What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic Acid
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
Squalane
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
PEG-40 Stearate
Emulsifying
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Glycol Stearate
Emollient
Myristyl Myristate
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingMagnesium Aluminum Silicate
Absorbent
Diazolidinyl Urea
Preservative
Lecithin
Emollient
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingC10-30 Cholesterol/Lanosterol Esters
Emulsifying
BHT
Antioxidant
Tetrasodium EDTA
Water, Caprylic Acid, Glycerin, Squalane, Glyceryl Stearate, Propylene Glycol, PEG-40 Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Glycol Stearate, Myristyl Myristate, Stearic Acid, Carbomer, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Diazolidinyl Urea, Lecithin, Sodium Hydroxide, C10-30 Cholesterol/Lanosterol Esters, BHT, Tetrasodium EDTA
Water
Skin ConditioningPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Myristyl Myristate
Emollient
PEG-8 Distearate
Emulsifying
PEG-40 Stearate
Emulsifying
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Sorbitan Stearate
Emulsifying
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingTriethanolamine
BufferingDiazolidinyl Urea
Preservative
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingMethylparaben
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
Tetrasodium EDTA
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Carbomer is a high-molecular weight polymer of acrylic acid. It is used to form gels and thicken formulas.
Due to its large molecular size, carbomer has minimal skin penetration and is considered an inert ingredient.
A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.
Learn more about CarbomerCetyl 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.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe. It is a primary fatty alcohol with a chain length above 12 carbons. A study from 2019 show Malassezia can feed on fatty alcohols in this range, so it may trigger fungal acne in those prone to it.
Learn more about Cetyl AlcoholDiazolidinyl Urea is an antimicrobial preservative. It is commonly used to prevent bacterial, yeast, and mold growth.
Diazolidinyl Urea slowly breaks down into formaldehyde, an effective microbe killer but also a known allergen/carcinogen.
Some people who are allergic to imidazolidinyl urea also react to diazolidinyl urea. It ranked as the 14th most common allergen in patch tests from 2005–06.
Safety reviews show that at concentrations under 0.5%, the formaldehyde released remains below the accepted safety limit, making it considered safe for cosmetic use.
Ultimately, its safety depends on individual skin sensitivity and personal comfort with formaldehyde-releasing preservatives.
Learn more about Diazolidinyl UreaGlyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.
Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.
This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.
Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.
Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.
Learn more about Glyceryl StearateMyristyl Myristate is a waxy ester made by combining myristyl alcohol and myristic acid (both from plant oils from coconut or palm).
It's a non-greasy emollient that melts right around skin temperature. It gives products a soft and velvet feel and helps improve how a cream spreads.
Safety-wise, it's deemed safe to use in cosmetics by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel. Dermal animal testing found it to be non-toxic and non-irritating.
This ingredient has a comedogenic reputation; it's important to know comedogenic ratings come from outdated rabbit ear tests. Rabbit ears are way more sensitive than human skin and prone to clogging. How likely a formula will clog pores depends on the overall formulation rather than a few comedogenic ingredients.
Because this ingredient is an ester of Myristic acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. Myristic acid is a C14 fatty acid that sits in the C11-24 range that feeds the Malassezia yeast.
Learn more about Myristyl MyristatePEG-40 Stearate is a nonionic emulsifier and surfactant made from stearic acid.
It's water-soluble and good at coaxing oil + water to mix to keep everything stable.
The CIR Expert Panel has repeatedly concluded this ingredient to be safe at current cosmetic use levels with minimal skin/eye irritation when tested at 100%.
Your skincare also won't be containing 100% of this ingredient: the supplier recommends using 1-5% in a formula.
Broader reviews back this up: PEGs and their fatty-acid esters produce little or no skin/eye irritation, don't readily penetract intact skin, and rarely cause sensitization.
Because this ingredient is a PEG ester of stearic acid, it may not be fungal acne, or Malassezia, safe. Stearic acid (C18) sits in the C11-24 "edible window" that Malassezia lipases can cleave and metabolize.
Learn more about PEG-40 StearatePropylene Glycol is a synthetic, colorless, odorless liquid that has been a staple in cosmetics for decades. It is a skin conditioning agent, humectant, and solvent.
As a humectant, it draw water to the skin to reduce flaking and restore suppleness. It's also a solvent that helps dissolve other actives and keeps formulas stable across temperature changes.
The CIR Expert Panel has confirmed this ingredient to be nontoxic and clinical studies show no sensitization at cosmetic use concentrations.
True allergic reactions are quite rare: a 15-year retrospective study of 6,751 patients found only 0.31% had a positive reaction (and less than half were considered clinically relevant).
It seemed that when sensitization does occur, it's most commonly linked to topical medication (like corticosteroids) and not cosmetics. Allergic contact dermatitis also appears largely limited to individuals with underlying skin conditions.
Overall, propylene glycol is a well-studied ingredient that most people can tolerate without issue.
Learn more about Propylene GlycolTetrasodium 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
