What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Coconut Alkanes
Emollient
Squalane
Emollient
Ricinus Communis Seed Oil
Masking
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Bakuchiol
Antimicrobial
Parfum
Masking
Geraniol
Perfuming
Hydroxycitronellal
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Amyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Citronellol
Perfuming
Ethyl Macadamiate
Skin Conditioning
Coconut Alkanes
Emollient
Heptyl Undecylenate
EmollientSilybum Marianum Ethyl Ester
Skin ConditioningTriheptanoin
Skin ConditioningCamellia Japonica Seed Oil
Emollient
Jojoba Esters
Emollient
Terminalia Ferdinandiana Seed Oil
Antioxidant
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Hibiscus Syriacus Callus Extract
Antioxidant
Santalum Album Oil
Masking
Ethyl Macadamiate, Coconut Alkanes, Heptyl Undecylenate, Silybum Marianum Ethyl Ester, Triheptanoin, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Jojoba Esters, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Seed Oil, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Hibiscus Syriacus Callus Extract, Santalum Album Oil
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil comes from the seeds of the safflower plant. It is a skin conditioning agent that helps soften skin and keep it hydrated.
This seed oil has an unusual fatty acid profile: it is one of the highest linoleic acid plant oils out there (~55-77%). It also has low amounts of oleic acid, and this high-linoleic/low-oleic ratio gets people excited.
Linoleic acid helps maintain skin barrier integrity and is a building block for the ceramides in your stratum corneum. Notably, people with acne tend to have lower linoleic acid in their skin lipids as well (and this gets worse as acne gets more severe).
Overall, it's a lightweight, fast-absorbing oil that has a long safety track record. Lab testing has found it to be non-irritating for skin or eyes.
The Malassezia yeast can metabolize the fatty acids in this oil to grow; therefore this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Carthamus Tinctorius Seed OilCoco-Caprylate/Caprate is a lightweight ester created from coconut oil fatty acids, caprylic acid, and capric acid.
It is an emollient that helps soften skin and reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL). What sets it apart from heavier emollients is its ultralight, non-greasy feel.
Once applied, this ingredient dries down quickly and leaves a dry, silky finish behind. This also helps improve spreadability and texture.
This ingredient has an excellent safety-record and is non-irritating.
Typical concentrations for cosmetics range from 0.5-62%.
Research on Malassezia growth found no growth on fatty acid esters with chain lengths shorter than 12 carbons (it prefers C11-24).
Since Coco-Caprylate/Caprate is built on C8 and C10 fatty acids, it is out of the range that Malassezia metabolizes, and therefore safe for fungal acne.
Learn more about Coco-Caprylate/CaprateCoconut Alkanes is a lightweight, plant-derived emollient and solvent made from the fatty acids of coconut oil.
It spreads easily and adds a soft, silky, non-greasy slip, then evaporates rather than sinking into skin. Due to this behavior, it's prized as a natural and renewable replacement for silicones.
Typical use concentrations can go anywhere up to 20%.
The CIR Expert Panel has reviewed coconut oil and its hydrogenated derivatives and found them to be safe as used in cosmetics. It's a low-irritating and well-tolerated ingredient with no notable sensitization concerns.
Because it's a pure saturated hydrocarbon and not a free fatty acid or ester in the C11-24 range that Malassezia can feed on, it doesn't provide the lipids for Malassezia to feed on. This ingredient is generally regarded as safe for fungal acne.
Learn more about Coconut AlkanesHelianthus Annuus Seed Oil is a plant oil derived from the seeds of a sunflower.
It is rich in fatty acids, primarily linoleic acid and oleic acid. This gives it emollient and skin conditioning properties.
The reason this ingredient is so effective is because it forms a thin film on the skin that reduces transepidermal water loss (TEWL) while supplying linoleic acid to the stratum corneum to improve barrier strength.
The high linoleic acid content is particularly noteworthy for acne-prone skin.
Research suggests that acne-prone skin tends to be deficient in linoleic acid in sebum. Topical application may help replenish this to support a healthier follicular environment and less comedone-promoting sebum.
One randomized study found sunflower seed oil preserved skin barrier integrity in adult volunteers with and without atopic dermatitis (outperforming olive oil).
This ingredient is well-studied, gentle, and an effective emollient suitable for most skin types.
On fungal acne: This ingredient may not be Fungal acne (Malassezia folliculitis) safe. This is because it contains fatty acids with carbon chain lengths in the C11-C24 range.
Learn more about Helianthus Annuus Seed OilTocopherol 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 Tocopherol
