Pond's Nourishing Moisturizing Cream Crema S Versus First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration

Pond's Nourishing Moisturizing Cream Crema S Versus First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration

This moisturizer is formulated around Petrolatum to hydrate skin.

This calming moisturizer is formulated around Colloidal Oatmeal and Squalane to calm redness and hydrate skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Paraffinum Liquidum

Isopropyl Palmitate

Petrolatum

Glycerin

Ceresin

Stearic Acid

Glyceryl Stearate

Sorbitan Oleate

Cetyl Alcohol

Phenoxyethanol

Triethanolamine

PEG-4 Laurate

PEG-4 Dilaurate

Laureth-23

Parfum

Carbomer

PEG-4

Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate

Tetrasodium EDTA

Disodium EDTA

Tocopherol

BHT

Citrus Limon Fruit Extract

Citrus Nobilis Peel Extract

Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone

Amyl Cinnamal

Benzyl Salicylate

Citronellol

Citrus Aurantium Peel Oil

Citrus Limon Peel Oil

Eugenol

Geraniol

Hexyl Cinnamal

Limonene

Linalool

Linalyl Acetate

Terpineol

Tetramethyl Acetyloctahydronaphthalenes

Trimethylbenzenepropanol

Vanillin

Water, Paraffinum Liquidum, Isopropyl Palmitate, Petrolatum, Glycerin, Ceresin, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Sorbitan Oleate, Cetyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Triethanolamine, PEG-4 Laurate, PEG-4 Dilaurate, Laureth-23, Parfum, Carbomer, PEG-4, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Disodium EDTA, Tocopherol, BHT, Citrus Limon Fruit Extract, Citrus Nobilis Peel Extract, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Amyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol, Citrus Aurantium Peel Oil, Citrus Limon Peel Oil, Eugenol, Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, Linalyl Acetate, Terpineol, Tetramethyl Acetyloctahydronaphthalenes, Trimethylbenzenepropanol, Vanillin

Colloidal Oatmeal 0.5%

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Glyceryl Stearate Se

Cetearyl Alcohol

Dimethicone

Squalane

Butyrospermum Parkii Butter

Caprylyl Glycol

Xanthan Gum

Allantoin

Sodium Hydroxide

Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract

Ceramide NP

Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil

Colloidal Oatmeal 0.5%, Water, Stearic Acid, Glycerin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Squalane, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Allantoin, Sodium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium EDTA, Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Ceramide NP, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil

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.

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.

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.

Stearic Acid is a fatty acid that is already found in your skin. It's one of the free fatty acids that works alongside ceramides and cholesterols to maintain your barrier.

In cosmetics, it is a multitasker:

Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.

Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.

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!

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