What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
Humectant
Dipropylene Glycol
HumectantGlycerin
Humectant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Betula Platyphylla Japonica Juice
Skin Conditioning
Glyceryl Glucoside
Humectant
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract
Skin Conditioning
Viola Mandshurica Flower Extract
Antioxidant
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract
Skin Conditioning
Laminaria Japonica Extract
Skin Protecting
Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningMelia Azadirachta Flower Extract
Skin ConditioningPentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Ethylhexyl Palmitate
Emollient
Cetyl Ethylhexanoate
EmollientSolanum Melongena Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningOcimum Sanctum Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningCorallina Officinalis Extract
Skin Conditioning
Curcuma Longa Root Extract
Masking
Polyglyceryl-10 Myristate
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Ascorbic Acid
Antioxidant
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingTromethamine
BufferingDisodium EDTA
Water, Butylene Glycol, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, 1,2-Hexanediol, Betula Platyphylla Japonica Juice, Glyceryl Glucoside, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hyaluronic Acid, Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract, Viola Mandshurica Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract, Laminaria Japonica Extract, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Pentylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Solanum Melongena Fruit Extract, Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Curcuma Longa Root Extract, Polyglyceryl-10 Myristate, Hydroxyacetophenone, Ascorbic Acid, Carbomer, Tromethamine, Disodium EDTA
Reviews
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
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 GlycerinHyaluronic acid (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan (basically a long sugar chain) that your skin already makes on its own. In your skin, HA lives in the extracellular matrix and acts as the body's moisture reservoir.
Topically, HA is a humectant that binds water and helps skin look more plump, smooth, and hydrated.
The only catch is that HA isn't a single thing; it actually comes in a wide range of molecular weights (~50 - 2,000+ kDA) and size matters.
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
This is why the best HA serums blend the two sizes together so you get the best of both worlds.
The majority of cosmetic HA is produced by bacterial fermentation, typically using Streptococcus or Bacillus strains. Typical use levels in skincare sit around 0.1-2%.
A clinical study using a 0.2% low-molecular weight HA gel showed improvement in facial seborrheic dermatitis with excellent tolerance.
These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:
Learn more about Hyaluronic AcidHydroxyacetophenone is a small phenolic molecule that earns its place in a formulas as an antioxidant and preservative booster.
As a phenol, it is able to neutralize free radicals to protect both the product and the skin from oxidative stress.
Though it can't kill microbes on its own, it works as a good supporting agent when combined with other preservatives like Phenoxyethanol or 1,2-Hexanediol.
This ingredient naturally occurs as piceol in Norwegian spruce needles (~0.4-1.1% dry weight and in cloudberries). Though the cosmetic-grade material is synthesized for purity and consistency.
You'll usually see it used at low levels and suppliers recommend up to 1% added to a water phase.
Safety testing was done at concentrations like 0.05% in SPF products and 0.5% in a Human Repeated Insult Patch Test. The safety evidence is assuring; this ingredient is safe for cosmetics in current use and also holds safety status as a food flavoring as well.
An honest caveat: the "soothing" and "anti-inflammatory" claims come mostly from supplier marketing rather than published clinical trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review's own literature search found no useful efficacy studies on this ingredient.
So the antioxidant and preservative-boosting roles are the well supported ones while the calming benefit is plausible but thinly evidenced.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-irritation multitasker that quietly helps a formula stay fresh and stable.
Learn more about HydroxyacetophenonePentylene Glycol (1,2-pentanediol) is a multitasking little diol with three main roles in a formula:
Research on alkanediols (the family pentylene glycol belongs to) show they work by disrupting microbial cell membranes. This disruption helps the primary preservative system in a product work more effectively at lower doses.
On the safety side, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe as used in current cosmetic practices + concentrations.
Typical use levels in a formula run about 1-5%.
Learn more about Pentylene GlycolWater. 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
