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The INKEY List SuperSolutions 10% Azelaic Serum Redness Relief Solution Versus Nano Recipe Azelaic Acid 15% Liposome

The INKEY List SuperSolutions 10% Azelaic Serum Redness Relief Solution Versus Nano Recipe Azelaic Acid 15% Liposome This calming serum is formulated around Azelaic Acid to calm redness and clear breakouts. This calming serum is formulated around Potassium Aze

The INKEY List SuperSolutions 10% Azelaic Serum Redness Relief Solution Versus Nano Recipe Azelaic Acid 15% Liposome

This calming serum is formulated around Azelaic Acid to calm redness and clear breakouts.

This calming serum is formulated around Potassium Azeloyl Diglycinate to calm redness and balance excess oil.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Azelaic Acid

Propanediol

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Phenoxyethanol

Acacia Senegal Gum

Xanthan Gum

Allantoin

Glycerin

Ethylhexylglycerin

Polysorbate 60

Sorbitan Isostearate

Maltodextrin

Sodium Hydroxide

Hydrolyzed Gardenia Florida Extract

Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract

Polylysine

Water, Azelaic Acid, Propanediol, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Acacia Senegal Gum, Xanthan Gum, Allantoin, Glycerin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Isostearate, Maltodextrin, Sodium Hydroxide, Hydrolyzed Gardenia Florida Extract, Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract, Polylysine

Potassium Azeloyl Diglycinate 15%

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate

Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate

Polyglyceryl-2 Stearate

Hydrogenated Lecithin

Glyceryl Stearate

Stearyl Alcohol

Dipropylene Glycol

Hydroxyacetophenone

Caprylyl Glycol

Potassium Azeloyl Diglycinate 15%, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Water, Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Polyglyceryl-2 Stearate, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Glyceryl Stearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Dipropylene Glycol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Caprylyl Glycol

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.

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!

Similar Comparisons

The reference edit

Ingredients, questions
& further reading.

Connected source records selected through this article’s public topic index.

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Formula cabinet

Ingredients & structured notes

Ingredient index

Ingredients Explained

  1. 01These ingredients are found in both products.
  2. 02Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
  3. 03Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (aka MCT Oil) is a lightweight emollient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It is considered a skin-softener by helping to prevent moisture loss.
  4. 04Though it behaves like an oil, it is not technically one due to its chemical composition. One perk of this ingredient is that it is very stable, resistant to oxidation, and unlikely to go rancid.
  5. 05In practice, that translates to a long shelf life and a consistently elegant skin feel.
  6. 06While there is an assumption Caprylic Triglyceride can clog pores due to it being derived from coconut oil, there is no research supporting this. Just patch test if you have concerns.
  7. 07Fractionated coconut oil and MCT Oil are both listed as Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride according to INCI. This is because INCI names are based on the ingredient’s final chemical composition and not its marketing name or source.
  8. 08This ingredient is treated as the gold standard fungal acne safe oil. Even though it is coconut derived, the problematic lauric acid is stripped out.
  9. 09This leaves just caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) acid. These chain lengths actually trend antifungal; a 2020 study found caprylic acid was enough to disrupt Malassezia furfur cell membrane, with a caprylic acid derivative damaging membrane structures…
  10. 10Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
  11. 11Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
  12. 12It plays several roles in a formula:
  13. 13Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
  14. 14Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
  15. 15However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
  16. 16Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
  17. 17Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
  18. 18Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
  19. 19This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
  20. 20A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.
Source · skinsort.com
02

Product index

Related product references

Product

The Inkey List Q10 Serum

The Inkey List Q10 Serum The Inkey List Q10 Serum ingredients explained: Water (Aqua/Eau), Propanediol, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Dimethicone, Caprylic/Capric Triglyc…

Source: incidecoder.comView reference →

Product

The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm

The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm ingredients explained: Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Av…

Source: incidecoder.comView reference →
03

Comparison edit

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