What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Rosa Canina Fruit Oil
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Ceteareth-20
CleansingOpuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Sorbic Acid
Preservative
Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract
Emollient
Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Coffee Seed Oil PEG-8 Esters
Emollient
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Sus Extract
Skin ConditioningGlycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
Bleaching
Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil, Glyceryl Stearate, Sodium Lactate, Benzyl Alcohol, Salicylic Acid, Glycerin, Sorbic Acid, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Coffee Seed Oil PEG-8 Esters, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sus Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Fucus Vesiculosus Extract
Emollient
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Coconut Alkanes
Emollient
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate
Emollient
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingAminomethyl Propanol
BufferingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Benzyl Salicylate
Perfuming
Citronellol
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Limonene
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Parfum
Masking
Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Fucus Vesiculosus Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Coconut Alkanes, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Carbomer, Aminomethyl Propanol, Phenoxyethanol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol, Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, Parfum
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Benzyl 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 AlcoholCetyl 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 GlycerinGlyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.
Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.
This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.
Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.
Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.
Learn more about Glyceryl StearateSodium Hyaluronate is the salt form of hyaluronic acid. It is a long sugar chain that is naturally found in your skin, joints, and connective tissue that maintains hydration and elasticity.
In skincare, it works as a humectant. It pulls water from the environment and deeper layers of skin and binds it to the surface.
Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.
You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium HyaluronateWater. 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
