What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Elaeis Guineensis Oil
Emollient
Behentrimonium Chloride
Preservative
Glycerin
Humectant
Parfum
Masking
Isopropyl Alcohol
Solvent
Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine
EmulsifyingAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter
Skin Conditioning
Limonene
Perfuming
Citric Acid
Buffering
Chlorhexidine Dihydrochloride
Antimicrobial
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Coumarin
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Butylphenyl Methylpropional
Perfuming
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Hydroxycitronellal
Perfuming
Amyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Elaeis Guineensis Oil, Behentrimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Parfum, Isopropyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Limonene, Citric Acid, Chlorhexidine Dihydrochloride, Hexyl Cinnamal, Coumarin, Linalool, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Alcohol, Hydroxycitronellal, Amyl Cinnamal
Water
Skin ConditioningPolyglyceryl-6 Stearate
Emollient
Isopropyl Palmitate
Emollient
Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Avena Sativa Bran Extract
Abrasive
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Cetrimonium Chloride
Antimicrobial
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Polyglyceryl-6 Behenate
Emulsion Stabilising
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Caprylhydroxamic Acid
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Water, Polyglyceryl-6 Stearate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Glycerin, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Avena Sativa Bran Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Cetrimonium Chloride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Panthenol, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Glyceryl Stearate, Polyglyceryl-6 Behenate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.
Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.
It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceBenzyl Alcohol is most commonly used as a preservative. It also has a subtle, sweet smell. Small amounts of Benzyl Alcohol is not irritating and safe to use in skincare products. Most Benzyl Alcohol is derived from fruits such as apricots.
Benzyl Alcohol has both antibacterial and antioxidant properties. These properties help lengthen the shelf life of products. Benzyl Alcohol is a solvent and helps dissolve other ingredients. It can also improve the texture and spreadability.
Alcohol comes in many different forms. Different types of alcohol will have different effects on skin. This ingredient is an astringent alcohol.
Using high concentrations of these alcohols are drying on the skin. They may strip away your skin's natural oils and even damage your skin barrier. Astringent alcohols may also irritate skin.
Other types of astringent alcohols include:
According to the National Rosacea Society based in the US, you should be mindful of products with these alcohols in the top half of ingredients.
Any type of sanitizing product will have high amounts of alcohol to help kill bacteria and viruses.
Learn more about Benzyl AlcoholCetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholCitric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.
Like other AHAs, citric acid can exfoliate skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.
However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.
Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.
In skincare formulas, citric acid can:
While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.
Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Citric 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 GlycerinWater. 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
