What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Tea-Lauroyl Collagen Amino Acids
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingGlycol Stearate
Emollient
Ceteareth-25
CleansingGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Polyquaternium-43
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Euglena Gracilis Extract
Skin ConditioningTocopherol
Antioxidant
Parfum
Masking
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
BHT
Antioxidant
Arbutin
Antioxidant
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningDisodium EDTA
Water, Glycerin, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Lauric Acid, Tea-Lauroyl Collagen Amino Acids, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycol Stearate, Ceteareth-25, Glyceryl Stearate, Polyquaternium-43, Niacinamide, Panthenol, Euglena Gracilis Extract, Tocopherol, Parfum, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Sodium Hyaluronate, BHT, Arbutin, Pentylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
PEG-400
Emulsion StabilisingDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate
CleansingGlyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Citric Acid
Buffering
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate
Cleansing
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Hexylglycerin
HumectantSodium Cocoyl Glutamate
Cleansing
BHT
Antioxidant
Disodium EDTA
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingHydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate
Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Water, Glycerin, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Butylene Glycol, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-400, Decyl Glucoside, Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Citric Acid, Lauric Acid, Stearic Acid, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Phenoxyethanol, Hexylglycerin, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, BHT, Disodium EDTA, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Tocopherol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
BHT is a synthetic antioxidant and preservative.
As an antioxidant, it helps your body fight off free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells.
As a preservative, it is used to stabilize products and prevent them from degrading. Specifically, BHT prevents degradation from oxidation.
The concerns related to BHT come from oral studies; this ingredient is currently allowed for use by both the FDA and EU.
However, it was recently restricted for use in the UK as of April 2024.
Learn more about BHTDisodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlycerin (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 GlycerinLauric Acid is a saturated fatty acid naturally found in coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and even breast milk.
In cosmetics, it is an:
Lab studies have found that lauric acid is surprisingly good at killing acne-causing bacteria. However, these tests were done on bacteria in a petri dish and not on real skin, so we can't say for certain it works the same in a formulation on a real face.
The comedogenic rating of 4 comes from the 1972 rabbit ear model using undiluted ingredients. Comedogenicity is highly individual and one comedogenic ingredient cannot predict how a formula will behave on skin.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe and research has confirmed Malassezia can use it as a food source.
Learn more about Lauric AcidStearic 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
