Zerafite Skin Brightening Barrier Cream Versus First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration

Zerafite Skin Brightening Barrier Cream Versus First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration

This barrier-repair moisturizer is formulated around Niacinamide and Panthenol to strengthen the skin barrier and brighten dull-looking skin.

This calming moisturizer is formulated around Colloidal Oatmeal and Squalane to calm redness and hydrate skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Glycerin

Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate

Butylene Glycol

Cetearyl Alcohol

Cetearyl Olivate

Sorbitan Olivate

Niacinamide

Panthenol

Glyceryl Stearate

C14-22 Alcohols

C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside

Linoleic Acid

Linolenic Acid

Tocopherol

Ceramide NP

Cholesterol

Beta-Sitosterol

Olea Europaea Fruit Extract

Artemisia Capillaris Extract

Pentasodium Tetracarboxymethyl Dipeptide-51

Pentasodium Tetracarboxymethyl Acetylhydroxyprolyl Dipeptide-12

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate

Vaccinium Myrtillus Seed Oil

Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil

Daucus Carota Sativa Root Extract

Ceramide AP

1,2-Hexanediol

Hydrogenated Poly(C6-14 Olefin)

Camellia Japonica Seed Oil

Tocopheryl Acetate

3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid

Polyglyceryl-2 Stearate

Stearyl Alcohol

Hydrogenated Olive Oil

Behenyl Alcohol

Biosaccharide Gum-1

Beta-Glucan

Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract

Saururus Chinensis Extract

Phytosteryl Oleate

Citric Acid

Sodium Citrate

Sodium Gluconate

Carbomer

Propanediol

Ethylhexylglycerin

Olea Europaea Fruit Oil

Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Butylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Niacinamide, Panthenol, Glyceryl Stearate, C14-22 Alcohols, C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Tocopherol, Ceramide NP, Cholesterol, Beta-Sitosterol, Olea Europaea Fruit Extract, Artemisia Capillaris Extract, Pentasodium Tetracarboxymethyl Dipeptide-51, Pentasodium Tetracarboxymethyl Acetylhydroxyprolyl Dipeptide-12, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Vaccinium Myrtillus Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Daucus Carota Sativa Root Extract, Ceramide AP, 1,2-Hexanediol, Hydrogenated Poly(C6-14 Olefin), Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Polyglyceryl-2 Stearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Hydrogenated Olive Oil, Behenyl Alcohol, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Beta-Glucan, Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract, Saururus Chinensis Extract, Phytosteryl Oleate, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Gluconate, Carbomer, Propanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil

Colloidal Oatmeal 0.5%

Stearic Acid

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate

Glyceryl Stearate Se

Dimethicone

Squalane

Butyrospermum Parkii Butter

Phenoxyethanol

Caprylyl Glycol

Xanthan Gum

Allantoin

Sodium Hydroxide

Tetrasodium EDTA

Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract

Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil

Colloidal Oatmeal 0.5%, Water, Stearic Acid, Glycerin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Squalane, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Allantoin, Sodium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium EDTA, Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Ceramide NP, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil

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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.

Caprylic/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.

Though 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.

In practice, that translates to a long shelf life and a consistently elegant skin feel.

While 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.

Fractionated 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.

This ingredient is treated as the gold standard fungal acne safe oil. Even though it is coconut derived, the problematic lauric acid is stripped out.

This 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 at concentrations as low as 0.2%.

Ceramide NP (formerly known as Ceramide 3) is one of the skin's naturally occurring lipids.

Since 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.

This 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.

A study with 312 patients found that using a ceramide-containing routine for 4 weeks reduced the severity of atopic dermatitis by over 61%.

Another 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.

Overall, ceramides are considered non-irritating and safety tests have found little to no observable adverse effects from using this ingredient.

Ceramide NP is usually sourced from plants (like soybean or rice bran), or produced synthetically.

Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.

Despite 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.

It plays several roles in a formula:

Typical 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.

Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.

However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.

Cetearyl 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.

Here'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.

Remember 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.

This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.

A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.

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.

Glyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.

Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.

This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.

A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.

Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.

Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.

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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