What's inside
What's inside
Benefits
No benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Cetearyl Olivate
Sorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Alcohol
Antimicrobial
Stellaria Media Extract
Skin ConditioningUrtica Dioica Extract
AstringentChamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Masking
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingBenzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Water, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Alcohol, Stellaria Media Extract, Urtica Dioica Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Glyceryl Caprylate, Xanthan Gum, Benzyl Alcohol
Alternatives
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetearyl 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 Alcohol
