What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningHelianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Hamamelis Virginiana Water
Astringent
Glyceryl Stearate Citrate
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Terminalia Ferdinandiana Seed Oil
Antioxidant
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Curcuma Longa Root Extract
Masking
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
Citrus Aurantium Amara Peel Oil
Skin Conditioning
Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil
Masking
Citrus Junos Peel Oil
Astringent
Water, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Hamamelis Virginiana Water, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Glycerin, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Seed Oil, Caprylyl Glycol, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Curcuma Longa Root Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Citrus Aurantium Amara Peel Oil, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Citrus Junos Peel Oil
Water
Skin ConditioningZea Mays Starch
Absorbent
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Cetearyl Olivate
Caprylyl Caprylate/Caprate
Emollient
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Propanediol
Solvent
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Oil
Masking
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingSorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Gluconolactone
Skin Conditioning
Water, Zea Mays Starch, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Niacinamide, Cetearyl Olivate, Caprylyl Caprylate/Caprate, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Propanediol, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Sodium Benzoate, Xanthan Gum, Sorbitan Olivate, Maltodextrin, Gluconolactone
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 JuiceGlycerin (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 GlycerinHelianthus 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 OilLavandula Angustifolia Oil is more commonly known as lavender essential oil. It is considered a fragrancing ingredient.
Lavender imparts a famous scent. While the smell is lovely, this ingredient and may sensitize skin in topical products. This is because about 85% of the oil is made up of linalool and linalyl acetate.
When exposed to air, these two compounds become strong allergens. This ingredient exhibits cytotoxicity at low concentrations; amounts of 0.25% have been shown to damage skin cells.
A study from Japan found this ingredient caused lavender sensitivity after widespread exposure.
Lavender essential oil has some antimicrobial, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the cons of this ingredient may outweight the pros.
More research is needed to confirm lavender essential oil's effects when used in aromatherapy.
Lavandula Angustifolia is known as the English Lavender and famous for creating purple fields in Provence, France.
Learn more about Lavandula Angustifolia OilJojoba 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.
Due to its fatty acid content, Jojoba oil 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
