What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Zea Mays Germ Oil
Emollient
Propanediol
Solvent
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Isopropyl Palmitate
Emollient
Myristyl Myristate
Emollient
Parfum
Masking
Zea Mays Starch
Absorbent
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingMannose
HumectantHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Vitreoscilla Ferment
Skin Conditioning
Citric Acid
Buffering
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate
Emulsifying
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Water, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Zea Mays Germ Oil, Propanediol, Cetyl Alcohol, Isopropyl Palmitate, Myristyl Myristate, Parfum, Zea Mays Starch, Niacinamide, Carbomer, Sodium Hydroxide, Mannose, Hydroxyacetophenone, Caprylyl Glycol, Vitreoscilla Ferment, Citric Acid, Panthenol, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Tocopherol, Chlorphenesin
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Ceteareth-20
CleansingPetrolatum
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Potassium Phosphate
BufferingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningSodium Lauroyl Lactylate
EmulsifyingDisodium EDTA
Dipotassium Phosphate
BufferingCeramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Phytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Cholesterol
Emollient
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Water, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Petrolatum, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Potassium Phosphate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Disodium EDTA, Dipotassium Phosphate, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Phytosphingosine, Cholesterol, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Ceramide EOP
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Carbomer is a high-molecular weight polymer of acrylic acid. It is used to form gels and thicken formulas.
Due to its large molecular size, carbomer has minimal skin penetration and is considered an inert ingredient.
A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.
Learn more about CarbomerCetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.
Its main roles are:
Though it has "alcohol" in the name, it is not related to denatured alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.
Learn more about Cetyl AlcoholGlycerin (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 GlycerinTocopherol 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
