Educational guide
MEDI-PEEL Royal Rose Premium Ampoule Versus NatureOne Volufiline Peptide Ampoule
MEDI-PEEL Royal Rose Premium Ampoule Versus NatureOne Volufiline Peptide Ampoule This anti-aging ampoule is formulated around Niacinamide and Adenosine to soften the look of wrinkles. This anti-aging ampoule is formulated around Niacinamide and Acetyl Hexapept
This guide cannot diagnose a condition or recommend a personal treatment plan. Discuss medical questions with a qualified professional.
MEDI-PEEL Royal Rose Premium Ampoule Versus NatureOne Volufiline Peptide Ampoule
This anti-aging ampoule is formulated around Niacinamide and Adenosine to soften the look of wrinkles.
This anti-aging ampoule is formulated around Niacinamide and Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 to soften the look of wrinkles and refine skin texture.
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Butylene Glycol
Rose Extract
Betaine
Niacinamide
Glycerin
Carbomer
Arginine
Caprylyl Glycol
1,2-Hexanediol
PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Trehalose
Panthenol
Parfum
Sodium Hyaluronate
Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract
Pulsatilla Koreana Extract
Usnea Barbata Extract
Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract
Adenosine
Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer
Rosa Damascena Flower Extract
Rosa Gallica Flower Extract
Disodium EDTA
Propylene Glycol
Pvm/Ma Copolymer
Illicium Verum Fruit Extract
Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract
Inonotus Obliquus Extract
Lactobacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract
Lactobacillus/Pumpkin Ferment Extract
Ethylhexylglycerin
Lactobacillus/Wasabia Japonica Root Ferment Extract
Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract
Punica Granatum Fruit Extract
Brassica Oleracea Italica Extract
Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract
Centella Asiatica Extract
Portulaca Oleracea Extract
Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Extract
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Hamamelis Virginiana Leaf Extract
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Saccharomyces/Grape Ferment Extract
CI 16255
Acetyl Hexapeptide-8
Copper Tripeptide-1
Oligopeptide-29
Oligopeptide-32
Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4
Water, Butylene Glycol, Rose Extract, Betaine, Niacinamide, Glycerin, Carbomer, Arginine, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Trehalose, Panthenol, Parfum, Sodium Hyaluronate, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Pulsatilla Koreana Extract, Usnea Barbata Extract, Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract, Adenosine, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Rosa Damascena Flower Extract, Rosa Gallica Flower Extract, Disodium EDTA, Propylene Glycol, Pvm/Ma Copolymer, Illicium Verum Fruit Extract, Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract, Inonotus Obliquus Extract, Lactobacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract, Lactobacillus/Pumpkin Ferment Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Lactobacillus/Wasabia Japonica Root Ferment Extract, Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract, Punica Granatum Fruit Extract, Brassica Oleracea Italica Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana Leaf Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Saccharomyces/Grape Ferment Extract, CI 16255, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Copper Tripeptide-1, Oligopeptide-29, Oligopeptide-32, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4
Glycereth-26
Dipropylene Glycol
Methyl Gluceth-20
Sh-Oligopeptide-1
Sh-Polypeptide-1
Sh-Oligopeptide-2
Sh-Polypeptide-3
Fructan
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene
Anemarrhena Asphodeloides Root Extract
Squalane
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Hydrogenated Lecithin
Polyglyceryl-10 Oleate
Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate
Octyldodeceth-16
Sodium Polyacrylate
Aniba Rosodora Wood Oil
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Water, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Glycerin, Betaine, Glycereth-26, Dipropylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Methyl Gluceth-20, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Copper Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Sh-Oligopeptide-1, Sh-Polypeptide-1, Sh-Oligopeptide-2, Sh-Polypeptide-3, Fructan, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Anemarrhena Asphodeloides Root Extract, Squalane, Centella Asiatica Extract, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Polyglyceryl-10 Oleate, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Octyldodeceth-16, Sodium Polyacrylate, Aniba Rosodora Wood Oil, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Adenosine, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Disodium EDTA
Alternatives
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.
