What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSorbitan Stearate
Emulsifying
Glycerin
Humectant
Sucrose Cocoate
Emulsifying
Cetearyl Olivate
Sorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Vaccinium Myrtillus Bud Extract
Antioxidant
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Sodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningPrunus Domestica Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Ferulic Acid
Antimicrobial
Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
Bleaching
Phenethyl Alcohol
MaskingGlyceryl Caprylate
EmollientXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPotassium Sorbate
Preservative
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Beta-Sitosterol
Emulsion Stabilising
Squalane
Emollient
Water, Sorbitan Stearate, Glycerin, Sucrose Cocoate, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Vaccinium Myrtillus Bud Extract, Sodium PCA, Sodium Levulinate, Prunus Domestica Seed Oil, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Ferulic Acid, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Phenethyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Tocopherol, Beta-Sitosterol, Squalane
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Glycerin (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 GlycerinGlyceryl Caprylate comes from glycerin and caprylic acid. It is an emollient, co-emulsifier, and preservative booster.
Its short C8 fatty acid chain makes it behave differently from its longer-chain emollient cousins like Glyceryl Stearate. It feels more lightweight, fast-absorbing, and silky instead of rich and waxy.
As a co-emulsifier, its "head" and "tail" sit at the oil-water interface. But overall, the short C8 tail and not being water soluble means it doesn't really have the muscle to emulsify a formula on its own. That's why you'll often see it paired with a primary emulsifier like Cetearyl Glucoside.
Interestingly, Glyceryl Caprylate acts as a preservative booster. This is because its fatty-acid backbone disrupts microbial lipid membranes. It shows excellent activity against bacteria and yeast but is weaker against mold.
Typical concentrations range from 0.5-1% and this ingredient is generally non-irritating.
Because this ingredient has a C8 fatty acid chain, it is outside the range that the Malassezia yeast metabolizes (making it fungal acne safe).
Learn more about Glyceryl CaprylatePhenethyl Alcohol is a colorless and aromatic alohol. It is naturally occuring in essential oils.
The scent of this ingredient is floral and often compared to rose.
Like other alcohols, this ingredient helps prevent the growth of bacteria. However, its main purpose is to impact a fragrance.
Learn more about Phenethyl AlcoholSodium PCA is the sodium salt of pyroglutamic acid. It is naturally occurring in our skin's natural moisturizing factors where it works to maintain hydration.
The PCA stands for pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, a natural amino acid derivative.
This ingredient has skin conditioning, anti-inflammatory, and humectant properties. Humectants help hydrate your skin by drawing moisture from the air. This helps keep your skin moisturized.
Learn more about Sodium PCAWater. 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
