Paula's Choice Resist Intensive Repair Cream Versus Revision Skincare Nectifirm Neck Firming Cream

Paula's Choice Resist Intensive Repair Cream Versus Revision Skincare Nectifirm Neck Firming Cream

This anti-aging moisturizer is formulated around Retinol and Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil to soften the look of wrinkles and hydrate skin.

This anti-aging moisturizer is formulated around Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5 and Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 to soften the look of wrinkles and refine skin texture.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Ethylhexyl Stearate

Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil

Butylene Glycol

Glycerin

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Petrolatum

Cetearyl Alcohol

Dimethicone

Dipentaerythrityl Hexacaprylate/Hexacaprate

Glyceryl Stearate

Tridecyl Trimellitate

PEG-100 Stearate

Phenyl Trimethicone

Retinol

Adenosine

Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7

Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12

Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1

Ceramide Ng

Sodium Hyaluronate

Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate

Niacinamide

Tocopherol

Lecithin

Linoleic Acid

Linolenic Acid

Retinyl Palmitate

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract

Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract

Citrullus Lanatus Fruit Extract

Lens Esculenta Fruit Extract

Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract

Glycine Soja Sterols

Tribehenin

PEG-10 Phytosterol

Magnesium Aluminum Silicate

Sodium PCA

Sodium Lactate

Pullulan

Xanthan Gum

Sodium Hydroxide

Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate

Cetearyl Glucoside

Tridecyl Stearate

Behenyl Alcohol

Sclerotium Gum

Carbomer

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate

Polysorbate 20

Disodium EDTA

Sorbic Acid

Phenoxyethanol

Chlorphenesin

Benzoic Acid

Water, Ethylhexyl Stearate, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Petrolatum, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Dipentaerythrityl Hexacaprylate/Hexacaprate, Glyceryl Stearate, Tridecyl Trimellitate, PEG-100 Stearate, Phenyl Trimethicone, Retinol, Adenosine, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Ceramide Ng, Sodium Hyaluronate, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Niacinamide, Tocopherol, Lecithin, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Retinyl Palmitate, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Citrullus Lanatus Fruit Extract, Lens Esculenta Fruit Extract, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Glycine Soja Sterols, Tribehenin, PEG-10 Phytosterol, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Pullulan, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Hydroxide, Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Cetearyl Glucoside, Tridecyl Stearate, Behenyl Alcohol, Sclerotium Gum, Carbomer, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Polysorbate 20, Disodium EDTA, Sorbic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Benzoic Acid

Tricaprylin

Cetyl Esters

Canarium Indicum Seed Oil

Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract

Glyceryl Stearate Citrate

Squalane

Methylsilanol Carboxymethyl Theophylline Alginate

Hordeum Distichon Extract

Yeast Extract

Santalum Album Extract

Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Seed Extract

Phellodendron Amurense Bark Extract

Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5

Lauryl Lactate

Steareth-10

Dihydromyricetin

Enteromorpha Compressa Extract

Tripleurospermum Maritimum Extract

Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 Diaminobutyroyl Hydroxythreonine

Bambusa Vulgaris Leaf/Stem Extract

Steareth-20

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Pisum Sativum Extract

Polysorbate 60

Glucosamine Hcl

Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate

Tetradecyl Aminobutyroylvalylaminobutyric Urea Trifluoroacetate

Triethanolamine

Caprylyl Glycol

Diazolidinyl Urea

Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate

Potassium Sorbate

Magnesium Chloride

Sodium Benzoate

Parfum

Water, Glycerin, Tricaprylin, Cetyl Esters, Canarium Indicum Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Squalane, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Methylsilanol Carboxymethyl Theophylline Alginate, Hordeum Distichon Extract, Yeast Extract, Santalum Album Extract, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Seed Extract, Phellodendron Amurense Bark Extract, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5, Lauryl Lactate, Steareth-10, Ceramide Ng, Dihydromyricetin, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Enteromorpha Compressa Extract, Tripleurospermum Maritimum Extract, Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 Diaminobutyroyl Hydroxythreonine, Bambusa Vulgaris Leaf/Stem Extract, Steareth-20, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12, Pisum Sativum Extract, Tocopherol, Polysorbate 60, Butylene Glycol, Glucosamine Hcl, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, PEG-10 Phytosterol, Tetradecyl Aminobutyroylvalylaminobutyric Urea Trifluoroacetate, Triethanolamine, Caprylyl Glycol, Tribehenin, Diazolidinyl Urea, Carbomer, Disodium EDTA, Xanthan Gum, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Potassium Sorbate, Magnesium Chloride, Sodium Benzoate, Sorbic Acid, Parfum

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.

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate is a lightweight emollient made by combinig benzoic acid with fatty alcohols that are 12-15 carbons long.

In cosmetics, it plays several roles:

The Cosmetic Review Expert Panel has concluded the alkyl benzoate group to be safe as used in cosmetics; it wasn't found to be a skin irritant and unlikely to be absorbed due to its low water solubility.

This report recorded almost 1000 reported uses with concentrations up to 59% in leave-on products but your cosmetics will typically use 0.5-15% depending on the product.

It's often called a "SPF booster": this is because it keeps UV filters properly dissolved and evenly distributed to support a sunscreen's performance. It doesn't actually raise SPF on its own.

Overall, this ingredient is well tolerated.

This ingredient is fungal acne safe because it is an ester of benzoic acid.

