What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Isononyl Isononanoate
EmollientCaffeine
Skin Conditioning
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialNiacinamide
Smoothing
Lactobacillus Ferment
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Olivate
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
Antioxidant
Marrubium Vulgare Extract
Skin ConditioningPlantago Lanceolata Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialPalmitoyl Tripeptide-5
Skin Conditioning
Acetyl Tetrapeptide-40
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-8
Skin Conditioning
Hydrolyzed Verbascum Thapsus Flower
Antioxidant
Moringa Oleifera Seed Extract
Skin Conditioning
Teprenone
Skin ConditioningPhospholipids
Skin Conditioning
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Syringa Vulgaris Leaf Cell Culture Extract
Skin ConditioningSphingolipids
Emollient
Astaxanthin
Skin Conditioning
Bisabolol
Antioxidant
Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Oil
Skin Conditioning
Rubus Idaeus Seed Oil
Emollient
Honey
Humectant
Dimethyl Isosorbide
SolventCeramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Phenyl T-Butylnitrone
Antioxidant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Glutathione
Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane
Antioxidant
Tetrahydrodemethoxydiferuloylmethane
Antioxidant
Tetrahydrobisdemethoxydiferuloylmethane
Antioxidant
Ergothioneine
Antioxidant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingSorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Benzimidazole Diamond Amidoethyl Urea Carbamoyl Propyl Polymethylsilsesquioxane
Cosmetic Colorant
Mica
Cosmetic ColorantDextran
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingAcrylamide/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingCI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningIsohexadecane
EmollientMaltodextrin
Absorbent
Polysorbate 80
Emulsifying
Acetyl Tributyl Citrate
Masking
Tetrasodium EDTA
Sorbitan Oleate
Emulsifying
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Glycolate
BufferingPolysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
O-Cymen-5-Ol
Antimicrobial
Water, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Isononyl Isononanoate, Caffeine, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Niacinamide, Lactobacillus Ferment, Cetearyl Olivate, Butylene Glycol, Polysorbate 60, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Marrubium Vulgare Extract, Plantago Lanceolata Leaf Extract, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-40, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-8, Hydrolyzed Verbascum Thapsus Flower, Moringa Oleifera Seed Extract, Teprenone, Phospholipids, Hyaluronic Acid, Syringa Vulgaris Leaf Cell Culture Extract, Sphingolipids, Astaxanthin, Bisabolol, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Oil, Rubus Idaeus Seed Oil, Honey, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Ceramide NP, Phenyl T-Butylnitrone, Tocopherol, Glutathione, Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane, Tetrahydrodemethoxydiferuloylmethane, Tetrahydrobisdemethoxydiferuloylmethane, Ergothioneine, Xanthan Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Carbomer, Sorbitan Olivate, Benzimidazole Diamond Amidoethyl Urea Carbamoyl Propyl Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Mica, Dextran, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Acrylamide/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, CI 77891, Ethylhexylglycerin, Isohexadecane, Maltodextrin, Polysorbate 80, Acetyl Tributyl Citrate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Sorbitan Oleate, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Glycolate, Polysorbate 20, Phenoxyethanol, O-Cymen-5-Ol
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Maltobionic Acid
Buffering
Acetyl Glucosamine
Skin Conditioning
Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate
EmollientSteareth-2
EmulsifyingC12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Steareth-20
CleansingHydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingIsostearic Acid
Cleansing
Cyclopentasiloxane
Emollient
Acetyl Tyrosinamide
Skin ConditioningSaccharide Isomerate
Humectant
Cyclohexasiloxane
Emollient
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
Skin Conditioning
Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract
Antimicrobial
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Serine
Masking
Glycine
Buffering
Alanine
Masking
Lysine
Skin ConditioningArginine
Masking
Threonine
Proline
Skin Conditioning
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Betaine
Humectant
Sorbitol
Humectant
Isopropyl Myristate
Emollient
Glutamic Acid
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Sorbitan Isostearate
Emulsifying
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingPolysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Ammonium Hydroxide
BufferingDisodium EDTA
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Sodium Bisulfite
Antioxidant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Methyldihydrojasmonate
MaskingIsobutyl Methyl Tetrahydropyranol
MaskingEthylene Brassylate
MaskingMethyl Decenol
Masking
CI 14700
Cosmetic ColorantCI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Glycerin, Maltobionic Acid, Acetyl Glucosamine, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate, Steareth-2, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Octyldodecanol, Steareth-20, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Isostearic Acid, Cyclopentasiloxane, Acetyl Tyrosinamide, Saccharide Isomerate, Cyclohexasiloxane, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract, Sodium PCA, Serine, Glycine, Alanine, Lysine, Arginine, Threonine, Proline, Cetyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Betaine, Sorbitol, Isopropyl Myristate, Glutamic Acid, Butylene Glycol, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Isostearate, Carbomer, Polysorbate 20, Ammonium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Bisulfite, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Methyldihydrojasmonate, Isobutyl Methyl Tetrahydropyranol, Ethylene Brassylate, Methyl Decenol, CI 14700, CI 19140
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolC12-15 Alkyl Benzoate is a lightweight emollient made by combinig benzoic acid with fatty alcohols that are 12-15 carbons long.
