What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningLavandula Angustifolia Flower Water
Skin Conditioning
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Sucrose Stearate
EmollientButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Cetyl Palmitate
Emollient
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingTocopherol
Antioxidant
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Biosaccharide Gum-1
Humectant
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningGlyceryl Caprylate
EmollientSodium Hydroxide
BufferingLinalool
Perfuming
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Anisate
AntimicrobialWater, Lavandula Angustifolia Flower Water, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sucrose Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Glycerin, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Cetyl Palmitate, Benzyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Tocopherol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Levulinate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Sodium Hydroxide, Linalool, Citric Acid, Sodium Anisate
Water
Skin ConditioningPersea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Glucoside
Emulsifying
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil
Emollient
Actinidia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Salvia Officinalis Oil
Masking
Bisabolol
Antioxidant
Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract
Antimicrobial
Water, Persea Gratissima Oil, Glycerin, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil, Actinidia Chinensis Seed Oil, Salvia Officinalis Oil, Bisabolol, Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Benzyl Alcohol is an aromatic alcohol with several roles: it's a preservative, solvent, and mild fragrance component with a floral scent.
This ingredient has been deemed safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 5%, and up to 10% in hair dyes. You'll typically see 0.5-2% in most rinse-off or leave-on products.
As a preservative, it works by disrupting the membrane of microbial proteins. This helps keep bacteria and fungi from growing in your products.
The sensitization picture is actually quite assuring as well:of nearly 71,000 patients patch tested with benzyl alcohol, only 0.21% showed a positive reaction with most of them being weakly positive.
This led researchers to conclude that benzyl alcohol cannot be regarded as a significant contact allergen.
It is worth noting this ingredient is classified as one of the EU's regulated fragrance allergens and restricted to 1% in finished products.
Labels must also declare it in concentrations above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.
At concentrations around 5%, localized redness and itching can appear as a direct irritant response and not as a true allergic reaction.
Learn more about Benzyl AlcoholDehydroacetic Acid is a synthetic preservative that keeps your products safe from microbes.
As an organic acid, it penetrates microbial cell walls and disrupts cellular metabolism. This makes it effective against bacteria, yeast, and mold.
It is effective at low concentrations (<0.6%). Clinical studies have found it to be non-irritating, non-sensitizing, and non-photosensitizing.
Learn more about Dehydroacetic AcidGlycerin (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 GlycerinHelianthus Annuus Seed Oil is a plant oil derived from the seeds of a sunflower.
It is rich in fatty acids, primarily linoleic acid and oleic acid. This gives it emollient and skin conditioning properties.
The reason this ingredient is so effective is because it forms a thin film on the skin that reduces transepidermal water loss (TEWL) while supplying linoleic acid to the stratum corneum to improve barrier strength.
The high linoleic acid content is particularly noteworthy for acne-prone skin.
Research suggests that acne-prone skin tends to be deficient in linoleic acid in sebum. Topical application may help replenish this to support a healthier follicular environment and less comedone-promoting sebum.
One randomized study found sunflower seed oil preserved skin barrier integrity in adult volunteers with and without atopic dermatitis (outperforming olive oil).
This ingredient is well-studied, gentle, and an effective emollient suitable for most skin types.
On fungal acne: This ingredient may not be Fungal acne (Malassezia folliculitis) safe. This is because it contains fatty acids with carbon chain lengths in the C11-C24 range.
Learn more about Helianthus Annuus Seed OilStearic Acid is a fatty acid that is already found in your skin. It's one of the free fatty acids that works alongside ceramides and cholesterols to maintain your barrier.
In cosmetics, it is a multitasker:
Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.
Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Stearic AcidTocopherol 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
