What's inside
What's inside
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine
EmulsifyingRicinus Communis Seed Oil
Masking
Cetrimonium Chloride
Antimicrobial
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Urtica Dioica Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningMelissa Officinalis Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningMentha Piperita Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningEquisetum Arvense Leaf Extract
AstringentYucca Schidigera Leaf/Root/Stem Extract
CleansingRosmarinus Officinalis Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract
MaskingMentha Piperita Oil
Masking
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningHydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Skin ConditioningPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCitric Acid
Buffering
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Glycerin, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Cetrimonium Chloride, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Urtica Dioica Leaf Extract, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract, Mentha Piperita Leaf Extract, Equisetum Arvense Leaf Extract, Yucca Schidigera Leaf/Root/Stem Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Mentha Piperita Oil, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Citric Acid
Water
Skin ConditioningButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Adansonia Digitata Oil
Emollient
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Opuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil
Emollient
Cetyl Esters
Emollient
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Skin ConditioningCetrimonium Chloride
Antimicrobial
Biotin
AntiseborrhoeicGuar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningCucurbita Pepo Seed Oil
Emollient
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Gaultheria Procumbens Leaf Oil
Masking
Mentha Piperita Oil
Masking
Mentha Viridis Leaf Oil
Astringent
Quaternium-80
Lavandula Spica Herb Oil
Perfuming
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Menthol
Masking
Water, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Adansonia Digitata Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil, Cetyl Esters, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Cetrimonium Chloride, Biotin, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Cucurbita Pepo Seed Oil, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Gaultheria Procumbens Leaf Oil, Mentha Piperita Oil, Mentha Viridis Leaf Oil, Quaternium-80, Lavandula Spica Herb Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Menthol
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Behentrimonium Methosulfate is an ammonium salt. It is mainly used to prevent static in haircare products as a surfactant.
Surfactants have differing ends: one side is hydrophilic while the other end is hydrophobic.
Surfactants also help your cleansers remove pollutants more easily from the skin.
Learn more about Behentrimonium MethosulfateCetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholThis ingredient is a preservative, antimicrobial, and emulsifier. It is often used in cosmetics for its ability to cleanse, condition, and reduce static.
Cetrimonium chloride is a quaternary ammonium salt, meaning it has a water-soluble structure.
Glycerin (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 ChlorideThis ingredient is a plant-derived protein made by breaking down wheat proteins into smaller amino acids and peptides. It has skin and hair conditioning properties.
People with known wheat allergy or a history of immediate reactions should be cautious with leave-on products containing hydrolyzed wheat proteins.
This essential oil is steam-distilled from peppermint leaves, also known as peppermint oil. It's mainly used for scent in skincare but also provides that signature "cooling" sensation.
Peppermint oil is a "feels amazing" ingredient until it doesn't.
At higher doses or for those with sensitive skin, methol-type cooling can quickly turn into burning/irritation. It can also trigger irritant dermatitis or even allergic contact dermatitis. In a large patch-test dataset, peppermint oil had a low but positive rate for this.
In cosmetics, Cosmetic Safety Reviews (CIR) concludes that peppermint oil is safe to use when formulated to be non-sensitizing with some restrictions; for instance, pulegone, a naturally occurring component of peppermint oil, should not exceed 1%.
Since peppermint oil contains fragrance allergens such as limonene, linalool, and menthol, it can be sensitizing for those with rosacea, eczema, a broken skin barrier, or just sensitive skin in general.
In Japan, this ingredient is known as Hakka Yu.
Learn more about Mentha Piperita OilPhenoxyethanol 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.
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil is oil expressed from the leaves of the rosemary plant.
Rosemary Leaf Oil is a fragrance and helps give your product a scent. If you are sensitive to irritating fragrances, this one contains camphor. Camphor has been found to irritate skin.
This oil also contains antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. As an antioxidant, it may protect you skin against damage. This can help slow down the signs of aging.
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