In cosmetics, it plays several roles:
The Cosmetic Review Expert Panel has concluded the alkyl benzoate group to be safe as used in cosmetics; it wasn't found to be a skin irritant and unlikely to be absorbed due to its low water solubility.
This report recorded almost 1000 reported uses with concentrations up to 59% in leave-on products but your cosmetics will typically use 0.5-15% depending on the product.
It's often called a "SPF booster": this is because it keeps UV filters properly dissolved and evenly distributed to support a sunscreen's performance. It doesn't actually raise SPF on its own.
Overall, this ingredient is well tolerated.
This ingredient is fungal acne safe because it is an ester of benzoic acid.
Think of this ingredient as two parts stuck together: an oily part and an acid part. Malassezia only gets a meal when it can snip off a fatty acid to eat. With C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, the acid part is benzoic acid, which isn't a fatty acid and which the yeast can't use as food.
Benzoic acid is actually used as a preservative to stop yeast from growing.
The oily part is a blend of C12-15 fatty alcohols but fatty alcohols in this size range can support only a little Malassezia growth (mostly for one species of Malassezia as well).
In the ingredient, those alcohols stay locked inside the molecule. The yeast can only reach them by snipping the benzoate bond, and that type of bond is harder for it to cut than a normal fatty bond.
So not much gets released. And whatever does get snipped comes packaged with benzoic acid, which discourages yeast growth.
Learn more about C12-15 Alkyl BenzoateCaprylyl 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, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl GlycolCarbomer is a high-molecular weight polymer of acrylic acid. It is used to form gels and thicken formulas.
Due to its large molecular size, carbomer has minimal skin penetration and is considered an inert ingredient.
A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.
Learn more about CarbomerGlycerin (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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Polysorbate 20 is a gentle, water-soluble emulsifier and mild surfactant. It stops oil and water from separating to keep your formulas blended and stable.
It also acts as a mild penetration enhancer by helping active ingredients absorb slightly better.
The common safety discussion around this ingredient involves a manufacturing byproduct called 1,4-dioxane.
Trace amounts can form during production but the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety has concluded that levels at/below 10 ppm in finished products are safe (commercial products consistently fall within acceptable margins).
True allergic reactions are uncommon and the CIR Expert Panel has confirmed this ingredient to be safe as used in cosmetics.
Because it is derived from lauric acid, it may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Polysorbate 20Polysorbate 60 is used to help stabilize products. It is a surfactant and emulsifier. These properties help keep ingredients together in a product. Surfactants help reduce surface tension between ingredients with different states, such as liquids and solids. Emulsifiers help prevent oils and waters from separating.
Polysorbate 60 is sorbitol-based and created from the ethoxylation of sorbitan. Ethoxylation is a chemical reaction used to add ethylene oxide. Sorbitan is a the dehydrated version of sorbitol, a sugar found in fruits.
In this case, the 60 comes from reacting 60 units of ethylene oxide with sorbitan.
Polysorbates are commonly used in medicine and foods.
Learn more about Polysorbate 60Water. 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 WaterXanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.
On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.
Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.
Learn more about Xanthan Gum
