What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningBehentrimonium Methosulfate
Surfactant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Adansonia Digitata Oil
Emollient
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Opuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Gaultheria Procumbens Leaf Oil
Masking
Mentha Piperita Oil
Masking
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningLavandula Spica Flower Oil
Masking
Urtica Dioica Extract
AstringentCucurbita Pepo
Skin Conditioning
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Silk Amino Acids
HumectantWater, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Adansonia Digitata Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Gaultheria Procumbens Leaf Oil, Mentha Piperita Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Lavandula Spica Flower Oil, Urtica Dioica Extract, Cucurbita Pepo, Tocopheryl Acetate, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Silk Amino Acids
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Cetrimonium Chloride
Antimicrobial
Maltodextrin/Vp Copolymer
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
PEG-40 Castor Oil
Emulsifying
Stearalkonium Chloride
Preservative
Bambusa Vulgaris Extract
Skin Conditioning
Hydrolyzed Keratin
Humectant
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Skin ConditioningGuar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningDehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Parfum
Masking
Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetrimonium Chloride, Maltodextrin/Vp Copolymer, Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-40 Castor Oil, Stearalkonium Chloride, Bambusa Vulgaris Extract, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Parfum
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.
Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.
It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceBenzyl Alcohol is an aromatic alcohol with several roles: it's a preservative, solvent, and mild fragrance component with a floral scent.
This ingredient has been deemed safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 5%, and up to 10% in hair dyes. You'll typically see 0.5-2% in most rinse-off or leave-on products.
As a preservative, it works by disrupting the membrane of microbial proteins. This helps keep bacteria and fungi from growing in your products.
The sensitization picture is actually quite assuring as well:of nearly 71,000 patients patch tested with benzyl alcohol, only 0.21% showed a positive reaction with most of them being weakly positive.
This led researchers to conclude that benzyl alcohol cannot be regarded as a significant contact allergen.
It is worth noting this ingredient is classified as one of the EU's regulated fragrance allergens and restricted to 1% in finished products.
Labels must also declare it in concentrations above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.
At concentrations around 5%, localized redness and itching can appear as a direct irritant response and not as a true allergic reaction.
Learn more about Benzyl AlcoholCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride (aka MCT Oil) is a lightweight emollient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It is considered a skin-softener by helping to prevent moisture loss.
Though it behaves like an oil, it is not technically one due to its chemical composition. One perk of this ingredient is that it is very stable, resistant to oxidation, and unlikely to go rancid.
In practice, that translates to a long shelf life and a consistently elegant skin feel.
While there is an assumption Caprylic Triglyceride can clog pores due to it being derived from coconut oil, there is no research supporting this. Just patch test if you have concerns.
Fractionated coconut oil and MCT Oil are both listed as Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride according to INCI. This is because INCI names are based on the ingredient’s final chemical composition and not its marketing name or source.
This ingredient is treated as the gold standard fungal acne safe oil. Even though it is coconut derived, the problematic lauric acid is stripped out.
This leaves just caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) acid. These chain lengths actually trend antifungal; a 2020 study found caprylic acid was enough to disrupt Malassezia furfur cell membrane, with a caprylic acid derivative damaging membrane structures at concentrations as low as 0.2%.
Learn more about Caprylic/Capric TriglycerideCetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholDehydroacetic Acid is a synthetic preservative that keeps your products safe from microbes.
As an organic acid, it penetrates microbial cell walls and disrupts cellular metabolism. This makes it effective against bacteria, yeast, and mold.
It is effective at low concentrations (<0.6%). Clinical studies have found it to be non-irritating, non-sensitizing, and non-photosensitizing.
Learn more about Dehydroacetic AcidGlycerin (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 GlycerinThis ingredient is derived from guar gum. It is a skin conditioning agent that creates a thin, breathable film to reduce water loss during cleansing.
This leaves the skin feeling soft rather than stripped and also contributes to a creamier lather.
Due to the large molecule size, this ingredient is unlikely to penetrate skin.
Learn more about Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium ChlorideWater. 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
