What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate
CleansingCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Masking
Chamomilla Recutita Extract
Skin Conditioning
Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract
Emollient
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningAllantoin
Skin Conditioning
Water, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Xanthan Gum, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Extract, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Allantoin
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf
Abrasive
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Algae
Skin Conditioning
Camellia Sinensis Callus
Antimicrobial
Cera Alba
Emollient
Panax Ginseng Root Extract
Emollient
Zingiber Officinale Water
MaskingAloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Vitis Vinifera
MaskingSymphytum Officinale Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningChamomilla Recutita Meristem Cell Culture
Skin ConditioningSymphytum Officinale Callus Culture Lysate
Skin ConditioningCucumis Sativus Oil
Emollient
Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningSaccharum Officinarum Extract
MoisturisingAcer Saccharum Sap
HumectantCitrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Cera
EmollientCitrus Medica Limonum Peel
Skin ConditioningCitric Acid
Buffering
Water, Glycerin, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Niacinamide, Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf, Allantoin, Algae, Camellia Sinensis Callus, Cera Alba, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Zingiber Officinale Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Vitis Vinifera, Symphytum Officinale Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Meristem Cell Culture, Symphytum Officinale Callus Culture Lysate, Cucumis Sativus Oil, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Saccharum Officinarum Extract, Acer Saccharum Sap, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Cera, Citrus Medica Limonum Peel, Citric Acid
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Allantoin is a soothing ingredient known for its protective and moisturizing properties; it's basically a quiet workhorse ingredient you can find in a huge range of cosmetics.
Though it can be derived from the comfrey plant, allantoin is produced synthetically for cosmetic products to ensure purity.
Research shows it can encourage your skin cells to turn over and renew by stimulating keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation.
It also has mild keratolytic properties to help loosen and shed dead skin cells without being harsh.
Studies also suggest allantoin can help calm inflammation by dialing down some of the chemical signals your skin sends out when it is irritated.
This ingredient is typically used in the 0.1-0.5% range, and the FDA recognizes it as a skin protectant in OTC products up to 2%.
Overall, allantoin is a wonderful addition to most routines; it is stable across a wide pH range (~4-8), works well with other ingredients, and is considered non-sensitizing/non-irritating.
Fun fact: Allantoin is naturally occurring in comfrey root, beets, chamomile, and wheat sprouts. Our bodies even produce it as a byproduct of uric acid metabolism.
Learn more about AllantoinAloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract is a botanical extract pulled from the leaves of aloe vera and one of the most studied plant ingredients in cosmetics.
The inner leaf gel it comes from is mostly water (~99-99.5%) and the remaining fraction is made up of pretty good stuff: polysaccharides, vitamins, phenolics, and enzymes.
Its headline job is hydration.
The star polysaccharide in aloe, acemannan, is a humectant that retains moisture and helps reduce trans-epidermal water loss.
Aloe also has real soothing credentials; it contains anti-inflammatory compounds like bradykinase and C-glucosyl chromone that help calm irritation and redness.
On the repair side, lab work shows that acemannan wakes up your skin's repair cells (fibroblasts), prompting them to multiply and speed up healing.
There's some human data for cosmetic benefit too: a cream containing 10% Aloe Barbadensis leaf extract improved skin hydration and elasticity in a real-use study.
Safety-wise, this ingredient is well-regarded with just one rare downside; there have been some case reports of acute eczema, contact urticaria, and dermatitis in people who applied aloe-derived ingredients topically. Those with a known aloe or Liliaceae sensitivity should patch test.
Typical use levels range widely, from under 1% up to 90%+ depending on the format and the effect you are after.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf ExtractCocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineDecyl 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 GlucosideGlycerin (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 GlycerinWater. 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
