What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Glycerin
Humectant
Water
Skin ConditioningMethyl Gluceth-20
Humectant
Dicaprylyl Ether
Emollient
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Isononyl Isononanoate
EmollientBetaine
Humectant
Dimethicone
Emollient
PEG-12 Laurate
Emulsifying
Polyglyceryl-2 Isostearate
Emulsifying
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingCetyl Dimethylbutyl Ether
Skin ConditioningDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Sodium Citrate
BufferingPotassium Hydroxide
BufferingIsostearyl Glyceryl Ether
Skin ConditioningCitric Acid
Buffering
Parfum
Masking
PEG-6
HumectantTocopherol
Antioxidant
BHT
Antioxidant
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
CI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantGlycerin, Water, Methyl Gluceth-20, Dicaprylyl Ether, Butylene Glycol, Isononyl Isononanoate, Betaine, Dimethicone, PEG-12 Laurate, Polyglyceryl-2 Isostearate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Cetyl Dimethylbutyl Ether, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium Citrate, Potassium Hydroxide, Isostearyl Glyceryl Ether, Citric Acid, Parfum, PEG-6, Tocopherol, BHT, Phenoxyethanol, CI 77891
Water
Skin ConditioningJojoba Esters
Emollient
Isononyl Isononanoate
EmollientNeopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate
EmollientDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
Cleansing
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Sodium Citrate
BufferingBetaine
Humectant
Gluconolactone
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Saccharide Isomerate
Humectant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids
CleansingCitric Acid
Buffering
Caramel
Cosmetic ColorantXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingSclareolide
Masking
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Bacillus Ferment
Skin Conditioning
Water, Jojoba Esters, Isononyl Isononanoate, Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Decyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Sodium Citrate, Betaine, Gluconolactone, Hydroxyacetophenone, Saccharide Isomerate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids, Citric Acid, Caramel, Xanthan Gum, Sclareolide, Tocopherol, Bacillus Ferment
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Betaine is a humectant. Like hyaluronic acid, it helps attract and retain moisture in the skin. Itβs known for being gentle and for helping the skin maintain balanced hydration.
Betaine is mainly used to improve hydration and support calmer skin. It helps skin cells regulate water balance because it functions as an osmolyte.
Some studies suggest betaine may support making skin tone more even.
Fun fact: Betaine naturally exists in the skin and the body. In cosmetic products, it can be either plant-derived (most commonly from sugar beets) or synthetically produced for consistency and stability.
Betaine is also known as trimethylglycine.
Learn more about BetaineCitric 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 AcidDecyl Glucoside is a plant-derived surfactant and emulsion stabilizer. It is created by reacting glucose with the fatty acids from plants.
Like all surfactants, it works by lowering the surface tension between water and oil. This makes it so that dirt, sebum, and makeup can be lifted off your skin and rinsed away. It also produces a dense and creamy foam.
Because it has a neutral charge, it is compatible with a wide range of ingredients and stays stable across a broad pH range/water hardiness conditions.
Patch testing has shown it to have the lowest irritation potential among common cleansing surfactants (like SLS).
Typical use levels range from 5-20% in rinse-off cleansers.
One thing worth knowing: The American Contact Dermatitis Society named the parent family, alkyl glucosides, "Allergen of the Year" in 2017. The prevalence of allergy is pretty low but be sure to patch test if you've reacted to "gentle" or sulfate-free cleansers before.
This ingredient is fungal acne safe because the fatty alcohol portion of this ingredient is not within the C11-24 chain length that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Decyl GlucosideGlycerin (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 GlycerinIsononyl Isononanoate is a synthetic skin-conditioner and texture enhancer. It is created from nonanoic acid, a fatty acid found in cocoa and lavender oil.
As an emollient, Isononyl Isononanoate helps keep your skin soft and smooth. This is because emollients create a barrier on the skin to trap moisture in.
Isononyl Isononanoate helps give products a velvet feel and improves spreadability.
Learn more about Isononyl IsononanoateSodium Citrate is the sodium salts of citric acid. In skincare, it is used to alter pH levels and acts as a preservative.
Its main functions are to maintain the pH of a product and neutralize metal ions.
The acidity of our skin is maintained by our glands and skin biome; normal pH level of skin is slightly acidic (~4.75-5.5).
Being slightly acidic allows our skin to create an "acid mantle". This acid mantle is a thin barrier that protects our skin from bacteria and contaminants.
Learn more about Sodium CitrateTocopherol 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
