What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAmmonium Lactate
Buffering
Potassium Lactate
BufferingSodium Lactate
Buffering
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Propanediol
Solvent
Glycerin
Humectant
Isostearyl Isostearate
Emollient
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingPolysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Petrolatum
Emollient
PEG-75 Stearate
Surfactant
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Polyisobutene
Ceteth-20
CleansingSteareth-20
CleansingTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
PEG-7 Trimethylolpropane Coconut Ether
Emulsifying
Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate
EmulsifyingCeramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Phytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Cholesterol
Emollient
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingCeramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Water, Ammonium Lactate, Potassium Lactate, Sodium Lactate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Dimethicone, Propanediol, Glycerin, Isostearyl Isostearate, Paraffinum Liquidum, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Polysorbate 60, Petrolatum, PEG-75 Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Polyisobutene, Ceteth-20, Steareth-20, Tocopheryl Acetate, PEG-7 Trimethylolpropane Coconut Ether, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Phytosphingosine, Cholesterol, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Ceramide EOP
Glycerin
Humectant
Urea
Buffering
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Glucoside
Humectant
Cyclomethicone
Emollient
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Methylpropanediol
SolventOctyldodecanol
Emollient
Dicaprylyl Ether
Emollient
Tapioca Starch
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides
Emollient
Arginine Hcl
Skin ConditioningSodium PCA
Humectant
Dimethiconol
Emollient
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Carnitine
Cleansing
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Mannitol
Humectant
Serine
Masking
Sucrose
Humectant
Citrulline
Skin ConditioningGlycogen
HumectantAlanine
Masking
Threonine
Glutamic Acid
Humectant
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Cetearyl Sulfate
Cleansing
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin, Urea, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Glucoside, Cyclomethicone, Sodium Lactate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Methylpropanediol, Octyldodecanol, Dicaprylyl Ether, Tapioca Starch, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Arginine Hcl, Sodium PCA, Dimethiconol, Lactic Acid, Carnitine, Ceramide NP, Mannitol, Serine, Sucrose, Citrulline, Glycogen, Alanine, Threonine, Glutamic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, 1,2-Hexanediol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.
It is a:
- Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
- Emollient, helping to soften skin
- Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
- Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives
Ceramide NP (formerly known as Ceramide 3) is one of the skin's naturally occurring lipids.
Since ceramides are the major lipid components of the skin, they are crucial for maintaining skin barrier and hydration. Ceramide NP most closely mirrors the dominant kind in human skin amongst ceramide subtypes.
This ceramide works by slotting into gaps within the stratum corneum's lipid matrix to limit trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and shield the skin against external irritants.
A study with 312 patients found that using a ceramide-containing routine for 4 weeks reduced the severity of atopic dermatitis by over 61%.
Another clinical study in subjects aged 60 and older found that a ceramide body wash and moisturizer improved skin dryness and itchy skin in 15 days.
Overall, ceramides are considered non-irritating and safety tests have found little to no observable adverse effects from using this ingredient.
Ceramide NP is usually sourced from plants (like soybean or rice bran), or produced synthetically.
Learn more about Ceramide NPCetearyl 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 AlcoholGlycerin (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 GlycerinSodium Lactate is the sodium salt of lactic acid, an AHA. It is a humectant and sometimes used to adjust the pH of a product.
This ingredient is part of our skin's NMF, or natural moisturizing factor. Our NMF is essential for the hydration of our top skin layers and plasticity of skin. NMF also influences our skin's natural acid mantle and pH, which protects our skin from harmful bacteria.
High percentages of Sodium Lactate can have an exfoliating effect.
Fun fact: Sodium Lactate is produced from fermented sugar.
Learn more about Sodium Lactate
