What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Arginine
Masking
Glycolic Acid
Buffering
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Lecithin
Emollient
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningBiosaccharide Gum-1
Humectant
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Glycine
Buffering
Fructose
Humectant
Inositol
Humectant
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Urea
Buffering
Pantolactone
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Hexanoyl Dipeptide-3 Norleucine Acetate
Skin Conditioning
Water, Pentylene Glycol, Arginine, Glycolic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Panthenol, Sodium Lactate, Sodium PCA, Glycerin, Lecithin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Sodium Benzoate, Glycine, Fructose, Inositol, Lactic Acid, Niacinamide, Urea, Pantolactone, Citric Acid, Hexanoyl Dipeptide-3 Norleucine Acetate
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Glycerin (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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Sodium PCA is the sodium salt of pyroglutamic acid. It is naturally occurring in our skin's natural moisturizing factors where it works to maintain hydration.
The PCA stands for pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, a natural amino acid derivative.
This ingredient has skin conditioning, anti-inflammatory, and humectant properties. Humectants help hydrate your skin by drawing moisture from the air. This helps keep your skin moisturized.
Learn more about Sodium PCAWater. 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
