Peptide Skincare & BeautySkin science and ingredient guides

Skin science article

PCA Skin Smoothing Toner Versus Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant

PCA Skin Smoothing Toner Versus Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant This smoothing toner is formulated around Lactic Acid and Citric Acid to refine skin texture and brighten dull-looking skin. This smoothing exfoliator is formulated around S

By Peptide Skincare & Beauty Editorial TeamPublished

PCA Skin Smoothing Toner Versus Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant

This smoothing toner is formulated around Lactic Acid and Citric Acid to refine skin texture and brighten dull-looking skin.

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

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Lactic Acid

Citric Acid

Glycerin

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice

Hydrastis Canadensis Extract

Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract

Salvia Officinalis Leaf Extract

Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract

Arctium Lappa Root Extract

Paullinia Cupana Seed Extract

Hedera Helix Leaf/Stem Extract

Tetrasodium EDTA

Water, Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Hydrastis Canadensis Extract, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Salvia Officinalis Leaf Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Arctium Lappa Root Extract, Paullinia Cupana Seed Extract, Hedera Helix Leaf/Stem Extract, Tetrasodium EDTA

Methylpropanediol

Butylene Glycol

Salicylic Acid

Polysorbate 20

Camellia Oleifera Leaf

Sodium Hydroxide

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

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Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

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

Tetrasodium EDTA is the salt formed from neutralizing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid with sodium hydroxide. It is a chelating agent and used to prevent metal ions from binding to other ingredients. This helps keep the product and ingredients stable.

Tetrasodium EDTA comes as a white solid and is soluble in water.

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

PCA Skin Hyaluronic Acid Overnight MaskIngredients 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. 11A super commonly used 5 unit long, cyclic structured silicone that is water-thin and does not stay on the skin but evaporates from it (called volatile silicone). Similar to other silicones, it gives skin and hair a silky, smooth feel.
  12. 12It's often combined with the non-volatile (i.e. stays on the skin) dimethicone as the two together form a water-resistant, breathable protective barrier on the skin without a negative tacky feel.
  13. 13A water-soluble, colorless, odorless humectant liquid that makes your skin nice and smooth (aka emollient) and gives a dry, non-tacky skin feel. It also has great instant and some longer-lasting moisturizing effect and works in synergy with fellow m…
  14. 14Propanediol is a natural alternative for the often used and often bad-mouthed propylene glycol. It's produced sustainably from corn sugar and it's Ecocert approved.
  15. 15It's quite a multi-tasker: can be used to improve skin moisturization, as a solvent, to boost preservative efficacy or to influence the sensory properties of the end formula.
  16. 16Probably the most common silicone of all. It is a polymer (created from repeating subunits) molecule and has different molecular weight and thus different viscosity versions from water-light to thick liquid.
  17. 17As for skincare, it makes the skin silky smooth, creates a subtle gloss and forms a protective barrier (aka occlusive). Also, works well to fill in fine lines and wrinkles and give skin a plump look (of course that is only temporary, but still, it's…
  18. 18As for hair care, it is a non-volatile silicone meaning that it stays on the hair rather than evaporates from it and smoothes the hair like no other thing. Depending on your hair type, it can be a bit difficult to wash out and might cause some build…
  19. 19We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
  20. 20A multi-functional skincare superstar with several proven benefits for the skin
Source · incidecoder.com ⟶
02

Product index

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Comparison edit

Read side by side

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