What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningDisodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingPEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Emulsifying
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Sodium Chloride
MaskingCeteareth-60 Myristyl Glycol
EmulsifyingSorbitol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
PEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate
Cleansing
10-Hydroxydecenoic Acid
Skin ConditioningAvena Sativa Leaf/Stem Extract
Skin ConditioningBenzoic Acid
Masking
Citric Acid
Buffering
Glyceryl Laurate
Emollient
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Oenothera Biennis Oil
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Water, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Decyl Glucoside, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Chloride, Ceteareth-60 Myristyl Glycol, Sorbitol, Glycerin, PEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate, 10-Hydroxydecenoic Acid, Avena Sativa Leaf/Stem Extract, Benzoic Acid, Citric Acid, Glyceryl Laurate, Lactic Acid, Maltodextrin, Oenothera Biennis Oil, Tocopherol
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Emulsifying
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Emulsifying
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate
EmollientCeteareth-60 Myristyl Glycol
EmulsifyingDisodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
CleansingAvena Sativa Bran
Abrasive
Butylparaben
Masking
Citric Acid
Buffering
Disodium EDTA
Ethylparaben
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Isobutylparaben
Antimicrobial
Methylparaben
Preservative
Oenothera Biennis Oil
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
Sodium Propylparaben
Preservative
Sorbic Acid
Preservative
CI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Glycerin, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Decyl Glucoside, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Propylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Ceteareth-60 Myristyl Glycol, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Avena Sativa Bran, Butylparaben, Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA, Ethylparaben, Parfum, Isobutylparaben, Methylparaben, Oenothera Biennis Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Propylparaben, Sodium Propylparaben, Sorbic Acid, CI 19140
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
We don't have a description for Ceteareth-60 Myristyl Glycol yet.
Citric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.
Like other AHAs, citric acid can exfoliate skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.
However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.
Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.
In skincare formulas, citric acid can:
While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.
Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Citric AcidDecyl Glucoside is a plant-derived surfactant and emulsion stabilizer. It is created by reacting glucose with the fatty acids from plants.
Like all surfactants, it works by lowering the surface tension between water and oil. This makes it so that dirt, sebum, and makeup can be lifted off your skin and rinsed away. It also produces a dense and creamy foam.
Because it has a neutral charge, it is compatible with a wide range of ingredients and stays stable across a broad pH range/water hardiness conditions.
Patch testing has shown it to have the lowest irritation potential among common cleansing surfactants (like SLS).
Typical use levels range from 5-20% in rinse-off cleansers.
One thing worth knowing: The American Contact Dermatitis Society named the parent family, alkyl glucosides, "Allergen of the Year" in 2017. The prevalence of allergy is pretty low but be sure to patch test if you've reacted to "gentle" or sulfate-free cleansers before.
This ingredient is fungal acne safe because the fatty alcohol portion of this ingredient is not within the C11-24 chain length that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Decyl GlucosideDisodium Cocoamphodiacetate is a surfactant and helps cleanse skin. It is created from the fatty acids of coconut oil.
Surfactants help rinse oil, dirt, and other pollutants easily from skin. It has a faint fruit-like scent.
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 GlycerinOenothera 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 OilPEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate is a synthetic, water-soluble surfactant and emulsifier.
It's a "superfatting" agent that helps replenish some of your skin's oils after they're stripped away by other surfactants.
This is why "gentle" and "moisturizing" cleansers feel less stripping than basic ones.
Typical concentrations range from 1-10% and it has a solid safety record. The CIR Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe at concentrations up to 10% in leave-on products.
Dermal application tests at 50% also did not produce irritation in two studies.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe and in vitro studies have shown Malassezia can metabolize it.
Learn more about PEG-7 Glyceryl CocoateWater. 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
