What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Acrylates Copolymer
Sodium Cocoamphoacetate
CleansingCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSpirulina Platensis Extract
Skin ProtectingPropanediol
Solvent
Hamamelis Virginiana Leaf Extract
Skin Conditioning
Glycolic Acid
Buffering
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCoconut Acid
Cleansing
Sodium Cocoate
Cleansing
Tetrasodium EDTA
Caprylhydroxamic Acid
Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Sodium Chloride, Spirulina Platensis Extract, Propanediol, Hamamelis Virginiana Leaf Extract, Glycolic Acid, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Hydroxide, Xanthan Gum, Coconut Acid, Sodium Cocoate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Caprylhydroxamic Acid
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Cocamide Methyl Mea
Acrylates Copolymer
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Cocoamphoacetate
CleansingCitric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingTetrasodium EDTA
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
Bleaching
Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract
Masking
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Water, Glycerin, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamide Methyl Mea, Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium EDTA, Butylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Acrylates Copolymer is used as a film-forming agent and texture enhancer.
After applied, Acrylates Copolymer forms a thin film cover that helps skin feel more soft. It can help sunscreens become more water-resistant.
It is also used to make a product more thick.
Learn more about Acrylates CopolymerButylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolCocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineGlycerin (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 GlycerinChances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideWe don't have a description for Sodium Cocoamphoacetate yet.
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 HydroxideTetrasodium EDTA is the salt formed from neutralizing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid with sodium hydroxide. It is a chelating agent and used to prevent metal ions from binding to other ingredients. This helps keep the product and ingredients stable.
Tetrasodium EDTA comes as a white solid and is soluble in water.
Water. 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
