What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPropylene Glycol
Humectant
PEG-150
HumectantGlycerin
Humectant
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Laureth-6 Carboxylic Acid
CleansingMyristic Acid
Cleansing
Arginine
Masking
Lauryl Hydroxysultaine
CleansingPotassium Hydroxide
BufferingLaureth-4 Carboxylic Acid
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Polyquaternium-39
Acrylates Copolymer
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningDisodium EDTA
Parfum
Masking
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
BHT
Antioxidant
Water, Propylene Glycol, PEG-150, Glycerin, Lauric Acid, Laureth-6 Carboxylic Acid, Myristic Acid, Arginine, Lauryl Hydroxysultaine, Potassium Hydroxide, Laureth-4 Carboxylic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Polyquaternium-39, Acrylates Copolymer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Parfum, Sodium Benzoate, BHT
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Glycylglycine
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
PEG-400
Emulsion StabilisingDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Zinc Lauroyl Aspartate
Tea-Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate
CleansingGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate
Citric Acid
Buffering
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
PEG-32
HumectantDisodium EDTA
Polyquaternium-7
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingPolyquaternium-52
Methylparaben
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
BHT
Antioxidant
Water, Glycerin, Glycylglycine, Butylene Glycol, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-400, Decyl Glucoside, Zinc Lauroyl Aspartate, Tea-Cocoyl Glycinate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Glyceryl Stearate, Hyaluronic Acid, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate, Citric Acid, Stearic Acid, Lauric Acid, PEG-32, Disodium EDTA, Polyquaternium-7, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Polyquaternium-52, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, BHT
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 AcidWater. 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
