What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Silica
Abrasive
Punica Granatum Sterols
Skin Conditioning
Sambucus Nigra Fruit Extract
AstringentTocopherol
Antioxidant
Glucosyl Ceramide
Skin Conditioning
Phospholipids
Skin Conditioning
Cholesterol
Emollient
Bisabolol
Antioxidant
Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate
Skin ConditioningSh-Oligopeptide-33
Skin Conditioning
Sh-Polypeptide-64
Antioxidant
Sh-Polypeptide-5
Skin Conditioning
Trehalose
Humectant
Mannitol
Humectant
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Silica, Punica Granatum Sterols, Sambucus Nigra Fruit Extract, Tocopherol, Glucosyl Ceramide, Phospholipids, Cholesterol, Bisabolol, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate, Sh-Oligopeptide-33, Sh-Polypeptide-64, Sh-Polypeptide-5, Trehalose, Mannitol
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Actinidia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
C12-16 Alcohols
EmollientInulin
Skin Conditioning
Xylitylglucoside
Humectant
Ectoin
Skin Conditioning
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Hydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Saccharide Isomerate
Humectant
Tasmannia Lanceolata Fruit/Leaf Extract
Antioxidant
Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract
Antioxidant
Cholesterol
Emollient
Glucosyl Ceramide
Skin Conditioning
Phospholipids
Skin Conditioning
Anhydroxylitol
Humectant
Xylitol
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Glucose
Humectant
Phytic Acid
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Citrate
BufferingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingSh-Oligopeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Sh-Oligopeptide-2
Skin Conditioning
Sh-Polypeptide-31
Skin Conditioning
Sh-Polypeptide-5
Skin Conditioning
Sh-Polypeptide-10
Skin Conditioning
Sh-Polypeptide-11
Sh-Polypeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Sh-Polypeptide-6
Humectant
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Glycerin, Actinidia Chinensis Seed Oil, C12-16 Alcohols, Inulin, Xylitylglucoside, Ectoin, Glyceryl Stearate, Palmitic Acid, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Saccharide Isomerate, Tasmannia Lanceolata Fruit/Leaf Extract, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract, Cholesterol, Glucosyl Ceramide, Phospholipids, Anhydroxylitol, Xylitol, Tocopherol, Glucose, Phytic Acid, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Hydroxide, Xanthan Gum, Sh-Oligopeptide-1, Sh-Oligopeptide-2, Sh-Polypeptide-31, Sh-Polypeptide-5, Sh-Polypeptide-10, Sh-Polypeptide-11, Sh-Polypeptide-1, Sh-Polypeptide-6, Benzyl Alcohol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Parfum
Alternatives
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (aka MCT Oil) is a lightweight emollient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It is considered a skin-softener by helping to prevent moisture loss.
Though it behaves like an oil, it is not technically one due to its chemical composition. One perk of this ingredient is that it is very stable, resistant to oxidation, and unlikely to go rancid.
In practice, that translates to a long shelf life and a consistently elegant skin feel.
While there is an assumption Caprylic Triglyceride can clog pores due to it being derived from coconut oil, there is no research supporting this. Just patch test if you have concerns.
Fractionated coconut oil and MCT Oil are both listed as Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride according to INCI. This is because INCI names are based on the ingredient’s final chemical composition and not its marketing name or source.
This ingredient is treated as the gold standard fungal acne safe oil. Even though it is coconut derived, the problematic lauric acid is stripped out.
This leaves just caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) acid. These chain lengths actually trend antifungal; a 2020 study found caprylic acid was enough to disrupt Malassezia furfur cell membrane, with a caprylic acid derivative damaging membrane structures at concentrations as low as 0.2%.
Learn more about Caprylic/Capric TriglycerideCarthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil comes from the seeds of the safflower plant. It is a skin conditioning agent that helps soften skin and keep it hydrated.
This seed oil has an unusual fatty acid profile: it is one of the highest linoleic acid plant oils out there (~55-77%). It also has low amounts of oleic acid, and this high-linoleic/low-oleic ratio gets people excited.
Linoleic acid helps maintain skin barrier integrity and is a building block for the ceramides in your stratum corneum. Notably, people with acne tend to have lower linoleic acid in their skin lipids as well (and this gets worse as acne gets more severe).
Overall, it's a lightweight, fast-absorbing oil that has a long safety track record. Lab testing has found it to be non-irritating for skin or eyes.
The Malassezia yeast can metabolize the fatty acids in this oil to grow; therefore this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Carthamus Tinctorius Seed OilCholesterol is a lipid that is naturally found in human skin and is one of the three key components of your skin barrier. In skincare, it is an emollient and barrier-repairing ingredient.
It works by fitting directly into the lipid layers of skin to help restore structure and reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL).
This is a great ingredient for dry, compromised, or aging skin; our skin starts to produce less cholesterol with age.
Research shows cholesterol works best in combination with ceramides and fatty acids, the other two major components in your skin barrier.
Cholesterol is also a well-establish penetration enhancer and can help other actives absorb more effectively.
Cosmetic-grade cholesterol is usually derived from lanolin but plant and synthetic options also exist. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about their source of cholesterol.
Learn more about CholesterolGlucosyl Ceramide is made from glucose and a ceramide. It has skin hydrating and barrier repair properties.
This ingredient is naturally found in the epidermis, or upper layers of skin, as the main glycosphingolipid. Glycosphingolipids play a role in maintaining a strong and hydrated skin barrier.
Fun fact: Consuming glucosyl ceramide has been shown to provide skin benefits. You can get your intake by eating wheat, corn, soybeans, and shiitake mushrooms.
Learn more about Glucosyl CeramidePhospholipids are a family of skin-identical lipids that makeup the structural backbone of every cell membrane in your body.
In cosmetics, they function as skin conditioning agents with emulsifier and surfactant properties. They're typically sourced from soybean or sunflower lecithin (or sometimes egg yolk or marine sources).
Because they mirror the lipids naturally found in the deeper layers of your skin, topical phospholipids help reinforce the lipid matrix, reduce transepidermal water loss, and leave skin feeling conditioned.
They're also used to form liposomes, or tiny self-assembling vesible used to stabilize actives like vitamin c or retinol. This helps these ingredients integrate into the upper layers of skin more easily.
Phospholipids are compatible with everything and the CIR Expert Panel has concluded them to be safe at current use levels.
Some types of phospholipids include:
Learn more about PhospholipidsSh-Polypeptide-5 is a peptide.
Tocopherol 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 Tocopherol
