What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Benzoyl Peroxide 10%
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Coconut Acid
Cleansing
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Isethionate
CleansingEthylene/Va Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingZea Mays Starch
Absorbent
Sodium Tallowate
Cleansing
Titanium Dioxide
Cosmetic Colorant
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Tetrasodium Etidronate
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Cocoate
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Chloride
MaskingTetrasodium EDTA
Benzoyl Peroxide 10%, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Coconut Acid, Water, Sodium Isethionate, Ethylene/Va Copolymer, Zea Mays Starch, Sodium Tallowate, Titanium Dioxide, Paraffinum Liquidum, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Cocoate, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Tetrasodium EDTA
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Sodium Tallowate
Cleansing
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Isethionate
CleansingSodium Cocoate
Cleansing
Sodium Stearate
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
Sodium Chloride
MaskingPEG-20
HumectantParfum
Masking
Petrolatum
Emollient
Sodium Isostearoyl Lactylate
EmulsifyingSucrose Cocoate
Emulsifying
Titanium Dioxide
Cosmetic Colorant
Pentasodium Pentetate
Tetrasodium Etidronate
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Palm Kernelate
CleansingSodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Tallowate, Water, Sodium Isethionate, Sodium Cocoate, Sodium Stearate, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, PEG-20, Parfum, Petrolatum, Sodium Isostearoyl Lactylate, Sucrose Cocoate, Titanium Dioxide, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Palm Kernelate
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.
Learn more about GlycerinChances 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.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideSodium cocoate is a salt created by saponifying coconut oil. It has cleansing and emulsifying properties.
As a cleansing agent, this ingredient helps reduce the surface tension of dirt, sebum, and other residue in skin and hair. This makes them easier to be rinsed away with water.
Sodium cocoyl isethionate is a natural ingredient from coconut oil. It is an ultra gentle cleanser that gives a nice foam without drying the skin or impacting the skin barrier.
The amount of foam created depends on the amount of sodium cocoyl isethionate used in the product.
This ingredient also helps improve the spreadability of a product.
This ingredient hasnāt been shown in studies to feed fungal acne yeast.
Learn more about Sodium Cocoyl IsethionateWe don't have a description for Sodium Isethionate yet.
This ingredient is made from sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and animal fat. It is not vegan.
Stearic Acid is a fatty acid that is already found in your skin. It's one of the free fatty acids that works alongside ceramides and cholesterols to maintain your barrier.
In cosmetics, it is a multitasker:
Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.
Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Stearic AcidWe don't have a description for Tetrasodium Etidronate yet.
Titanium dioxide is a mineral UV filter widely used in sunscreens and cosmetics.
It is one of only two UV filters officially classified as āmineralā by regulatory agencies, the other being zinc oxide.
Titanium dioxide provides broad-spectrum protection mostly in the UVB and UVAII range, with some protection in the UVAI range.
While its UVA protection isnāt as strong as zinc oxideās, the difference is minor.
A common myth is that mineral UV filters reflect UV light. However, modern research shows titanium dioxide absorbs UV radiation like chemical filters (~95% absorption & 5% reflection).
Thanks to its non-irritating nature, titanium dioxide is suitable for sensitive, acne-prone, or redness-prone skin. It is unlikely to cause "eye sting" like other sunscreen ingredients.
A major drawback of this ingredient is its white cast and thick texture. This is why mineral sunscreens often leave a white cast and are less cosmetically elegant than chemical/hybrid sunscreens.
To improve white cast and spreadability, micronized or nano-sized titanium dioxide is often used.
There are ongoing concerns surrounding nano-titanium oxide's impact on marine ecosystems.
There is no conclusive evidence that any form of titanium oxide (or any other sunscreen ingredients) will cause harm to marine ecosystems or coral reefs. The science is still developing but many consumers are keeping a close eye on this issue.
Please note, many destinations have reef-safety sunscreen rules. For instance, the U.S. Virgin Islands advises all visitors to use non-nano mineral sunscreens.
Nano mineral sunscreens once raised safety concerns about absorption into skin.
Extensive research has shown that they do not penetrate healthy or damaged skin; they remain safely on the surface and the top layer of dead skin (stratum corneum).
You'll likely find titanium dioxide bundled with alumina, silica, or dimethicone. These ingredients help make titanium dioxide highly photostable; this prevents it from interacting with other formula components under UV light.
Learn more about Titanium DioxideWater. 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!
Learn more about Water
