What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Polyglyceryl-4 Laurate/Succinate
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Zingiber Officinale Root Extract
Masking
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Bisabolol
Antioxidant
Bis-Lauryl Cocaminopropylamine/Hdi/PEG-100 Copolymer
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingDisodium EDTA
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Tropolone
Skin ConditioningCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Water, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Polyglyceryl-4 Laurate/Succinate, Cetyl Alcohol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Zingiber Officinale Root Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Bisabolol, Bis-Lauryl Cocaminopropylamine/Hdi/PEG-100 Copolymer, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Hydroxyacetophenone, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, 1,2-Hexanediol, Tropolone, Caprylyl Glycol
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
Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.
Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.
Because it is not a free-fatty acid or alcohol, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl GlycolDisodium 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 GlycerinSodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.
Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.
"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.
Learn more about Sodium HydroxideWater. 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
