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Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant Versus Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow PHA +BHA Pore-Tight Toner

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant Versus Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow PHA +BHA Pore-Tight Toner This smoothing exfoliator is formulated around Salicylic Acid to refine skin texture and refine the look of pores. This pore-care toner is formu

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant Versus Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow PHA +BHA Pore-Tight Toner

This smoothing exfoliator is formulated around Salicylic Acid to refine skin texture and refine the look of pores.

This pore-care toner is formulated around Citrullus Lanatus Fruit Extract and Gluconolactone to refine the look of pores and brighten dull-looking skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Methylpropanediol

Butylene Glycol

Salicylic Acid

Polysorbate 20

Camellia Oleifera Leaf

Sodium Hydroxide

Tetrasodium EDTA

Water, Methylpropanediol, Butylene Glycol, Salicylic Acid, Polysorbate 20, Camellia Oleifera Leaf, Sodium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium EDTA

Opuntia Ficus-Indica Extract

Citrullus Lanatus Fruit Extract

Glycerin

Hyaluronic Acid

Gluconolactone

Sodium Polyglutamate

Betaine Salicylate

Salix Alba Bark Extract

Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Extract

Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract

Lactobacillus/Watermelon Fruit Ferment Extract

Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract

Saccharum Officinarum Extract

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract

Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract

Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract

Brassica Oleracea Capitata Leaf Extract

Ipomoea Batatas Root Extract

Sorbitan Oleate

Levulinic Acid

Sodium Levulinate

Parfum

Opuntia Ficus-Indica Extract, Citrullus Lanatus Fruit Extract, Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid, Gluconolactone, Sodium Polyglutamate, Betaine Salicylate, Salix Alba Bark Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Extract, Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract, Lactobacillus/Watermelon Fruit Ferment Extract, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Saccharum Officinarum Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract, Brassica Oleracea Capitata Leaf Extract, Ipomoea Batatas Root Extract, Sorbitan Oleate, Levulinic Acid, Sodium Levulinate, Parfum

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The reference edit

Ingredients, questions
& further reading.

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

01

Formula cabinet

Ingredients & structured notes

Ingredient index

Ingredients Explained

  1. 01These ingredients are found in both products.
  2. 02Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
  3. 03Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.
  4. 04Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.
  5. 05Because it is not a free-fatty acid, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
  6. 06Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil comes from the seeds of the safflower plant. It is a skin conditioning agent that helps soften skin and keep it hydrated.
  7. 07This seed oil has an unusual fatty acid profile: it is one of the highest linoleic acid plant oils out there (~55-77%). It also has low amounts of oleic acid, and this high-linoleic/low-oleic ratio gets people excited.
  8. 08Linoleic acid helps maintain skin barrier integrity and is a building block for the ceramides in your stratum corneum. Notably, people with acne tend to have lower linoleic acid in their skin lipids as well (and this gets worse as acne gets more severe).
  9. 09Overall, it's a lightweight, fast-absorbing oil that has a long safety track record. Lab testing has found it to be non-irritating for skin or eyes.
  10. 10The Malassezia yeast can metabolize the fatty acids in this oil to grow; therefore this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
  11. 11Ceramide NP (formerly known as Ceramide 3) is one of the skin's naturally occurring lipids.
  12. 12Since ceramides are the major lipid components of the skin, they are crucial for maintaining skin barrier and hydration. Ceramide NP most closely mirrors the dominant kind in human skin amongst ceramide subtypes.
  13. 13This ceramide works by slotting into gaps within the stratum corneum's lipid matrix to limit trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and shield the skin against external irritants.
  14. 14A study with 312 patients found that using a ceramide-containing routine for 4 weeks reduced the severity of atopic dermatitis by over 61%.
  15. 15Another clinical study in subjects aged 60 and older found that a ceramide body wash and moisturizer improved skin dryness and itchy skin in 15 days.
  16. 16Overall, ceramides are considered non-irritating and safety tests have found little to no observable adverse effects from using this ingredient.
  17. 17Ceramide NP is usually sourced from plants (like soybean or rice bran), or produced synthetically.
  18. 18Glycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.
  19. 19Topically, glycerin does several things at once:
  20. 20Your 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.
Source · skinsort.com
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03

Comparison edit

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