Anti-Aging Skin Series Post 9: What Is The Difference Between Products?

Up to the present blog post, we have really covered quite a bit -- even if that does not seem to be the case.  The original article (blog post) was filled with a couple of solutions toward aging which have since come into question.  I say question since the information in the last 8 blog posts is comprehensive in resources and broad in questions regarding cosmetic chemistry.  You can access the feed of previous posts by clicking here.  Included in those posts are two products -- skin care products -- which were deconstructed as far as ingredients.  In the present post, I would like to "roughly" compare the two products.



At this point, you might be thinking the following: Mike, you are comparing two different manufacturers 'skincare' solutions (i.e., Moisturizing, skin tightening, hydration, etc.).  That is analogous to comparing 'apples to oranges.'  Typically, a comparison might involve two different products made by the same manufacturer.  One would be an advancement in front of the other -- or an evolution from an earlier product.  In the present blog post, I am choosing to look at the ingredient profile of two different products.  After reading this post, you should be able to look at a couple of different skin lotions and identify some common ingredients.  With that in mind, lets dive into looking at two products that were deconstructed in the following posts: 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Skin Moisturizing

The first product to be deconstructed was "Jergens Skin Firming Moisturizing Lotion" in the picture shown below:

The ingredients were deconstructed over the next four posts: (1) Post #5 (ingredient list), (2) Post #6 (Glossary of functions), and (3) Post #7 (ingredient analysis) and (4) Post #7-part#3 (toxicological introduction).  Additionally, I used this product to discuss the toxicology resources available on the internet in post #8.  After deconstructing Jergens, I thought the next product which would be relevant would be from a different manufacturer but with the same intention.  I chose a product called "Suave Skin Solutions - Lotion" which is shown in the picture below:

The post was relatively straight forward in that the ingredients were listed along with the functions of the ingredients.  I left the classifications of 'non-polar', 'polar', and emulsifier up to the reader to compare.  Once we get through a few different lotions, you should be able to look at the back of any product and have an initial idea as to the function of the ingredient.  This is a start.



If we take both products and show their ingredient list side by side, we could then get a better understanding of the similarities and differences in each.  Both products should deviate to an extent since their claims will be slightly different along with the obvious observation that their manufacturers are different.  Here is a picture of the ingredient lists side by side shown below:

When comparing ingredient lists, naturally, one immediately looks for similarities in the ingredients used in each product.  A list is shown below of the "common ingredients" from each product:

And the leftover ingredients from each define the distinct differences to each products -- not including the product claims -- which we will get to in the next post.  The remaining ingredients for the Jergens lotion are shown below:

The remaining ingredients for the Suave skin care lotion are shown below:

As you can see, there are more in the Jergens lotion -- which should not mean anything in particular.  In order to define the fine differences between the two products, we must look to the claims on the front and back as shown below:

And for Suave:

As you can see, there are a few different chemicals (ingredients) which are unique to each brand.  In order to differentiate between the two, a closer inspection into the ingredients along with the claims made by each brand needs to be performed.



In the next post, I will discuss "claims" which are written in the images (or photos) on each brand and their relevance to the overall differences between the two products.  Both products aim to provide smooth, soft, and young looking skin.  By breaking down the differences in each ingredients along with the claims, the purpose of adding each ingredients will become better known.  Alternately, by inspecting the different ingredients, we will learn more about each ingredient and how it can be used in other skin care products.


Until next time, have a great day!