What's inside
What's inside
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
HumectantCetearyl Alcohol
EmollientPolyglyceryl-3 Dicitrate/Stearate
EmulsifyingDecyl Glucoside
CleansingCocos Nucifera Oil
MaskingArgania Spinosa Kernel Oil
EmollientBenzyl Alcohol
PerfumingDistearoylethyl Dimonium Chloride
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey
Linum Usitatissimum Seed Oil
PerfumingGuar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningHydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingDehydroacetic Acid
PreservativePunica Granatum Extract
AstringentAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin ConditioningPentylene Glycol
Skin ConditioningMagnolia Champaca Flower Oil
Skin ConditioningCitrus Grandis Peel Oil
MaskingCitrus Reticulata Peel Oil
MaskingCitrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil
MaskingCitrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil
MaskingOriganum Majorana Leaf Oil
MaskingRosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
MaskingMentha Viridis Leaf Oil
AstringentPogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil
MaskingMichelia Alba Flower Oil
MaskingMichelia Alba Leaf Oil
MaskingCymbopogon Martini Oil
MaskingStyrax Tonkinensis Resin Extract
PerfumingTilia Cordata Flower Extract
Skin ConditioningSorbic Acid
PreservativeCitric Acid
BufferingLimonene
PerfumingLinalool
PerfumingWater, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Polyglyceryl-3 Dicitrate/Stearate, Decyl Glucoside, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Distearoylethyl Dimonium Chloride, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey, Linum Usitatissimum Seed Oil, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Dehydroacetic Acid, Punica Granatum Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Pentylene Glycol, Magnolia Champaca Flower Oil, Citrus Grandis Peel Oil, Citrus Reticulata Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil, Origanum Majorana Leaf Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Mentha Viridis Leaf Oil, Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil, Michelia Alba Flower Oil, Michelia Alba Leaf Oil, Cymbopogon Martini Oil, Styrax Tonkinensis Resin Extract, Tilia Cordata Flower Extract, Sorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Limonene, Linalool
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
CleansingSodium Cocoyl Isethionate
CleansingLauryl Glucoside
CleansingSodium Lauroyl Lactylate
EmulsifyingGlycerin
HumectantAdansonia Digitata Oil
EmollientRicinus Communis Seed Oil
MaskingPrunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin ConditioningGaultheria Procumbens Leaf Oil
MaskingMentha Piperita Oil
MaskingMentha Viridis Leaf Oil
AstringentHydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingPolyquaternium-10
Dehydroacetic Acid
PreservativeBenzyl Alcohol
PerfumingGuar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningOpuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil
EmollientCucurbita Pepo Seed Oil
EmollientLavandula Spica Flower Oil
MaskingRosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
MaskingMenthol
MaskingUrtica Dioica Extract
AstringentCitric Acid
BufferingWater, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Lauryl Glucoside, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Glycerin, Adansonia Digitata Oil, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Gaultheria Procumbens Leaf Oil, Mentha Piperita Oil, Mentha Viridis Leaf Oil, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Polyquaternium-10, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil, Cucurbita Pepo Seed Oil, Lavandula Spica Flower Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Menthol, Urtica Dioica Extract, Citric Acid
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 an aromatic alcohol with several roles: it's a preservative, solvent, and mild fragrance component with a floral scent.
This ingredient has been deemed safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 5%, and up to 10% in hair dyes. You'll typically see 0.5-2% in most rinse-off or leave-on products.
As a preservative, it works by disrupting the membrane of microbial proteins. This helps keep bacteria and fungi from growing in your products.
The sensitization picture is actually quite assuring as well:of nearly 71,000 patients patch tested with benzyl alcohol, only 0.21% showed a positive reaction with most of them being weakly positive.
This led researchers to conclude that benzyl alcohol cannot be regarded as a significant contact allergen.
It is worth noting this ingredient is classified as one of the EU's regulated fragrance allergens and restricted to 1% in finished products.
Labels must also declare it in concentrations above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.
At concentrations around 5%, localized redness and itching can appear as a direct irritant response and not as a true allergic reaction.
Learn more about Benzyl 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 AcidDehydroacetic Acid is a synthetic preservative that keeps your products safe from microbes.
As an organic acid, it penetrates microbial cell walls and disrupts cellular metabolism. This makes it effective against bacteria, yeast, and mold.
It is effective at low concentrations (<0.6%). Clinical studies have found it to be non-irritating, non-sensitizing, and non-photosensitizing.
Learn more about Dehydroacetic 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 GlycerinThis ingredient is derived from guar gum. It is a skin conditioning agent that creates a thin, breathable film to reduce water loss during cleansing.
This leaves the skin feeling soft rather than stripped and also contributes to a creamier lather.
Due to the large molecule size, this ingredient is unlikely to penetrate skin.
Learn more about Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium ChlorideHydroxyethylcellulose is used to improve the texture of products. It is created from a chemical reaction involving ethylene oxide and alkali-cellulose. Cellulose is a sugar found in plant cell walls and help give plants structure.
This ingredient helps stabilize products by preventing ingredients from separating. It can also help thicken the texture of a product.
This ingredient can also be found in pill medicines to help our bodies digest other ingredients.
Learn more about HydroxyethylcelluloseThis ingredient is also called spearmint oil. It contains carvone (41-79%), limonene (10-22%), and small amounts of other monoterpenes depending on where it's grown.
In cosmetics, this ingredient mostly acts as a fragrancing/masking ingredient and mild astringent.
Lab studies show carvone to have antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, but it is a recognized fragrance allergen. Carvone is a mild skin sensitizer while limonene is a well-known one.
In a 21-year retrospective from a Swedish patch test clinic, 3.5% of patients tested positive for sensitive towards carvone.
Learn more about Mentha Viridis Leaf OilRosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil is an essential oil also known as rosemary essential oil. In skincare, it is a skin conditioning agent and also acts as a natural fragrance that gives products a fresh/herby smell.
The oil is a mix of over 100 volatile compounds with 1,8-cineole, α-pinene, camphor, and verbenone usually leading the pack.
Lab studies credit this oil with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activity. Some research even show rosemary compounds calming acne-related inflammation.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) has concluded rosemary-derived ingredients to be safe when formulated to be nonsensitizing.
Since this is a fragrant essential oil, the main concern is for fragrance-sensitive folks.
Learn more about Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf OilWater. 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