This barrier-repair moisturizer is formulated around Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil and Niacinamide to strengthen the skin barrier and hydrate skin.
What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Pentaerythrityl Tetracaprylate/Tetracaprate
EmollientPolyglyceryl-2 Dipolyhydroxystearate
Skin Conditioning
Isopropyl Palmitate
Emollient
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Behenyl Alcohol
Emollient
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingLauryl Glucoside
CleansingSilybum Marianum Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Citrate
BufferingSodium Lauryl Glucose Carboxylate
CleansingSodium Stearoyl Glutamate
CleansingSorbic Acid
Preservative
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingWater, Glycerin, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Pentaerythrityl Tetracaprylate/Tetracaprate, Polyglyceryl-2 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Niacinamide, Behenyl Alcohol, Benzoic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Lauryl Glucoside, Silybum Marianum Seed Oil, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Lauryl Glucose Carboxylate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Sorbic Acid, Tocopherol, Xanthan Gum
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Ethylhexyl Palmitate
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Hydrogenated Poly(C6-14 Olefin)
Emollient1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Trehalose
Humectant
Cetyl Ethylhexanoate
EmollientCetearyl Glucoside
Emulsifying
Beta-Sitosterol
Emulsion Stabilising
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingArginine
Masking
Euphorbia Cerifera Wax
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Phytosterols
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate
CleansingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningDisodium EDTA
Propanediol
Solvent
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Ectoin
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Lactococcus Ferment Lysate
Skin Conditioning
Bifida Ferment Lysate
Skin Conditioning
Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Polyglutamic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Vinyldimethicone
Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Panthenol, Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Glyceryl Stearate, Hydrogenated Poly(C6-14 Olefin), 1,2-Hexanediol, Trehalose, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Cetearyl Glucoside, Beta-Sitosterol, Carbomer, Arginine, Euphorbia Cerifera Wax, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Phytosterols, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Propanediol, Tocopherol, Ectoin, Ceramide NP, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Allantoin, Lactococcus Ferment Lysate, Bifida Ferment Lysate, Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polyglutamic Acid, Vinyldimethicone
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Carthamus 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 OilGlycerin (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 Stearoyl Glutamate is an amino-acid based emulsifier. It is made by combining stearic acid with L-glutamic acid and neutralizing it to a sodium salt.
As an emulsifier, it works mainly as an oil-in-water one and helps keep the oil and water in your formulas blended. It also contributes to a smooth, non-greasy skin feel.
This ingredient is biodegradable and commonly available in natural/COSMOS-certified grades.
Learn more about Sodium Stearoyl GlutamateTocopherol 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 TocopherolWater. 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
