What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Colloidal Oatmeal 1%
Absorbent
Avena Sativa Kernel Extract
Abrasive
Avena Sativa Kernel Oil
Skin Conditioning
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Dimethicone
Emollient
Dipotassium Phosphate
BufferingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Isocetyl Alcohol
Emollient
P-Anisic Acid
Masking
Potassium Phosphate
BufferingSodium Cetearyl Sulfate
Cleansing
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingStearic Acid
Cleansing
Water
Skin ConditioningColloidal Oatmeal 1%, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract, Avena Sativa Kernel Oil, Benzoic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ceramide NP, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Citric Acid, Dimethicone, Dipotassium Phosphate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glycerin, Isocetyl Alcohol, P-Anisic Acid, Potassium Phosphate, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Sodium Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Water
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.
Its main roles are:
Though it has "alcohol" in the name, it is not related to denatured alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.
Learn more about Cetyl AlcoholEthylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:
The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.
Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.
Learn more about EthylhexylglycerinGlycerin (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 Glycerinp-anisic acid is an aromatic compound that is naturally found in some plants. It is mainly used as a fragrance ingredient but also has preservative and antimicrobial properties.
The effectiveness of this ingredient as a preservative and antimicrobial depends on the pH (with more acidic being better). This is the reason you'll see this ingredient bundled with other preservatives.
Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.
Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.
"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.
Learn more about Sodium HydroxideWater. 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
