Peptide Skincare & BeautySkin science and ingredient guides

Skin science article

Topicals Slather Exfoliating Body Serum with Retinol and AHAs Versus Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water

Topicals Slather Exfoliating Body Serum with Retinol and AHAs Versus Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water This calming essence is formulated around Panax Ginseng Root Water and Niacinamide to calm redness and hydrate skin. What's inside Key Ingredients Benef

Topicals Slather Exfoliating Body Serum with Retinol and AHAs Versus Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water

This calming essence is formulated around Panax Ginseng Root Water and Niacinamide to calm redness and hydrate skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

No concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Diethylhexyl Succinate

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate

Glycolic Acid

Cetearyl Alcohol

Potassium Hydroxide

Glyceryl Stearate

PEG-100 Stearate

Retinol

Lactic Acid

Urea

Squalane

Glycerin

Phospholipids

Ubiquinone

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Tocopheryl Acetate

C13-14 Isoparaffin

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Polyacrylamide

Laureth-7

Cetearyl Glucoside

Xanthan Gum

Potassium Sorbate

Sodium Benzoate

Phenoxyethanol

Disodium EDTA

Water, Diethylhexyl Succinate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Glycolic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Potassium Hydroxide, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Retinol, Lactic Acid, Urea, Squalane, Glycerin, Phospholipids, Ubiquinone, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Polyacrylamide, Laureth-7, Cetearyl Glucoside, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium EDTA

Panax Ginseng Root Water

Butylene Glycol

Propanediol

Niacinamide

1,2-Hexanediol

Hydroxyacetophenone

Glyceryl Glucoside

Panthenol

Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate

Allantoin

Adenosine

Panax Ginseng Callus Culture Extract

Theobroma Cacao Extract

Dextrin

Glucose

Panax Ginseng Root Extract

Panax Ginseng Berry Extract

Lactobacillus/Panax Ginseng Root Extract Ferment Filtrate

Sodium Hyaluronate

Ethylhexylglycerin

Panax Ginseng Root Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Propanediol, Niacinamide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Water, Hydroxyacetophenone, Glyceryl Glucoside, Xanthan Gum, Panthenol, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Allantoin, Adenosine, Panax Ginseng Callus Culture Extract, Theobroma Cacao Extract, Dextrin, Glucose, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Panax Ginseng Berry Extract, Lactobacillus/Panax Ginseng Root Extract Ferment Filtrate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA

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.

Disodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.

This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:

On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.

One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).

Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.

You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.

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!

Xanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.

On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.

Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food 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

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. 03Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
  4. 04Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
  5. 05Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
  6. 06Ceramide NP (formerly known as Ceramide 3) is one of the skin's naturally occurring lipids.
  7. 07Since ceramides are the major lipid components of the skin, they are crucial for maintaining skin barrier and hydration. Ceramide NP most closely mirrors the dominant kind in human skin amongst ceramide subtypes.
  8. 08This ceramide works by slotting into gaps within the stratum corneum's lipid matrix to limit trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and shield the skin against external irritants.
  9. 09A study with 312 patients found that using a ceramide-containing routine for 4 weeks reduced the severity of atopic dermatitis by over 61%.
  10. 10Another clinical study in subjects aged 60 and older found that a ceramide body wash and moisturizer improved skin dryness and itchy skin in 15 days.
  11. 11Overall, ceramides are considered non-irritating and safety tests have found little to no observable adverse effects from using this ingredient.
  12. 12Ceramide NP is usually sourced from plants (like soybean or rice bran), or produced synthetically.
  13. 13Glycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.
  14. 14Topically, glycerin does several things at once:
  15. 15Your 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.
  16. 16Aquaporin-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.
  17. 17This 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.
  18. 18Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.
  19. 19Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.
  20. 20Hydrogenated Lecithin is a more stable version of lecithin.
Source · skinsort.com
02

Product index

Related product references

03

Comparison edit

Read side by side