Skin science article
Vitamins and Sea beauty Dead Sea Minerals & Vitamin C Complex Toning Skin Serum Versus e.l.f. cosmetics Holy Hydration! Triple Bounce Serum
Vitamins and Sea beauty Dead Sea Minerals & Vitamin C Complex Toning Skin Serum Versus e.l.f. cosmetics Holy Hydration! Triple Bounce Serum This brightening serum is formulated around Retinyl Palmitate and Niacinamide to brighten dull-looking skin. This hydrat
Vitamins and Sea beauty Dead Sea Minerals & Vitamin C Complex Toning Skin Serum Versus e.l.f. cosmetics Holy Hydration! Triple Bounce Serum
This brightening serum is formulated around Retinyl Palmitate and Niacinamide to brighten dull-looking skin.
This hydrating serum is formulated around Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate and Sodium Hyaluronate to hydrate skin and strengthen the skin barrier.
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Propanediol
Glycereth-26
Polysorbate 20
Glycerin
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Aminomethyl Propanol
Parfum
Tocopheryl Acetate
Retinyl Palmitate
Niacinamide
Panthenol
Soil Minerals
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Persea Gratissima Oil
Rosa Canina Fruit Oil
Phenoxyethanol
Dehydroacetic Acid
Benzyl Alcohol
Hc Yellow No. 15
Water, Propanediol, Glycereth-26, Polysorbate 20, Glycerin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Aminomethyl Propanol, Parfum, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Niacinamide, Panthenol, Soil Minerals, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Hc Yellow No. 15
Butylene Glycol
Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate
Sodium Hyaluronate
Squalane
1,2-Hexanediol
Hydroxyacetophenone
Coceth-7
PPG-1-PEG-9 Lauryl Glycol Ether
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Citric Acid
Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Niacinamide, Squalane, Panthenol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Coceth-7, PPG-1-PEG-9 Lauryl Glycol Ether, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Citric Acid
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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.
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.
Niacinamide is a multitasking form of vitamin B3 that strengthens the skin barrier, reduces pores and dark spots, regulates oil, and improves signs of aging.
And the best part? It's gentle and well-tolerated by most skin types, including sensitive and reactive skin.
You might have heard of "niacin flush", or the reddening of skin that causes itchiness. Niacinamide has not been found to cause this.
In very rare cases, some individuals may not be able to tolerate niacinamide at all or experience an allergic reaction to it.
If you are experiencing flaking, irritation, and dryness with this ingredient, be sure to double check all your products as this ingredient can be found in all categories of skincare.
When incorporating niacinamide into your routine, look out for concentration amounts. Typically, 5% niacinamide provides benefits such as fading dark spots. However, if you have sensitive skin, it is better to begin with a smaller concentration.
When you apply niacinamide to your skin, your body converts it into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD is an essential coenzyme that is already found in your cells as "fuel" and powers countless biological processes.
In your skin, NAD helps repair cell damage, produce new healthy cells, support collagen production, strengthen the skin barrier, and fight environmental stressors (like UV and pollution).
Our natural NAD levels start to decline with age, leading to slower skin repair, visible aging, and a weaker skin barrier. By providing your skin niacinamide, you're recharging your skin's NAD levels. This leads to stronger, healthier, and younger looking skin.
Another name for vitamin B3 is nicotinamide. This vitamin is water-soluble and our bodies don't store it. We obtain Vitamin B3 from either food or skincare. Meat, fish, wheat, yeast, and leafy greens contain vitamin B3.
The type of niacinamide used in skincare is synthetically created.
Panthenol is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin. It is found naturally in our skin and hair.
There are two forms of panthenol: D and L.
D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.
Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):
Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.
This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.
Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.
This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.
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!