What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Hamamelis Virginiana Water
Astringent
Propanediol
Solvent
Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract
Astringent
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate
Cleansing
Citric Acid
Buffering
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientPolyglyceryl-6 Oleate
Emulsifying
Sodium Surfactin
CleansingSodium PCA
Humectant
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingParfum
Masking
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Water, Glycerin, Hamamelis Virginiana Water, Propanediol, Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Citric Acid, Glyceryl Caprylate, Polyglyceryl-6 Oleate, Sodium Surfactin, Sodium PCA, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Parfum, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingCitrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil
Masking
Citrus Limon Peel Oil
Masking
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
Rosa Canina Fruit Oil
Emollient
Arnica Montana Flower Extract
Masking
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Lavandula Angustifolia Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract
Masking
Leucojum Aestivum Bulb Extract
Skin ProtectingQuillaja Saponaria Bark Extract
CleansingSalix Alba Bark Extract
Astringent
Citric Acid
Buffering
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientLinalyl Acetate
Masking
Pinene
Masking
Polyglyceryl-6 Oleate
Emulsifying
Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate
Cleansing
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Sodium Surfactin
CleansingUbiquinone
Antioxidant
Alcohol
Antimicrobial
Calcium Gluconate
HumectantGluconolactone
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Limonene
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil, Citrus Limon Peel Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Arnica Montana Flower Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Leucojum Aestivum Bulb Extract, Quillaja Saponaria Bark Extract, Salix Alba Bark Extract, Citric Acid, Glyceryl Caprylate, Linalyl Acetate, Pinene, Polyglyceryl-6 Oleate, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Surfactin, Ubiquinone, Alcohol, Calcium Gluconate, Gluconolactone, Sodium Benzoate, Limonene, Linalool
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 JuiceThis ingredient is a mild surfactant made by sticking glucose onto a blend of fatty acids.
It does two jobs because it has a sugar head that loves water and a fatty tail that loves oil:
Typical use levels range from 10-20% in cleansers and 15-30% in shower products.
Once on your skin, your skin's glucoside hydrolases breaks it down into glucose and the parent fatty alcohols.
This ingredient is considered fungal acne safe because its fatty alcohol portion sits outside the Malassezia yeast's metabolization range.
Learn more about Caprylyl/Capryl GlucosideCitric 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 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 GlycerinGlyceryl Caprylate comes from glycerin and caprylic acid. It is an emollient, co-emulsifier, and preservative booster.
Its short C8 fatty acid chain makes it behave differently from its longer-chain emollient cousins like Glyceryl Stearate. It feels more lightweight, fast-absorbing, and silky instead of rich and waxy.
As a co-emulsifier, its "head" and "tail" sit at the oil-water interface. But overall, the short C8 tail and not being water soluble means it doesn't really have the muscle to emulsify a formula on its own. That's why you'll often see it paired with a primary emulsifier like Cetearyl Glucoside.
Interestingly, Glyceryl Caprylate acts as a preservative booster. This is because its fatty-acid backbone disrupts microbial lipid membranes. It shows excellent activity against bacteria and yeast but is weaker against mold.
Typical concentrations range from 0.5-1% and this ingredient is generally non-irritating.
Because this ingredient has a C8 fatty acid chain, it is outside the range that the Malassezia yeast metabolizes (making it fungal acne safe).
Learn more about Glyceryl CaprylatePolyglyceryl-6 Oleate isn't fungal acne safe.
Sodium Benzoate is a preservative. It's used in both cosmetic and food products to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria. It is typically produced synthetically.
Both the US FDA and EU Health Committee have approved the use of sodium benzoate. In the US, levels of 0.1% (of the total product) are allowed.
Sodium benzoate works as a preservative by inhibiting the growth of bacteria inside of cells. It prevents the cell from fermenting a type of sugar using an enzyme called phosphofructokinase.
It is the salt of benzoic acid. Foods containing sodium benzoate include soda, salad dressings, condiments, fruit juices, wines, and snack foods.
Studies for using ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate in cosmetics are lacking, especially in skincare routines with multiple steps.
We always recommend speaking with a professional, such as a dermatologist, if you have any concerns.
Learn more about Sodium BenzoateSodium Cocoyl Glutamate is a gentle cleanser and surfactant. It is the sodium salt of the Cocoyl Glutamic Acid and comes from coconut oil. As a surfactant, it helps lift dirt and oil to be washed away.
Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate also has an emolliating effect and can help leave the skin feeling soft.
We don't have a description for Sodium Surfactin yet.
Water. 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
