Peptide Skincare & BeautySkin science and ingredient guides

Skin science article

Revision Skincare C+ Correcting Complex 30% Versus PCA Skin C & E Advanced

Revision Skincare C+ Correcting Complex 30% Versus PCA Skin C & E Advanced This brightening serum is formulated around Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate and Ergothioneine to brighten dull-looking skin and fade the look of dark spots. This anti-aging serum is formulate

By Peptide Skincare & Beauty Editorial TeamPublished

Revision Skincare C+ Correcting Complex 30% Versus PCA Skin C & E Advanced

This brightening serum is formulated around Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate and Ergothioneine to brighten dull-looking skin and fade the look of dark spots.

This anti-aging serum is formulated around Ascorbic Acid and Tocopherol to soften the look of wrinkles and fade the look of dark spots.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate

Pentylene Glycol

Dimethyl Isosorbide

Hydrolyzed Eruca Sativa Leaf

Glycerin

Zea Mays Starch

Cetearyl Glucoside

Hydrogenated Lecithin

Acetyl Zingerone

Palmitoyl Glycine

Cyclopentasiloxane

Glyceryl Caprylate

Plantago Lanceolata Leaf Extract

Diglucosyl Gallic Acid

Squalane

Sodium Carboxymethyl Beta-Glucan

Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract

Ergothioneine

Punica Granatum Extract

Tocopherol

Ubiquinone

Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer

Triethanolamine

Tocopheryl Acetate

Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate

Phenoxyethanol

Disodium EDTA

PPG-12/Smdi Copolymer

Xanthan Gum

Water, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Pentylene Glycol, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Hydrolyzed Eruca Sativa Leaf, Glycerin, Zea Mays Starch, Cetearyl Glucoside, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Acetyl Zingerone, Palmitoyl Glycine, Cyclopentasiloxane, Glyceryl Caprylate, Plantago Lanceolata Leaf Extract, Diglucosyl Gallic Acid, Squalane, Sodium Carboxymethyl Beta-Glucan, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, Ergothioneine, Punica Granatum Extract, Tocopherol, Ubiquinone, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Triethanolamine, Tocopheryl Acetate, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium EDTA, PPG-12/Smdi Copolymer, Xanthan Gum

Ascorbic Acid

Ethylhexyl Hydroxystearate

Polysilicone-11

Isosorbide Dicaprylate

Polymethylsilsesquioxane

Hexylresorcinol

Silybum Marianum Fruit Extract

Hordeum Distichon Extract

Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Oil

Silica

Phellodendron Amurense Bark Extract

Santalum Album Wood Extract

Cyclopentasiloxane, Ascorbic Acid, Ethylhexyl Hydroxystearate, Polysilicone-11, Tocopherol, Isosorbide Dicaprylate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Hexylresorcinol, Silybum Marianum Fruit Extract, Hordeum Distichon Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Oil, Silica, Phellodendron Amurense Bark Extract, Santalum Album Wood Extract

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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.

Cyclopentasiloxane (D5) is a lightweight silicone that mostly acts as an emollient and solvent in cosmetics. Its the reason your products feel silky, fast-spreading, and non-greasy.

Since D5 is volatile, it does its thing and then evaporates off the skin quickly.

The safety profile of this ingredient is reassuring; the US CIR Expert Panel concluded D5 is safe as used in cosmetics and Health Canada concluded that D5 is not harmful to human health or the environment as currently used in cosmetics

There's a study that people mention about D5 in a rat study showing tumors. This study is related to long-term inhalation of high D5 levels.

Regulatory bodies have judged this study to be not applicable in topical skincare since skin absorption of D5 is very low and we're not really inhaling huge amounts of D5.

The only restriction for this ingredient is environmental. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) restricted D5 in wash-off cosmetics at or above 0.1% due to their persistence in water.

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.

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 RebalanceIngredients 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. 06Aloe Vera is one of today’s magic plants. It does have some very nice properties indeed, though famous dermatologist Leslie Baumann warns us in her book that most of the evidence is anecdotal and the plant might be a bit overhyped.
  7. 07What research does confirm about Aloe is that it’s a great moisturizer and has several anti-inflammatory (among others contains salicylates, polysaccharides, magnesium lactate and C-glucosyl chromone) as well as some antibacterial components. It als…
  8. 08We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
  9. 09It's a nice glycerin-based humectant and emollient that gives skin a smooth and luxurious feel.
  10. 10Butylene 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.
  11. 11BG’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…
  12. 12It’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.
  13. 13It’s the - sodium form - cousin of the famous NMF, hyaluronic acid (HA). If HA does not tell you anything we have a super detailed, geeky explanation about it here. The TL; DR version of HA is that it's a huge polymer (big molecule from repeated sub…
  14. 14As far as skincare goes, sodium hyaluronate and hyaluronic acid are pretty much the same and the two names are used interchangeably. As cosmetic chemist kindofstephen writes on reddit "sodium hyaluronate disassociates into hyaluronic acid molecule a…
  15. 15In spite of this, if you search for "hyaluronic acid vs sodium hyaluronate" you will find on multiple places that sodium hyaluronate is smaller and can penetrate the skin better. Chemically, this is definitely not true, as the two forms are almost t…
  16. 16What seems to be a true difference, though, is that the salt form is more stable, easier to formulate and cheaper so it pops up more often on the ingredient lists.
  17. 17If you wanna become a real HA-and-the-skin expert you can read way more about the topic at hyaluronic acid (including penetration-questions, differences between high and low molecular weight versions and a bunch of references to scientific literature).
  18. 18This long-named, polymer molecule (big molecule from repeated subunits) is a helper ingredient that's good at emulsifying and stabilizing oils into water-based formulas. It also acts as a thickening and gelling agent that creates nice, non-sticky an…
  19. 19A polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) that's used as a gloss improver for lipsticks and lipglosses. Its stickiness also helps lip products to stay on longer.
  20. 20Combined with polyacrylate-13 and polysorbate 20, it forms a very effective tickener-emulsifier trio.
Source · incidecoder.com ⟶
02

Product index

Related product references

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03

Comparison edit

Read side by side

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