What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Squalane
Emollient
Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil
Emollient
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Oenothera Biennis Oil
Emollient
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Rosa Canina Fruit Oil
Emollient
Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil
Masking
Limonene
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Persea Gratissima Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Squalane, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Oenothera Biennis Oil, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil, Limonene, Linalool
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Perilla Frutescens Seed Oil
Emollient
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Camellia Oleifera Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Oenothera Biennis Oil
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Coix Lacryma-Jobi Ma-Yuen Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Salvia Sclarea Oil
Masking
Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil
Masking
Eugenia Caryophyllus Bud Oil
Masking
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Citrus Limon Peel Oil
Masking
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil
Masking
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
Thujopsis Dolabrata Wood Oil
Masking
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Perilla Frutescens Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil, Camellia Oleifera Seed Oil, Oenothera Biennis Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Coix Lacryma-Jobi Ma-Yuen Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Salvia Sclarea Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil, Eugenia Caryophyllus Bud Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Citrus Limon Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Thujopsis Dolabrata Wood Oil
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil is the oil from the bergamot orange and is primarily used as a fragrance. It has a "fresh" and "bright orange" scent.
The main aroma compounds found in this ingredient are limonene (~27-52%), linalool (~2-22%), and linalyl acetate (~27-40%). These are known EU fragrance allergens.
The term '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.
When used topically, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil is a photosensitizer due to the furanocoumarin content. Furanocoumarins absorb UV-A and cause phytophotodermatitis; this can look like redness, blistering, and lasting brown pigmentation on sun-exposed skin.
Due to this, this ingredient is capped at 0.4% in leave-on products applied to sun exposed skin.
Many modern formulas used a "furanocoumarin-free" version that sidesteps the phototoxicity issue, but still contains the fragrance allergens.
Learn more about Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit OilHelianthus Annuus Seed Oil is a plant oil derived from the seeds of a sunflower.
It is rich in fatty acids, primarily linoleic acid and oleic acid. This gives it emollient and skin conditioning properties.
The reason this ingredient is so effective is because it forms a thin film on the skin that reduces transepidermal water loss (TEWL) while supplying linoleic acid to the stratum corneum to improve barrier strength.
The high linoleic acid content is particularly noteworthy for acne-prone skin.
Research suggests that acne-prone skin tends to be deficient in linoleic acid in sebum. Topical application may help replenish this to support a healthier follicular environment and less comedone-promoting sebum.
One randomized study found sunflower seed oil preserved skin barrier integrity in adult volunteers with and without atopic dermatitis (outperforming olive oil).
This ingredient is well-studied, gentle, and an effective emollient suitable for most skin types.
On fungal acne: This ingredient may not be Fungal acne (Malassezia folliculitis) safe. This is because it contains fatty acids with carbon chain lengths in the C11-C24 range.
Learn more about Helianthus Annuus Seed OilOenothera Biennis Oil (aka Evening Primrose Oil) is a non-fragrant oil from the evening primrose. Like other botanical oils, it is an emollient that helps hydrate and nourish skin.
It has an interesting fatty acid profile: linoleic (70-74%) and γ-linolenic (8-10%), with some amounts ofoleic palmitic, and stearic acids.
The gamma-linoleic acid (GLA) is the headliner here; it's relatively rare in plant oils and acts as a precursor for anti-inflammatory signaling molecules in the skin.
There's a mixed body of clinical research with this ingredient as well, mostly on eczema/atopic dermatitis skin.
Some controlled trials showed improvement in inflammation, dryness, scaling, and overall severity. Other studies and large meta-analysis failed to show a significant effect; the honest takeaway here is "promising but inconsistent" rather than "miracle oil".
On the safety front, this ingredient is found to be safe as used in cosmetics and even has a history of safe food use.
Since this oil is contains oleic acid and palmitic acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast feeds on fatty acids with carbon chain lengths between C11-C24. Oleic Acid sits at C18 and Palmitic acid sits at C16.
In vitro studies have shown that oleic acid and palmitic acid are some of the fatty acids that induce rapid Malassezia growth in lab settings.
Learn more about Oenothera Biennis OilThis ingredient is also known as olive oil. It has been used in skincare for centuries and science largely backs up its reputation as a nourishing emollient.
The main components of olive oil are oleic acid (55-83%), linoleic acid (3.5-20%), and palmitic acid (7-20%). Oleic acid promotes skin regeneration and helps regulate inflammatory responses.
Squalene is also naturally present in olive oil and exhibits moisturizing and antioxidant properties.
The polyphenols in olive oil also show anti-aging promise; one clinical study found a measurable improvement in skin appearance after 30 days of topical serum use.
Just be aware that applying olive oil directly to skin can weaken the barrier and cause redness. One study with volunteers found even people without sensitive skin experienced a significant reduction in stratum corneum integrity and induced mild erythema.
It's best to use this ingredient as part of a carefully crafted formula (instead of putting it on skin directly from the bottle).
Because it has a 2-3 on the comedogenic scale, it is a moderate risk for acne-prone skin. However, the overall formulation of a product matters more than a few ingredients with comedogenic ratings.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe because of the oleic and palmitic acid content. These fall within the C11-24 fatty acid range that the Malassezia yeast can metabolize to grow.
Overall, olive oil is a well-studied and nourishing skincare ingredient.
Learn more about Olea Europaea Fruit OilThis ingredient is also known as Avocado oil. It's the cold-pressed oil from the flesh of the avocado fruit packed with fatty acids (mostly oleic acid).
The rich fatty acid profile allows it to function as a skin conditioning agent and emollient; it helps soften and smooth skin while reducing water loss.
Preclinical research has found that topical avocado oil increased collagen synthesis and reduced inflammation during wound healing, giving it some skin-repairing credibility.
The unsaponifiable fraction of the oil is also interesting: studies on avocado unsaponifiables showed that it helped skin produce more collagen and other structural compounds that support healing.
The CIR Expert Panel has found this ingredient to be non-irritating in formulations.
It's a great ingredient for dry or compromised skin. Just know it may not be fungal acne safe. This is because the oleic acid content falls within the range that Malassezia can use as a food source.
Learn more about Persea Gratissima OilThis ingredient is the oil from the apricot.
Apricot Kernel Oil is an emollient and helps soften skin. This is due to its fatty acid components. Some of these fatty acids include linoleic and oleic acid.
This ingredient also has antioxidant properties from Vitamins A, C, and E. Antioxidants help fight free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells. Besides being antioxidants, these vitamins provide plenty of skin benefits as well.
Learn more about Prunus Armeniaca Kernel OilJojoba oil is one of the most well-studied plant-derived ingredients in cosmetics. It is an emollient with a special structure.
Because it is made up of 97-98% wax esters, it closely mirrors the linear monoesters found in human sebum. This makes it skin compatible, non-greasy, and lightweight.
Unlike other plant oils, jojoba wax doesn't easily penetrate skin. It mostly works in the uppermost layers as an emollient. This just means it forms a light barrier on the skin to help retain moisture.
Formulations with jojoba esters up to 90% reduced transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and increased barrier recovery by 81% (outperforming bisabolol at 47%).
Besides barrier support, the science also suggests jojoba to have anti-inflammatory effects and potential applications for skin infections, aging, and wound healing.
Fun fact: Indigenous cultures have used jojoba as a moisturizer and to help treat burns for centuries.
Due to its fatty acid content, Jojoba oil may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
