Skin science article
The INKEY List Glucoside Serum Versus Niod Modulating Glucosides
The INKEY List Glucoside Serum Versus Niod Modulating Glucosides This calming treatment is formulated around Squalane and Bisabolol to calm redness and strengthen the skin barrier. What's inside Key Ingredients Benefits Concerns Ingredients Side-by-side Water
The INKEY List Glucoside Serum Versus Niod Modulating Glucosides
This calming treatment is formulated around Squalane and Bisabolol to calm redness and strengthen the skin barrier.
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Glycerin
Sodium Carbomer
Benzyl Alcohol
Phenoxyethanol
Citric Acid
Tocopheryl Acetate
Dehydroacetic Acid
Caffeyl Glucoside
Rosmarinyl Glucoside
Ethylhexylglycerin
Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
Alcohol
Pentylene Glycol
Gallyl Glucoside
Pinus Cembra Wood Extract
Water, Glycerin, Sodium Carbomer, Benzyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Citric Acid, Tocopheryl Acetate, Dehydroacetic Acid, Caffeyl Glucoside, Rosmarinyl Glucoside, Ethylhexylglycerin, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Alcohol, Pentylene Glycol, Gallyl Glucoside, Pinus Cembra Wood Extract
Squalane
Isodecyl Neopentanoate
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Propanediol
Hexyldecanol
Bisabolol
Butylene Glycol
Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside
Tetrasodium Tetracarboxymethyl Naringeninchalcone
Hydroxymethoxyphenyl Decanone
4-T-Butylcyclohexanol
Cetylhydroxyproline Palmitamide
Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-8
Superoxide Dismutase
Sodium PCA
PCA
Arginine
Glycine
Alanine
Serine
Valine
Isoleucine
Proline
Threonine
Histidine
Phenylalanine
Aspartic Acid
Sodium Lactate
Mirabilis Jalapa Callus Extract
Tasmannia Lanceolata Fruit/Leaf Extract
Zingiber Officinale Root Extract
Curculigo Orchioides Root Extract
Isochrysis Galbana Extract
Brassica Campestris Sterols
Stearic Acid
Dextran
Isoceteth-20
Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6
Xanthan Gum
Tocopherol
Propyl Gallate
Tromethamine
1,2-Hexanediol
Caprylyl Glycol
Water, Squalane, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Pentylene Glycol, Propanediol, Hexyldecanol, Bisabolol, Butylene Glycol, Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside, Rosmarinyl Glucoside, Caffeyl Glucoside, Gallyl Glucoside, Tetrasodium Tetracarboxymethyl Naringeninchalcone, Hydroxymethoxyphenyl Decanone, 4-T-Butylcyclohexanol, Cetylhydroxyproline Palmitamide, Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-8, Superoxide Dismutase, Sodium PCA, PCA, Arginine, Glycine, Alanine, Serine, Valine, Isoleucine, Proline, Threonine, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Aspartic Acid, Sodium Lactate, Mirabilis Jalapa Callus Extract, Tasmannia Lanceolata Fruit/Leaf Extract, Zingiber Officinale Root Extract, Curculigo Orchioides Root Extract, Isochrysis Galbana Extract, Brassica Campestris Sterols, Stearic Acid, Dextran, Isoceteth-20, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Xanthan Gum, Tocopherol, Propyl Gallate, Tromethamine, Dehydroacetic Acid, 1,2-Hexanediol, Benzyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol
Reviews
Be the first to review
Alternatives
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Benzyl Alcohol is an aromatic alcohol with several roles: it's a preservative, solvent, and mild fragrance component with a floral scent.
This ingredient has been deemed safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 5%, and up to 10% in hair dyes. You'll typically see 0.5-2% in most rinse-off or leave-on products.
As a preservative, it works by disrupting the membrane of microbial proteins. This helps keep bacteria and fungi from growing in your products.
The sensitization picture is actually quite assuring as well:of nearly 71,000 patients patch tested with benzyl alcohol, only 0.21% showed a positive reaction with most of them being weakly positive.
This led researchers to conclude that benzyl alcohol cannot be regarded as a significant contact allergen.
It is worth noting this ingredient is classified as one of the EU's regulated fragrance allergens and restricted to 1% in finished products.
Labels must also declare it in concentrations above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.
At concentrations around 5%, localized redness and itching can appear as a direct irritant response and not as a true allergic reaction.
Caffeyl Glucoside is an antioxidant.
Dehydroacetic Acid is a synthetic preservative that keeps your products safe from microbes.
As an organic acid, it penetrates microbial cell walls and disrupts cellular metabolism. This makes it effective against bacteria, yeast, and mold.
It is effective at low concentrations (<0.6%). Clinical studies have found it to be non-irritating, non-sensitizing, and non-photosensitizing.
Gallyl Glucoside is an antioxidant.
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.
Pentylene Glycol (1,2-pentanediol) is a multitasking little diol with three main roles in a formula:
Research on alkanediols (the family pentylene glycol belongs to) show they work by disrupting microbial cell membranes. This disruption helps the primary preservative system in a product work more effectively at lower doses.
On the safety side, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe as used in current cosmetic practices + concentrations.
Typical use levels in a formula run about 1-5%.
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.
Rosmarinyl Glucoside is an antioxidant.
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!