What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil
Abrasive
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil
Emollient
Mangifera Indica Seed Oil
Emollient
Mica
Cosmetic ColorantCandelilla Cera
Emollient
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientCopernicia Cerifera Cera
Emollient
Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Ascorbyl Palmitate
Antioxidant
CI 77499
Cosmetic ColorantHydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Mangifera Indica Seed Oil, Mica, Candelilla Cera, Glyceryl Caprylate, Copernicia Cerifera Cera, Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Ascorbyl Palmitate, CI 77499
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Ascorbyl Palmitate is a fat-soluble form of vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) made by combining it with palmitic acid.
It is able to blend easily into creams and oil-based formulas because it dissolves in oils rather than water.
As you may know, regular vitamin C is notorious for breaking down when exposed to sunlight and air. Ascorbyl Palmitate is more stable and degrades at a slower rate.
Research on whether it converts efficiently into active vitamin C once it's applied on your skin is still limited.
Some in-vitro studies suggest it may support collagen production, but it is not considered one of the stronger vitamin C derivatives, like:
Due to the palmitic acid base, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe. Comedogenic studies have also shown this ingredient to have a rating of 2.
It's also worth keeping in mind that comedogenic and irritancy ratings are tested on individual ingredients, not finished formulas. The final product's formulation, concentration, and other ingredients all play a role in how something actually behaves on your skin.
Learn more about Ascorbyl PalmitateCaprylic/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 TriglycerideCi 77499 is also hydrated iron III oxide. It is created from mixing red and black iron oxides. This helps give shades of darkness to a product.
Iron III oxides are classified as inorganic chemicals for coloring.
Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil is regular cottonseed oil that has been treated with hydrogen. This process turns it from a thin liquid into a soft, waxy solid and why you'll see it in balms, sticks, and rich creams.
As an emollient, it sits on the surface of skin to slow water loss.
The process of hydrogenation also swaps most of the unsaturated fats for saturated ones, mainly palmitic and stearic acid. This makes it more stable and less prone to going rancid as well.
Concentration data shows formulas containing up to ~21% and none were irritating/sensitizing in clinical testing; products in the 10.6-29.86% range came back clean so anything from 1-20% is realistic depending on how solid the product needs to be.
Allergy risk is low as well; cottonseed allergy is a reaction to cottonseed proteins and refining strips those out for cosmetic use. Though people that are hypersensitive to cottonseed proteins did not react to cottonseed oil in skin prick testing.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review considers this ingredient safe as provided as long as residue limits are respected at the cosmetic-grade level.
This ingredient shows up on a lot of "pore-clogging" lists but there's no real evidence behind that. It doesn't even have a comedogenic rating from an actual study; the numbers you'll find online come from blogs citing other blogs.
Just remember finished products made with so-called comedogenic ingredients often turn out not to be comedogenic at all. Some people still find this ingredient breaks them out. So if that's you, definitely trust your skin.
Because this ingredient is made up of saturated fatty acids in exactly the range the Malassezia yeast can metabolize, it may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Hydrogenated Cottonseed OilMica is a naturally occurring mineral used to add shimmer and color in cosmetics. It can also help improve the texture of a product or give it an opaque, white/silver color.
Serecite is the name for very fine but ragged grains of mica.
This ingredient is often coated with metal oxides like titanium dioxide. Trace amounts of heavy metals may be found in mica, but these metals are not harmful in our personal products.
Mica has been used since prehistoric times throughout the world. Ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek, Roman, Aztec, and Chinese civilizations have used mica.
Learn more about MicaTocopherol 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