Think of this ingredient as two parts stuck together: an oily part and an acid part. Malassezia only gets a meal when it can snip off a fatty acid to eat. With C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, the acid part is benzoic acid, which isn't a fatty acid and which the yeast can't use as food.

Benzoic acid is actually used as a preservative to stop yeast from growing.

The oily part is a blend of C12-15 fatty alcohols but fatty alcohols in this size range can support only a little Malassezia growth (mostly for one species of Malassezia as well).

In the ingredient, those alcohols stay locked inside the molecule. The yeast can only reach them by snipping the benzoate bond, and that type of bond is harder for it to cut than a normal fatty bond.

So not much gets released. And whatever does get snipped comes packaged with benzoic acid, which discourages yeast growth.

Carbomer is a synthetic thickening and gelling agent. It's basically the ingredient that gives a lot of serums, gels, creams, and sunscreens their smooth, non-sticky texture.

Although legally permitted at very high levels, carbomers are normally used at concentrations below 1%.

It also needs to be neutralized to actually thicken, and because it is a large molecule, it doesn't really penetrate the skin barrier.

Allergy-wise, the risk is very low. Clinical studies show carbomers have low potential for skin irritation/sensitization even at concentrations up to 100%.

A 2024 UK study patch-tested 1,302 patients and found true allergy to the parent group of carbomer to be rare with no confirmed relevant reactions.

Ceramide NG is a type of Ceramide. The NG stands for a sphinganine base.

Ceramides are intercellular lipids naturally found in our skin that bonds dead skin cells together to create a barrier. They are known for their ability to hold water and thus are a great ingredient for dry skin.

Ceramides are an important building block for our skin barrier. A stronger barrier helps the skin look more firm and hydrated. By bolstering the skin ceramides act as a barrier against irritating ingredients. This can help with inflammation as well.

If you would like to eat ceramides, sweet potatoes contain a small amount.

Read more about other common types of ceramides here: Ceramide AP Ceramide EOP Ceramide NP

Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.

Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.

It plays several roles in a formula:

Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.

Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.

However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.

Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.

Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.

Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.

This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.

A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.

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.

Disodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.

This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:

On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.

One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).

Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.

You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.

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.

Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12 is a synthetic lipopeptide. This just means it's a short chain of six amino acids with a palmitic acid molecule attached to one end.

The palmitoyl group increases the lipophilicity, helping it penetrate the lipid-rich outer layer of skin more effectively.

Once inside, it helps with keeping skin springy and firm. It works by mimicking the skin repair signals your skin naturally sends out when it's damaged and telling it to kick into rebuild mode.

Studies have shown it can help strengthen the skin barrier as well so it's useful beyond just anti-aging.

In vitro studies suggest it can switch on genes that help skin cells grow, move around, and rebuild skin structure. Just keep in mind most of the strong evidence is from lab studies rather than large-scale clinical trials.

Lab studies suggest it can switch on genes that help skin cells grow, move around, and rebuild skin structure.

This ingredient is usually used at very low concentrations (0.002% in leave-on products).

Fungal acne note: Usually a palmitic acid component can feed Malassezia in unbound form, but here is is covalently bonded to the peptide. This means it is very difficult for Malassezia to access, and therefore very unlikely to cause fungal acne.

Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 (formerly Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3) is a synthetic peptide. Its main job is to fight what researchers call "inflammaging".

"Inflammaging" is the slow, low-grade chronic inflammation that quietly breaks down collagen as we age.

This ingredient calms down a specific inflammation signal in your skin cells (called IL-6). When left unchecked, this signal triggers enzymes that break down collagen and elastin.

Clinical testing showed statistically significant improvements in:

Studies also found the more of this ingredient used, the more your skin produces Collagen I, fibronectin, and hyaluronic acid.

You'll likely see this ingredient paired with Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 in the well-known Matrixyl 3000 complex for enhanced anti-aging effects.

A 3% concentration applied twice daily for two months showed meaningful skin rejuvenation results in clinical panels.

We don't have a description for PEG-10 Phytosterol yet.

Peg-100 Stearate is an emollient and emulsifier. As an emollient, it helps keep skin soft by trapping moisture in. On the other hand, emulsifiers help prevent oil and water from separating in a product.

PEGS are a hydrophilic polyether compound . There are 100 ethylene oxide monomers in Peg-100 Stearate. Peg-100 Stearate is polyethylene glycol ester of stearic acid.

Sorbic Acid is a preservative that stops your product from spoiling by stopping microbes from growing.

As a preservative, it's kind of a specialist: it has a broad spectrum of activity against yeast and molds but is weaker against bacteria. That's why it's often paired with another preservative to cover that gap.

This ingredient is also pretty picky about pH; it performs best at pH 6.5 or below.

At the right pH level, sorbic acid is "active" and can slip through the outer wall of a microbe. Once inside, it turns the cell's interior more acidic to shut down the microbe from the inside.

The EU caps this ingredient at 0.6% while the CIR has concluded it's safe at concentrations up to 1%. It's most often used around 0.05-0.2% in cosmetics.

Though this ingredient is considered low-sensitizing and well-tolerated, a very small number of people may have a contact allergy to it. Be sure to patch test if you have a history of allergies towards preservatives.

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.

Tribehenin is the triglyceride of glycerin and behenic acid. It is an emollient that helps soften and condition skin.

Safety-wise, this is a well-vetted ingredient. Repeated-insult patch tests of 0.38% tribehenin did not trigger sensitization.

This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe because behenic acid falls into the chain-length range that Malassezia yeasts can feed on.

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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