It is a:
Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
Emollient, helping to soften skin
Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives
Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 (also known as Argireline) is a synthetic hexapeptide that is often called a "topical Botox alternative".
It works by mimicking how Botox relaxes muscles; it interferes with the signaling process that tells your facial muscles to contract. This can help soften expression lines like forehead wrinkles or crow's feet over time.
The comparison to Botox does have limits because the molecule is water-loving and relatively large.
Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 has a hard time absorbing deeply enough through the skin's outer barrier to actually reach the muscles.
So whether it truly works the way Botox does at a biological level is still up for debate, but early clinical outcomes are fairly encouraging.
A 12 week human study of a multi-ingredient regimen containing this ingredient saw:
While some studies have observed improvements in wrinkle appearance, it is important to note that more consistent results are seen in multi-ingredient formulations (vs just Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 alone).
Some research studies also used higher concentrations (up to 10%) while this ingredient is usually found in concentrations up to 0.005% in leave-on formulations.
Adenosine is a purine nucleoside that your body already makes in every cell. In skincare, it acts mainly as a skin conditioning and anti-aging agent.
The way it works is fairly well mapped out:
Your skin has cells called fibroblasts that build collagen (the stuff that keeps skin firm and smooth). Adenosine basically flips a switch on these cells that tells them to get to work making more collagen and other proteins. These cells slow down on their own as skin ages, so Adenosine helps give them a little nudge to keep going.
The clinical backing is pretty solid too.
A blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 126 women aged 45-65 tested a 0.1% cream twice daily and found real improvements in crow's feet and frown lines using a precise 3D skin-mapping technique; these changes showed up by week 3 and held at 2 months.
A later study using Adenosine-loaded dissolving microneedle patches reported gains in wrinkle depth, dermal density, elasticity, and hydration.
On concentrations, South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has set 0.04% as the approved functional anti-wrinkle level. You'll typically see this ingredient used somewhere in the 0.04-0.1% range since it works at low doses.
This ingredient has been found safe for cosmetics with the data showing no irritation or sensitization.
Overall, this is a great ingredient for any anti-aging routine and has no photosensitizing effect, so it suits both AM and PM use.
Betaine is a humectant. Like hyaluronic acid, it helps attract and retain moisture in the skin. It’s known for being gentle and for helping the skin maintain balanced hydration.
Betaine is mainly used to improve hydration and support calmer skin. It helps skin cells regulate water balance because it functions as an osmolyte.
Some studies suggest betaine may support making skin tone more even.
Fun fact: Betaine naturally exists in the skin and the body. In cosmetic products, it can be either plant-derived (most commonly from sugar beets) or synthetically produced for consistency and stability.
Betaine is also known as trimethylglycine.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though 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.
Centella Asiatica Extract (Centella) is one of the most researched botanical extracts in skincare with decades of studies backing its effects on inflammation, collagen, and the skin barrier.
That research keeps pointing back to the same four triterpenoid saponins: Asiaticoside, Madecassoside, Asiatic Acid, and Madecassic Acid.
These compounds allow centella to dial back inflammation, encourage the skin to build and hold onto collagen, support the barrier and hydration, and bring solid antioxidant activity to protect against signs of aging.
Centella also carries a nice supporting cast of Vitamin A, vitamin C, several B vitamins, and amino acids. Put it all together and you get an ingredient that soothes, hydrates, and protects, all at once.
Most of centella's magic comes from the four big compounds (Asiaticoside, Madecassoside, Asiatic Acid, and Madecassic Acid). These are the actives doing the heavy lifting in almost every centella study.
Here is the short version of what they do in the skin:
So it is not just soothing for the sake of soothing. Centella calms the skin AND helps it rebuild.
Just FYI, not all centella on an ingredient list is the same. What you are getting actually depends on the extract:
Fun fact on the ratios: the leaves tend to be richest in Madecassoside and Asiaticoside, and lower in the two acids. The exact amounts shift with where the plant is grown and how it is processed. This means purity really does vary brand to brand.
