What's inside

What's inside

Key Ingredients

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Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Show highlights for:

Water

Skin Conditioning

Dipropylene Glycol

Humectant

Butylene Glycol

Humectant
1 / 0 Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

1,2-Hexanediol

Skin Conditioning
Helps hydrate Dry Skin Icon

Glycerin

Humectant
0 / 0 Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconGood for Scar Healing IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

Reviews

5.00
Overall rating
5
4
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2
1
What people say
Absorbs Well 50% Light 50% Works Well 50%
2.00
Overall rating
5
4
3
2
1
What people say
Absorbs Well 20% Broke Me Out 20% Drying 20%

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Skin Conditioning

Arctium Lappa Root Extract is from the burdock plant. It is a botanical extract with skin conditioning and soothing properties.

Burdock root contains polyphenols that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. This can help explain why it's used to calm irritated or red skin.

Evidence in humans is limited to the non-root parts of this plant; topical arctium fruit extract showed improvements in dermal extracellular matrix metabolism and visible wrinkles.

Learn more about Arctium Lappa Root Extract
Masking, Perfuming, Skin Conditioning

Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract comes from the marigold flower and has been used on skin for centuries for its calming effect.

In the lab, its active compounds appear to calm inflammation and support the early "healing" phase of minor wounds.

This is why Europe's medicines regulator has approved calendula extracts as a traditional remedy for minor skin inflammation and healing small wounds.

The stronger human evidence is around would/ulcer care rather than everyday cosmetic claims; a review that pulled together 14 studies found that calendula helped calm the early, inflamed stage of a wound and helped new skin tissue form faster.

Two studies also showed it shrank leg ulcers (the kind caused by poor circulation). Results were mixed for burns and for the skin irritation people get from radiation treatment, so it's not a sure thing there.

In cosmetics, it's mostly a skin conditioning and soothing agent.

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel concluded that calendula-derived ingredients are safe as used and that the ingredients are not irritating, sensitizing, or photosensitizing in clinical tests (though they may be mild eye irritants).

Typical use levels are quite low; industry data reported it used at under 0.5% (one supplier noted a 10-25% extract blend used at 1-10% in the finished product). Historical use goes up to 10%.

The only thing to keep in mind is if you have daisy/ragweed allergies. Calendula is in the same family and one patch-test study found 2% of dermatitis patients reacted to marigold. Be sure to patch test if you have sensitive or allergy-prone skin.

Learn more about Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Skin Conditioning, Solvent

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

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