The INKEY List Q10 Serum Versus Hylamide SubQ Skin

The INKEY List Q10 Serum Versus Hylamide SubQ Skin

This anti-aging serum is formulated around Squalane and Ubiquinone to soften the look of wrinkles and hydrate skin.

This anti-aging serum is formulated around Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 and Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer to soften the look of wrinkles and hydrate skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Butylene Glycol

Propanediol

Glycerin

Dicaprylyl Carbonate

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Dimethicone

Phenoxyethanol

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Caprylyl Glycol

Squalane

Phospholipids

Lecithin

Glycine Soja Oil

Carbomer

Polysorbate 60

Tocopheryl Acetate

Ubiquinone

Sodium Phytate

Glycolipids

Sorbitan Isostearate

Sodium Hydroxide

Glycine Soja Sterols

Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate

Hyaluronic Acid

Tocopherol

Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 Diaminobutyroyl Hydroxythreonine

Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 Diaminohydroxybutyrate

Water, Butylene Glycol, Propanediol, Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Squalane, Phospholipids, Lecithin, Glycine Soja Oil, Carbomer, Polysorbate 60, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ubiquinone, Sodium Phytate, Glycolipids, Sorbitan Isostearate, Sodium Hydroxide, Glycine Soja Sterols, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Hyaluronic Acid, Tocopherol, Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 Diaminobutyroyl Hydroxythreonine, Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 Diaminohydroxybutyrate

Hydrolyzed Yeast Extract

Pentylene Glycol

Tamarindus Indica Seed Gum

Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer

Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38

Myristoyl Nonapeptide-3

Copper Lysinate/Prolinate

Methylglucoside Phosphate

Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate

Sodium Hyaluronate

Ahnfeltia Concinna Extract

Saccharide Isomerate

Polyglucuronic Acid

Lactobacillus/Eriodictyon Californicum Ferment Extract

Pseudoalteromonas Ferment Extract

Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin

Cetyl Hydroxyethylcellulose

Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6

Hexylene Glycol

Salicylic Acid

Citric Acid

Sodium Citrate

Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate

Ethoxydiglycol

Sodium Benzoate

Potassium Sorbate

Ethylhexylglycerin

Chlorphenesin

Water, Glycerin, Hydrolyzed Yeast Extract, Pentylene Glycol, Tamarindus Indica Seed Gum, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, Myristoyl Nonapeptide-3, Copper Lysinate/Prolinate, Methylglucoside Phosphate, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ahnfeltia Concinna Extract, Saccharide Isomerate, Polyglucuronic Acid, Lactobacillus/Eriodictyon Californicum Ferment Extract, Pseudoalteromonas Ferment Extract, Phospholipids, Lecithin, Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin, Cetyl Hydroxyethylcellulose, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Hexylene Glycol, Salicylic Acid, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Hydroxide, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Ethoxydiglycol, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin

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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.

Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.

Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.

Because it is not a free-fatty acid, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).

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.

Lecithin is a term for a group of substances found in the cell membranes of plants, animals, and humans. They are made up of phospholipids.

Thanks to its amphiphilic structure (water-loving head and oil-loving tail), it is a true multitasker:

It plays well with most ingredients and is typically used at 0.1-1%. However, concentrations up to 50% have been reported in moisturizers.

Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate is a natural preservative. It comes from fermenting radish roots with a bacteria called leuconostoc. The trade name for this ingredient is Leucidal.

Leuconostoc comes from lactic acid.

This ingredient has antimicrobial properties and helps prevent the growth of bacteria in a product.

Leuconostoc is used to make the traditional Korean side-dish, kimchi. It is also used to make sourdough bread (both incredibly yummy foods).

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.

Phospholipids are a family of skin-identical lipids that makeup the structural backbone of every cell membrane in your body.

In cosmetics, they function as skin conditioning agents with emulsifier and surfactant properties. They're typically sourced from soybean or sunflower lecithin (or sometimes egg yolk or marine sources).

Because they mirror the lipids naturally found in the deeper layers of your skin, topical phospholipids help reinforce the lipid matrix, reduce transepidermal water loss, and leave skin feeling conditioned.

They're also used to form liposomes, or tiny self-assembling vesible used to stabilize actives like vitamin c or retinol. This helps these ingredients integrate into the upper layers of skin more easily.

Phospholipids are compatible with everything and the CIR Expert Panel has concluded them to be safe at current use levels.

Some types of phospholipids include:

Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.

In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.

Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.

"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.

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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