Centella is one of the most easygoing actives out there.
It layers well with basically everything: niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, peptides, and vitamin C, and also pairs nicely with stronger actives like retinoids and exfoliating acids where it can help take the edge off irritation.
On the safety side, centella and its triterpenes are classified as weak sensitizers, meaning allergic reactions are possible but uncommon.
Patch tests at 1% and 5% came back negative in test panels, and creams at typical use levels did not cause allergic reactions across large groups of people.
But as with any new active, a patch test is still a smart move for very reactive skin.
Centella is widely used because it is effective at low percentages. For context, human safety testing found no meaningful irritation from creams containing centella extract at everyday use levels (the tested amounts were well under 1%).
The irritancy threshold in animal testing was also above 30% (so real-world formulas sit far below anything concerning).
In collagen lab studies, higher concentrations drove more collagen synthesis, so serums built around centella tend to feature it more prominently.
Bottom line: you will find centella working nicely anywhere from a fraction of a percent up to hero-ingredient levels depending on whether it is a supporting soother or the main event.
Fun fact: Centella has been used as a medicine and in food for many centuries. As a medicine, it is used to treat burns, scratches, and wounds.
Copper Tripeptide-1 (GHK-Cu) is a skin repairing ingredient known for its ability to boost collagen, improve firmness, and support skin regeneration.
It is a complex made up of a naturally occurring peptide (glycine-histidine-lysine) and copper, an essential trace element.
While studying wound healing, researchers noticed GHK-Cu stimulated hair follicle enlargement and growth by keeping hair in its active growth phase longer. This has made it a promising ingredient for hair regrowth treatments.
Some people have reported increased facial hair. While GHK-Cu can make your hair follicles bigger, it usually doesn’t turn soft, barely-visible facial hairs into thick, dark ones.
Anecdotal reports suggest that overusing copper peptides might lead to premature aging due to excess free copper or enzyme imbalances. This claim isn’t backed by large-scale studies.
Unfortunately, there are limited human studies for this ingredient. While early results are promising, many studies are either small, in-vitro, or not rigorously controlled.
For example, there is a 1998 study that explored the effects of copper tripeptide, vitamin C, tretinoin, and melatonin on skin repair and collagen synthesis.
After one month, increased procollagen production was seen in 7 out of 10 participants using copper tripeptide (more than those using vitamin C, melatonin, or tretinoin.
While the study was exploratory, it offers early evidence that copper tripeptide may support collagen production. Larger, well-designed trials are still needed to confirm its potential and understand individual responses.
Read more about other common types of peptides here:
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%.
Ethylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:
The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.
Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.
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.
You might know this ingredient as Matrixyl. It is a synthetic peptide made up of five amino acids attached to a palmitic acid, a fatty acid that helps it absorb into skin more easily.
As a signal peptide, Matrixyl acts like a little messenger. Once it reaches your skin cells, it tells them to ramp up production of collagen, elastin, and other proteins that keep skin looking firm and smooth.
A 12 week clinical study found that a moisturizer containing just 3 ppm of Matrixyl led to a significant improvement in fine-lines and wrinkles. Another study showed an 18% reduction in wrinkle depth, 37% reduction in wrinkle thickness, and a 21% improvement in skin firmness after just 28 days of twice-daily use.
The coolest part is that it works at incredibly low concentrations (like 0.0003%) and it plays well with other actives.
The CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review) panel found it to be non-sensitizing across multiple tests and human patch tests also showed no irritation or sensitization.
Fun fact: Matrixyl was originally developed by French company Sederma and Procter & Gamble.
Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt form of hyaluronic acid. It is a long sugar chain that is naturally found in your skin, joints, and connective tissue that maintains hydration and elasticity.
In skincare, it works as a humectant. It pulls water from the environment and deeper layers of skin and binds it to the surface.
Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.
You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.
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!