What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Diisostearyl Malate
EmollientPolyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate
Emulsifying
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Microcrystalline Wax
Emulsion StabilisingEthylhexyl Methoxycinnamate
UV Absorber
Ricinus Communis Seed Oil
Masking
Ceresin
Emulsion StabilisingEthylhexyl Salicylate
UV Absorber
Meadowfoam Delta-Lactone
Skin ConditioningEuphorbia Cerifera Wax
Ozokerite
Emulsion StabilisingParaffin
Skin ConditioningPolybutene
Jojoba Esters
Emollient
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Polyethylene
Abrasive
Sorbitan Sesquioleate
Emulsifying
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Tribehenin
Emollient
Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate
Emulsifying
Rosa Damascena Flower Oil
Masking
Oenothera Biennis Oil
Emollient
Camellia Japonica Seed Oil
Emollient
Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Elaeis Guineensis Oil
Emollient
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Trihydroxystearin
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Diisostearyl Malate, Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Octyldodecanol, Microcrystalline Wax, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Ceresin, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Meadowfoam Delta-Lactone, Euphorbia Cerifera Wax, Ozokerite, Paraffin, Polybutene, Jojoba Esters, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Polyethylene, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Tribehenin, Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Oenothera Biennis Oil, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Elaeis Guineensis Oil, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Trihydroxystearin, Tocopherol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Parfum
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil comes from the seeds of the safflower plant. It is a skin conditioning agent that helps soften skin and keep it hydrated.
This seed oil has an unusual fatty acid profile: it is one of the highest linoleic acid plant oils out there (~55-77%). It also has low amounts of oleic acid, and this high-linoleic/low-oleic ratio gets people excited.
Linoleic acid helps maintain skin barrier integrity and is a building block for the ceramides in your stratum corneum. Notably, people with acne tend to have lower linoleic acid in their skin lipids as well (and this gets worse as acne gets more severe).
Overall, it's a lightweight, fast-absorbing oil that has a long safety track record. Lab testing has found it to be non-irritating for skin or eyes.
The Malassezia yeast can metabolize the fatty acids in this oil to grow; therefore this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Carthamus Tinctorius Seed 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 OilLimnanthes Alba Seed Oil is from the seeds of the meadowfoam plant. It is a skin conditioning agent and emollient that sits on top of skin to soften and hydrate it.
Over 98% of the oil is made up of long-chain fatty acids, mostly aachidic acid (61%), docosenoic acid (~16%), and docosadienoic acid (~18%).
This combination is not really found in any other plant oil and is the reason this is one of the most stable botanical oils available.
Some studies show it to be more stable than jojoba oil, helps a product resist going rancid, and can help extend the shelf life of a formula.
It also naturally contains vitamin E and phytosterols that give it a mild antioxidant benefit.
This ingredient is typically used from around 1% to fairly high levels since it's gentle; it's well-tolerated and low on the irritation scale.
Learn more about Limnanthes Alba Seed 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 castor oil. It is a skin conditioning ingredient.
The star component of castor oil is ricinoleic acid, an unusual fatty acid that makes up ~80-92% of its composition.
In skincare, it is an emollient that dries down to a solid film with water-binding properties. This helps keep skin hydrated and helps reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL).
A 2026 dermatology review pulls together its broader uses:
Human clinical testing found this ingredient to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.
Because castor oil contains fatty acids in the C11-24 range, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
At this time, the literature does not support castor oil in regrowing hair. A 2022 systematic review found no strong evidence that it supports hair growth and only weak evidence that it improves hair shine.
Castor oil itself carries "perfuming" and "masking" function tags according to the official CosIng database. This is because of its mild odor and odor-dampening properties.
Learn more about Ricinus Communis Seed OilTocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
Learn more about Tocopherol
