Peptide Skincare & BeautySkin science and ingredient guides

Skin science article

PCA Skin Pigment Gel Versus Cyspera Intensive Pigment Corrector

PCA Skin Pigment Gel Versus Cyspera Intensive Pigment Corrector This brightening serum is formulated around Lactic Acid and Kojic Acid to fade the look of dark spots and brighten dull-looking skin. This brightening treatment is formulated around Niacinamide to

PCA Skin Pigment Gel Versus Cyspera Intensive Pigment Corrector

This brightening serum is formulated around Lactic Acid and Kojic Acid to fade the look of dark spots and brighten dull-looking skin.

This brightening treatment is formulated around Niacinamide to fade the look of dark spots and brighten dull-looking skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Alcohol Denat.

Hamamelis Virginiana Water

Lactic Acid

Butylene Glycol

Kojic Acid

Azelaic Acid

Alcohol

Hydroxyethylcellulose

Phenylethyl Resorcinol

BHT

Glutathione

Silybum Marianum Fruit Extract

Water, Alcohol Denat., Hamamelis Virginiana Water, Lactic Acid, Butylene Glycol, Kojic Acid, Azelaic Acid, Alcohol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Phenylethyl Resorcinol, BHT, Glutathione, Silybum Marianum Fruit Extract

Paraffinum Liquidum

Cysteamine Hcl

Niacinamide

Butyrospermum Parkii Butter

Glyceryl Stearate

Lecithin

Isopropyl Myristate

Cetyl Alcohol

Ceteareth-20

Ascorbyl Palmitate

Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate

Octyldodecanol

Phenoxyethanol

Ethylhexylglycerin

Propylheptyl Caprylate

Ceteareth-12

Cetearyl Alcohol

Cetyl Palmitate

Parfum

Xanthan Gum

PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate

Tocopherol

Beeswax

Tetrasodium EDTA

Hexyl Cinnamal

Linalool

Geraniol

Water, Paraffinum Liquidum, Cysteamine Hcl, Niacinamide, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Glyceryl Stearate, Lecithin, Isopropyl Myristate, Cetyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Octyldodecanol, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Propylheptyl Caprylate, Ceteareth-12, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Palmitate, Parfum, Xanthan Gum, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Tocopherol, Beeswax, BHT, Tetrasodium EDTA, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Geraniol

Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

BHT is a synthetic antioxidant and preservative.

As an antioxidant, it helps your body fight off free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells.

As a preservative, it is used to stabilize products and prevent them from degrading. Specifically, BHT prevents degradation from oxidation.

The concerns related to BHT come from oral studies; this ingredient is currently allowed for use by both the FDA and EU.

However, it was recently restricted for use in the UK as of April 2024.

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.

01

Formula cabinet

Ingredients & structured notes

Ingredient index

PCA Skin Sheer Tint Eye Triple Complex Broad Spectrum Spf30Ingredients explained

  1. 01When it comes to sunscreen agents, Zinc Oxide is pretty much in a league of its own. It's a physical (or inorganic) sunscreen that has a lot in common with fellow inorganic sunscreen Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) but a couple of things make it superior ev…
  2. 02If physical sunscreens don't tell you anything, go ahead and read about the basics here. Most of what we wrote about Titanium Dioxide is also true for Zinc Oxide so we will focus here on the differences.
  3. 03Expand to read more
  4. 04The first main difference is that while TiO2 gives a nice broad spectrum protection, Zinc Oxide has an even nicer and even broader spectrum protection. It protects against UVB, UVA II, and UVA I almost uniformly, and is considered to be the broadest…
  5. 05It's also highly stable and non-irritating. So much so that Zinc Oxide also counts as a skin protectant and anti-irritant. It's also often used to treat skin irritations such as diaper rash.
  6. 06As for the disadvantages, Zinc Oxide is also not cosmetically elegant. It leaves a disturbing whitish tint on the skin, although, according to a 2000 research paper by Dr. Pinnell, it's slightly less white than TiO2. Still, it's white and disturbing…
  7. 07We wrote more about nanoparticles and the concerns around them here, but the gist is that if nanoparticles were absorbed into the skin that would be a reason for legitimate health concerns. But luckily, so far research shows that sunscreen nanoparti…
  8. 08All in all, if you've found a Zinc Oxide sunscreen that you are happy to use every single day, that's fantastic and we suggest you stick with it. It's definitely one of the best, or probably even the best option out there for sun protection availabl…
  9. 09A four amino acid peptide that is claimed to improve puffy eye bags via its anti-oedema and anti-glycation effects.
  10. 10To back this claim up, the manufacturer created an in-vivo study with 20 volunteers using 10% of EYESERYL (that comes down to 0.01% (!) of the pure peptide) and found that by day 15, 70% of the volunteers improved, while 95% of the volunteers improv…
  11. 11But, the thing is that puffiness around the eyes can have multiple reasons and one of the major ones is fat accumulation that might happen as we age. No miracle cream or ingredient can do much about that, however, another common reason is water accu…
  12. 12We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
  13. 13A fatty alcohol (the non-drying type with a long oil loving chain of 20 carbon atoms) that is used to increase the viscosity of the formula and it also helps the oily and the watery parts to stay nicely mixed together (called emulsion stabilizing).
  14. 14An ingredient that is created from the attachment of the water-loving sugar molecule, glucose, and an oil-loving 20 carbon long fatty chain. This makes it a partly water- and partly oil-soluble material, meaning it functions as an emulsifier helping…
  15. 15Most often, it comes to the formula coupled with two fatty alcohol friends, Arachidyl and Behenyl alcohol, to make up an emulsifier trio trade named Montanov 202. As described by its manufacturer, the main thing of Montanonv 202 is that it gives cre…
  16. 16A fatty alcohol (the non-drying type with a long oil loving chain of 22 carbon atoms) that is used to increase the viscosity of the formula and it also helps the oily and the watery parts to stay nicely mixed together (called emulsion stabilizing).
  17. 17It's one of the active parts of Chamomile that contains about 30% of bisabolol. It's a clear oily fluid that is used in skincare as a nice anti-inflammatory and soothing ingredient.
  18. 18Butylene glycol, or let’s just call it BG, is a multi-tasking colorless, syrupy liquid. It’s a great pick for creating a nice feeling product.
  19. 19BG’s main job is usually to be a solvent for the other ingredients. Other tasks include helping the product to absorb faster and deeper into the skin (penetration enhancer), making the product spread nicely over the skin (slip agent), and attracting…
  20. 20It’s an ingredient whose safety hasn’t been questioned so far by anyone (at least not that we know about). BG is approved by Ecocert and is also used enthusiastically in natural products. BTW, it’s also a food additive.
Source · incidecoder.com
02

Product index

Related product references

Product

PCA Skin Hyaluronic Acid Lip Booster

PCA Skin Hyaluronic Acid Lip Booster PCA Skin Hyaluronic Acid Lip Booster ingredients explained: Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Ethylene/Propylene/Styrene Copolymer, Beeswax, Ethylhexyl Palmit…

Source: incidecoder.comView reference →

Product

PCA Skin Pro-max Age Renewal

PCA Skin Pro-max Age Renewal PCA Skin Pro-max Age Renewal ingredients explained: Water, Polysilicone-11, Propanediol, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, PPG-3 Benzyl Ether Myristate, Polysorbate 20…

Source: incidecoder.comView reference →
03

Comparison edit

Read side by side