What's inside
What's inside
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingMyristic Acid
Cleansing
Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Emulsifying
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sulfated Olive Oil
Cleansing
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingDisodium EDTA
Imidazolidinyl Urea
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Sorbitan Oleate
Emulsifying
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingWater, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Myristic Acid, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Glycerin, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sulfated Olive Oil, Glycol Distearate, Paraffinum Liquidum, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Disodium EDTA, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Parfum, Sorbitan Oleate, Sodium Hydroxide
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Lauryl Glucoside
CleansingSodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Diglycerin
Humectant
Betaine
Humectant
Acetamidoethoxyethanol
Humectant
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Emulsifying
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Acrylates/Beheneth-25 Methacrylate Copolymer
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Triethylene Glycol
Masking
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Polyglutamic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Disodium EDTA
O-Cymen-5-Ol
Antimicrobial
Water, Glycerin, Lauryl Glucoside, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Diglycerin, Betaine, Acetamidoethoxyethanol, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Myristic Acid, Acrylates/Beheneth-25 Methacrylate Copolymer, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Glycol Distearate, Triethylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Polyglutamic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium EDTA, O-Cymen-5-Ol
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineDisodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlycerin (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 GlycerinGlycol Distearate is an emulsifier and emollient that adds a "pearly" appearance to formulations.
That lustrous look you see in many shampoos is due to this ingredient: when cooled, it crystallizes into small platelets that reflect light to give products that rich, shimmering look.
This ingredient is considered safe at present practices of use and concentration and repeated insult patch test with 50% Glycol Distearate on 125 subjects found no evidence of skin irritation, hypersensitivity, or acute toxicity.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.1-10%.
Because it's an ester of stearic acid, it falls into the range that Malassezia likes to metabolize. This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Glycol DistearateMyristic Acid, aka tetradecanoic acid, is a naturally occurring fatty acid found in coconut oil and palm oil.
In skincare, it is an:
Research indicates that this ingredient posts a low risk of irritation and sensitization.
Since myristic acid is a C14 fatty acid, it falls within the range that Malassezia can metabolize, and therefore not fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Myristic AcidPEG-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 CocoateSodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate is a cleansing agent and emulsifier. It is a surfactant derived from sarcosine, and a common source is coconut oil.
As a surfactant, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate helps lift dirts, oil, and other molecules to be washed away. In leave-on products, this ingredient is used as an emulsifier. Emulsifier help prevent ingredients such as oils and waters from separating.
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate is also commonly found as a foaming agent in shampoo, toothpaste, and shaving foam. It is amphiphilic, meaning it loves both water and fats.
Learn more about Sodium Lauroyl SarcosinateWater. 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
