What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPetrolatum
Emollient
Glycolic Acid
Buffering
Glycerin
Humectant
Ammonium Hydroxide
BufferingStearic Acid
Cleansing
Dimethicone
Emollient
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Lanolin Alcohol
Emollient
PEG-40 Stearate
Emulsifying
Sorbitan Stearate
Emulsifying
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Diazolidinyl Urea
Preservative
Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate
Preservative
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate Citrate
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Cera Alba
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
Absorbent
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Propanediol
Solvent
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingSalvia Sclarea Extract
AntiseborrhoeicSodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Citric Acid
Buffering
Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Glyceryl Stearate, Cera Alba, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Propanediol, Xanthan Gum, Salvia Sclarea Extract, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid
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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 Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.
Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.
This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.
Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.
Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.
Learn more about Glyceryl StearateWater. 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
