The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser Versus Paula's Choice Defense Hydrating Gel-To-Cream Cleanser

The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser Versus Paula's Choice Defense Hydrating Gel-To-Cream Cleanser

This salicylic acid gel cleanser is formulated around Salicylic Acid to clear breakouts and unclog pores.

This mild gel cleanser is made to cleanse without leaving your skin tight or dry.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Propanediol

Glycerin

Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate

Cocamidopropyl Betaine

PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate

Salicylic Acid

PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate

PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides

Betaine

Zinc PCA

Phenoxyethanol

Sodium Chloride

Allantoin

Sodium Hydroxide

Coco-Glucoside

Glyceryl Oleate

Benzyl Alcohol

Coconut Acid

Ethylhexylglycerin

Sodium Benzoate

Citric Acid

Dehydroacetic Acid

Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate

Tocopherol

Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate

Water, Propanediol, Glycerin, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Salicylic Acid, PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Betaine, Zinc PCA, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Chloride, Allantoin, Sodium Hydroxide, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Benzyl Alcohol, Coconut Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Tocopherol, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate

Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate

Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine

Sodium Lauroamphoacetate

Sorbeth-230 Tetraoleate

Decyl Glucoside

Pentylene Glycol

Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate

Lauric Acid

Lactic Acid

Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids

Sorbitan Laurate

Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate

Disodium EDTA

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Cocoyl Proline

Sodium Citrate

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root

Sodium PCA

Sodium Lactate

Arginine

Glycine Soja Sterols

Linoleic Acid

Phospholipids

Aspartic Acid

PCA

Glycine

Alanine

Serine

Valine

Isoleucine

Proline

Threonine

Potassium Citrate

Lactoperoxidase

Histidine

Phenylalanine

Glucose Oxidase

Potassium Sorbate

Water, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Sorbeth-230 Tetraoleate, Decyl Glucoside, Pentylene Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Lauric Acid, Lactic Acid, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids, Sorbitan Laurate, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Disodium EDTA, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cocoyl Proline, Sodium Citrate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Arginine, Glycine Soja Sterols, Linoleic Acid, Phospholipids, Aspartic Acid, PCA, Glycine, Alanine, Serine, Valine, Isoleucine, Proline, Threonine, Potassium Citrate, Lactoperoxidase, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Glucose Oxidase, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate

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.

Citric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.

Like other AHAs, citric acid can exfoliate skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.

However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.

Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.

In skincare formulas, citric acid can:

While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.

Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.

Rosacea skin has a lower threshold for acids generally, with 62.5% of rosacea subjects in one study reacting to lactic acid in a sting test. This is why we mark citric acid as a potential rosacea trigger.

However, this ingredient shows up as a pH adjuster or chelator at roughly 0.1-1% in many products. These low levels are unlikely to be an issue for rosacea skin and becomes a potential trigger at exfoliating concentrations (20%). Because everybody's skin is unique, we recommend a patch test if you are unsure.

Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.

This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.

Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.

While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.

Ethylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:

The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.

Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.

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.

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.

Sodium Benzoate is a preservative. It's used in both cosmetic and food products to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria. It is typically produced synthetically.

Both the US FDA and EU Health Committee have approved the use of sodium benzoate. In the US, levels of 0.1% (of the total product) are allowed.

Sodium benzoate works as a preservative by inhibiting the growth of bacteria inside of cells. It prevents the cell from fermenting a type of sugar using an enzyme called phosphofructokinase.

It is the salt of benzoic acid. Foods containing sodium benzoate include soda, salad dressings, condiments, fruit juices, wines, and snack foods.

Studies for using ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate in cosmetics are lacking, especially in skincare routines with multiple steps.

We always recommend speaking with a professional, such as a dermatologist, if you have any concerns.

Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.

You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.

You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.

You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.

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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