum

Hectorite

Caprylyl Glycol

Ethylhexylglycerin

Phenoxyethanol

Water, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Sorbitan Stearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Ethyl Macadamiate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Glyceryl Behenate/Eicosadioate, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Oenothera Biennis Oil, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Prunus Armeniaca Fruit, Glycine Soja Sterols, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Linoleic Acid, Phospholipids, Sodium Hyaluronate, Retinyl Palmitate, Sodium Dilauramidoglutamide Lysine, Cetearyl Glucoside, Sclerotium Gum, Hectorite, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol

Dimethicone

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Chondrus Crispus Extract

Rubus Chamaemorus Fruit Extract

Ganoderma Lucidum Extract

Butyrospermum Parkii Butter

Hydrogenated Lecithin

Pentapeptide-59

Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract

Terminalia Chebula Fruit Extract

Cassia Angustifolia Seed Polysaccharide

Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea Fruit Extract

Sambucus Nigra Fruit Extract

Schisandra Chinensis Fruit Extract

Rhodiola Rosea Root Extract

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract

Linum Usitatissimum Seed Oil

Pelvetia Canaliculata Extract

Agastache Mexicana Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract

Betula Alba Juice

Echium Plantagineum Seed Oil

Xanthan Gum

Synthetic Fluorphlogopite

Myristamidopropyl Pg-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate

Lauroyl Lysine

Propanediol

Potassium Sorbate

Water, Butylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Chondrus Crispus Extract, Rubus Chamaemorus Fruit Extract, Ganoderma Lucidum Extract, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Pentapeptide-59, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Terminalia Chebula Fruit Extract, Cassia Angustifolia Seed Polysaccharide, Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea Fruit Extract, Sambucus Nigra Fruit Extract, Schisandra Chinensis Fruit Extract, Rhodiola Rosea Root Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Linum Usitatissimum Seed Oil, Pelvetia Canaliculata Extract, Agastache Mexicana Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Betula Alba Juice, Echium Plantagineum Seed Oil, Xanthan Gum, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Myristamidopropyl Pg-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Lauroyl Lysine, Propanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Potassium Sorbate

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Similar Comparisons

The reference edit

Ingredients, questions
& further reading.

Connected source records selected through this article’s public topic index.

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Formula cabinet

Ingredients & structured notes

Ingredient index

Paula's Choice Calm Redness Relief Repairing SerumIngredients explained

  1. 01Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product.
  2. 02It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water.
  3. 03Expand to read more
  4. 04Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) is drying.
  5. 05One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). Like this, the products can stay more stable over time.
  6. 06A natural moisturizer that’s also in our skin
  7. 07A super common, safe, effective and cheap molecule used for more than 50 years
  8. 08Not only a simple moisturizer but knows much more: keeps the skin lipids between our skin cells in a healthy (liquid crystal) state, protects against irritation, helps to restore barrier
  9. 09Effective from as low as 3% with even more benefits for dry skin at higher concentrations up to 20-40%
  10. 10High-glycerin moisturizers are awesome for treating severely dry skin
  11. 11It’s naturally in our skin and behaves there like a sponge
  12. 12It can bind up to 1000 times its own weight in water
  13. 13It is a big molecule from repeated subunits (polymer) so different molecular weight versions exist (unfortunately there is no way to determine MW from INCI list only)
  14. 14High-molecular-weight-HA (>500 kDa) is an excellent surface hydrator, skin protectant and can act as an osmotic pump helping water-soluble actives to penetrate deeper into the skin
  15. 15Low-molecular-weight-HA (< 500 kDa) can hydrate the skin somewhat deeper though it is still a big molecule and works mainly in the epidermis (outer layer of the skin)
  16. 16Low-molecular-weight-HA might also help the skin to repair itself by increasing its self-defense (~ 200kDa used in the study)
  17. 17Ultra-low-molecular-weight-HA (<50kDa) is a controversial ingredient and might work as a pro-inflammatory signal molecule
  18. 18Beta-Glucan is a nice big molecule composed of many smaller sugar molecules (called polysaccharide). It’s in the cell walls of yeast, some mushrooms, seaweeds, and cereals.
  19. 19It’s a real goodie no matter if you eat it or put it on your face. Eating it is anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, and even lowers blood cholesterol.
  20. 20Putting it on your face also does a bunch of good things: it‘s shown to have intensive skin repairing & wound healing properties, it’s a mild antioxidant, a great skin soother, and moisturizer, and it even shows promising anti-aging benefits.
Source · incidecoder.com
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Product index

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Comparison edit

Read side by side