What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
CleansingGlycerin
HumectantSodium Laurylglucosides Hydroxypropylsulfonate
CleansingSodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
CleansingCetyl Betaine
CleansingLauryl Betaine
CleansingDicaprylyl Ether
EmollientDecyl Glucoside
CleansingGlyceryl Oleate
EmollientSodium Lauroyl Lactylate
EmulsifyingAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin ConditioningSimmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
EmollientParfum
MaskingGuar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningTocopheryl Acetate
AntioxidantPhenoxyethanol
PreservativeEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCitric Acid
BufferingBenzoic Acid
MaskingSodium Chloride
MaskingWater, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Glycerin, Sodium Laurylglucosides Hydroxypropylsulfonate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Cetyl Betaine, Lauryl Betaine, Dicaprylyl Ether, Decyl Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Parfum, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Tocopheryl Acetate, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Citric Acid, Benzoic Acid, Sodium Chloride
Water
Skin ConditioningDecyl Glucoside
CleansingPolyglyceryl-10 Caprylate/Caprate
EmulsifyingCoco-Glucoside
CleansingGlyceryl Oleate
EmollientAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin ConditioningTrisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
MaskingCalendula Officinalis Flower Extract
MaskingColloidal Oatmeal
AbsorbentTocopherol
AntioxidantPrunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
MaskingSimmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
EmollientOryza Sativa Bran Extract
Skin ConditioningHydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate
EmollientHelianthus Annuus Extract
EmollientRosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialGlycerin
HumectantPhenoxyethanol
PreservativeXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCitric Acid
BufferingSodium Benzoate
MaskingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningPotassium Sorbate
PreservativeWater, Decyl Glucoside, Polyglyceryl-10 Caprylate/Caprate, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Colloidal Oatmeal, Tocopherol, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Oryza Sativa Bran Extract, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate, Helianthus Annuus Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Potassium Sorbate
Reviews
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 JuiceCitric 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 AcidDecyl Glucoside is a plant-derived surfactant and emulsion stabilizer. It is created by reacting glucose with the fatty acids from plants.
Like all surfactants, it works by lowering the surface tension between water and oil. This makes it so that dirt, sebum, and makeup can be lifted off your skin and rinsed away. It also produces a dense and creamy foam.
Because it has a neutral charge, it is compatible with a wide range of ingredients and stays stable across a broad pH range/water hardiness conditions.
Patch testing has shown it to have the lowest irritation potential among common cleansing surfactants (like SLS).
Typical use levels range from 5-20% in rinse-off cleansers.
One thing worth knowing: The American Contact Dermatitis Society named the parent family, alkyl glucosides, "Allergen of the Year" in 2017. The prevalence of allergy is pretty low but be sure to patch test if you've reacted to "gentle" or sulfate-free cleansers before.
This ingredient is fungal acne safe because the fatty alcohol portion of this ingredient is not within the C11-24 chain length that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Decyl GlucosideEthylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:
The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.
Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.
Learn more about EthylhexylglycerinGlycerin (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 Oleate is the monoester of glycerin and oleic acid. It is a skin-conditioning emollient that also helps form emulsions.
What makes glyceryl oleate special is its "re-fatting" effect.
When you wash your hair and skin with a surfactant-based cleanser, the surfactants grab onto everything. This includes your skin's natural lipids, or the fats that live in your skin barrier and sebum. Once you rinse these surfactants away, it leaves your skin feeling tight, dry, and clean (in a not-good way).
Re-fatting is essentially putting some of these lipids back. Glyceryl oleate deposits a thin layer of emollient lipids back on the skin or hair surface reduce some of the barrier damage.
Also, glyceryl oleate isn't a foreign molecule to your skin. It's chemically identical to something your skin already produces and manages naturally. This is why it tends to be well-tolerated with low risk of irritation.
Typical use levels range from 0.5-5%.
Glyceryl Oleate has a function of "perfuming" in the CosIng database. This just means that the ingredient has some scent character that can contribute to the product's overall smell.
The scent of this ingredient is described as "waxy".
As an ester of oleic acid, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe. This is because oleic acid falls into the carbon-chain length that Malassezia can use as a substrate.
Learn more about Glyceryl OleatePhenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Jojoba oil is one of the most well-studied plant-derived ingredients in cosmetics. It is an emollient with a special structure.
Because it is made up of 97-98% wax esters, it closely mirrors the linear monoesters found in human sebum. This makes it skin compatible, non-greasy, and lightweight.
Unlike other plant oils, jojoba wax doesn't easily penetrate skin. It mostly works in the uppermost layers as an emollient. This just means it forms a light barrier on the skin to help retain moisture.
Formulations with jojoba esters up to 90% reduced transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and increased barrier recovery by 81% (outperforming bisabolol at 47%).
Besides barrier support, the science also suggests jojoba to have anti-inflammatory effects and potential applications for skin infections, aging, and wound healing.
Fun fact: Indigenous cultures have used jojoba as a moisturizer and to help treat burns for centuries.
Fungal acne: The Malassezia yeast is known to metabolize fatty acids in the C11-24 range and jojoba's dominant fatty acid components fall into this range. This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Simmondsia Chinensis Seed 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