What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Ethylhexyl Stearate
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract
Emollient
Echinacea Angustifolia Extract
MoisturisingLavandula Angustifolia Extract
Skin Conditioning
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Lecithin
Emollient
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingAlcohol
Antimicrobial
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Water, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Ethylhexyl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Persea Gratissima Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Echinacea Angustifolia Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia Extract, Allantoin, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Lecithin, Polysorbate 60, Potassium Hydroxide, Xanthan Gum, Alcohol, Benzoic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, Phenoxyethanol
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Niacinamide
Smoothing
10-Hydroxydecenoic Acid
Skin ConditioningAvena Sativa Leaf/Stem Extract
Skin ConditioningBenzoic Acid
Masking
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Cetearyl Glucoside
Emulsifying
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Oenothera Biennis Oil
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Polyacrylate-13
Polyisobutene
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSorbitan Isostearate
Emulsifying
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Niacinamide, 10-Hydroxydecenoic Acid, Avena Sativa Leaf/Stem Extract, Benzoic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Oenothera Biennis Oil, PEG-100 Stearate, Polyacrylate-13, Polyisobutene, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Hydroxide, Sorbitan Isostearate, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Benzoic Acid is used to preserve and adjust the pH of products.
The antimicrobial property of Benzoic Acid helps elongate a product's shelf life. Its main role is to reduce fungi growth and is not found to be effective at fighting bacteria. Therefore Benzoic Acid is always added along with other preservatives.
In its pure form, Benzoic Acid looks like a white crystalline solid. It has slight solubility in water.
The name of Benzoic Acid comes from gum benzoin, which used to be the sole source of deriving this ingredient. Benzoic Acid is the most simple aromatic carboxylic acid.
Benzoic Acid is naturally occuring in strawberries, mustard, cinnamon, and cloves. It has a slight scent but is not considered to be a fragrance.
Learn more about Benzoic AcidCetearyl 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.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholCetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.
Its main roles are:
Though it has "alcohol" in the name, it is not related to denatured alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.
Learn more about Cetyl AlcoholGlycerin (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 GlycerinTocopheryl Acetate is AKA Vitamin E. It is an antioxidant and protects your skin from free radicals. Free radicals damage the skin by breaking down collagen.
One study found using Tocopheryl Acetate with Vitamin C decreased the number of sunburned cells.
Tocopheryl Acetate is commonly found in both skincare and dietary supplements.
Learn more about Tocopheryl AcetateWater. 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
