M&S Beauty Pure Natural Radiance Gentle Face Wash Versus Elemis Pro-Collagen Energising Marine Cleanser

M&S Beauty Pure Natural Radiance Gentle Face Wash Versus Elemis Pro-Collagen Energising Marine Cleanser

This mild gel cleanser is made to cleanse while calming and soothing your skin.

This mild gel cleanser is mild enough to cleanse without leaving skin feeling tight or stripped.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

No key ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate

Cocamidopropyl Betaine

Glycerin

Xanthan Gum

Sodium Chloride

Phenoxyethanol

Cocoyl Proline

Caprylyl Glycol

Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids

Acacia Senegal Gum

Citric Acid

Parfum

Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate

Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract

Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract

Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil

Tetrasodium EDTA

Ethylhexylglycerin

Sodium Hydroxide

Linalool

Geraniol

Citronellol

Limonene

Water, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Cocoyl Proline, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids, Acacia Senegal Gum, Citric Acid, Parfum, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Tetrasodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Linalool, Geraniol, Citronellol, Limonene

Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate

Lauryl Glucoside

Hydroxypropyl Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride

Chlorphenesin

Disodium EDTA

Copper PCA

Maris Sal

Succinic Acid

Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract

Lactic Acid

Padina Pavonica Thallus Extract

Zinc Gluconate

Magnesium Aspartate

Acacia Decurrens Flower Extract

Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract

Lactobacillus Ferment

Copper Gluconate

Rhizobian Gum

Sodium Hyaluronate

Water, Glycerin, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Lauryl Glucoside, Xanthan Gum, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxypropyl Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Chlorphenesin, Sodium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, Parfum, Copper PCA, Maris Sal, Succinic Acid, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, Lactic Acid, Padina Pavonica Thallus Extract, Sodium Hydroxide, Zinc Gluconate, Magnesium Aspartate, Acacia Decurrens Flower Extract, Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract, Linalool, Lactobacillus Ferment, Citronellol, Geraniol, Copper Gluconate, Rhizobian Gum, Sodium Hyaluronate

Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Citronellol is used to add fragrance/parfum to a product. It is often derived from plants such as roses. In fact, it can be found in many essential oils including geranium, lavender, neroli, and more. The scent of Citronellol is often described as "fresh, grassy, and citrus-like".

Since the Citronellol molecule is already unstable, Citronellol becomes irritating on the skin when exposed to air.

Citronellol is a modified terpene. Terpenes are unsaturated hydrocarbons found in plants. They make up the primary part of essential oils.

Citronellol is not able to be absorbed into deeper layers of the skin. It has low permeability,

Citronellol is also a natural insect repellent.

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.

Geraniol is used to add fragrance/parfum to a product. It is the main component of citronellol. It is a monoterpenoid and an alcohol.

Monoterpenes are naturally found in many parts of different plants.

Geraniol can be found in many essential oils including Rose Oil and Citronella Oil. The scent of Geraniol is often described as "rose-like". Many foods also contain Geraniol for fruit flavoring.

Geraniol can irritate the skin when exposed to air. However, irritation depends on the ability of geraniol to penetrate into the skin. In general, geraniol is not able to penetrate skin easily.

Geraniol is colorless and has low water-solubility. However, it is soluble in common organic solvents.

Like citronellol, it is a natural insect repellent.

2,6-Octadien-1-ol, 3,7-dimethyl-, (2E)-

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.

Linalool is a fragrance and helps add scent to products. It's derived from common plants such as cinnamon, mint, citrus, and lavender.

Like Limonene, this ingredient oxidizes when exposed to air. Oxidized linalool can cause allergies and skin sensitivity.

This ingredient has a scent that is floral, spicy tropical, and citrus-like.

Parfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.

Also called "fragrance", this ingredient can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.

For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.

The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.

For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.

One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.

Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.

Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.

The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.

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.

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.

Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.

In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.

Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.

"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.

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.

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