What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Pentaclethra Macroloba Seed Oil
Emollient
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Sorbitan Stearate
Emulsifying
Lecithin
Emollient
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientGlyceryl Undecylenate
Emollient
Copernicia Cerifera Wax
Cetearyl Olivate
Sulfated Olive Oil
Cleansing
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingRosa Damascena Flower Extract
Masking
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Rosa Damascena Flower Oil
Masking
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Salvia Officinalis Oil
Masking
Oenothera Biennis Oil
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Pentaclethra Macroloba Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Sorbitan Stearate, Lecithin, Glyceryl Caprylate, Glyceryl Undecylenate, Copernicia Cerifera Wax, Cetearyl Olivate, Sulfated Olive Oil, Xanthan Gum, Rosa Damascena Flower Extract, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil, Salvia Officinalis Oil, Oenothera Biennis Oil, Tocopherol
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 GlycerinRosa Damascena Flower Oil is an essential oil made from the Damask Rose. It is often used as a fragrance in cosmetics.
Rose Oil has antibacterial and antioxidant properties due to its terpene, glycoside, flavonoid, anthocyanin, and Vitamin C content.
Other major parts of Rose Oil include citronellol and geraniol. Both of these are known EU allergens and cause contact-allergies.
The downsides of this ingredient outweight the positives.
Learn more about Rosa Damascena Flower OilTocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
Learn more about TocopherolXanthan 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
