What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate
Emollient
Squalane
Emollient
Palmitoyl Grapevine Shoot Extract
Antioxidant
Polyglyceryl-3 Distearate
Emulsifying
Bisabolol
Antioxidant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Microcrystalline Cellulose
AbsorbentPolyacrylate Crosspolymer-6
Emulsion StabilisingPotassium Sorbate
Preservative
Glyceryl Stearate Citrate
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Phytate
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingParfum
Masking
Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Squalane, Palmitoyl Grapevine Shoot Extract, Polyglyceryl-3 Distearate, Bisabolol, Glyceryl Stearate, Xanthan Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Potassium Sorbate, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Citric Acid, Sodium Phytate, Sodium Hydroxide, Parfum
Water
Skin ConditioningEthylhexyl Olivate
Skin Conditioning
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6
Emulsion StabilisingGlyceryl Stearate Citrate
Emollient
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Hexylresorcinol
Antimicrobial
Ceratonia Siliqua Fruit Extract
MaskingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Propanediol
Solvent
Squalane
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Linoleic Acid
Cleansing
Phospholipids
Skin Conditioning
Phytosterols
Skin Conditioning
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Sorbitan Isostearate
Emulsifying
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCaffeyl Glucoside
Antioxidant
Disodium Acetyl Glucosamine Phosphate
Skin ConditioningWater, Ethylhexyl Olivate, Pentylene Glycol, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Salicylic Acid, Hexylresorcinol, Ceratonia Siliqua Fruit Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Propanediol, Squalane, Glycerin, Linoleic Acid, Phospholipids, Phytosterols, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Isostearate, Sodium Hydroxide, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caffeyl Glucoside, Disodium Acetyl Glucosamine Phosphate
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.
Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.
Because it is not a free-fatty acid or alcohol, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl GlycolGlycerin (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 Stearate Citrate is a citric acid ester of glyceryl stearate.
It is an emulsifier, emollient, and a surfactant.
Emulsifiers help stabilize a product. It does this by preventing certain ingredients from separating. Common ingredients include oils and water, which do not mix naturally. Emulsifiers have properties that help keep ingredients such as these together.
Emollients help soothe and soften the skin. They do this by creating a protective film on your skin. This barrier helps trap moisture and keeps your skin hydrated. Emollients may be effective at treating dry or itchy skin.
Surfactants help gather oils, dirt, and other pollutants from the skin. This helps them to be easily rinsed away.
Learn more about Glyceryl Stearate CitratePolyacrylate Crosspolymer-6 is a texture enhancer and pH adjuster.
It is be used to thicken water-based products and create a gel-texture with a velvet feel.
One manufacturer claims this ingredient to have a pH range of 2-8 and to be biodegradable.
This ingredient is also known as Sepimax Zen.
Learn more about Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.
Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.
"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.
Learn more about Sodium HydroxideSqualane is the hydrogenated and shelf-stable form of squalene (a lipid that naturally occurs in human sebum).
It is an emollient and skin conditioning agent that is able to integrate seamlessly into the skin's lipid barrier without clogging pores.
This is due to how structurally similar it is to what your skin already produces.
Though it is mostly an emollient that helps soften and hydrate skin, it also has some humectant and occlusive action. Humectants help the skin retain moisture while occlusives seal it in, making squalane a triple-threat moisturizer.
Research shows it has antioxidant capabilities that help protect against stressors like UV exposure, specifically UVA induced oxidative stress. This study also found that it supports collagen biosynthesis in human dermal fibroblasts.
No clinical study has reported significant adverse effects and irritation reactions are very rare from this ingredient (even at 100% concentration).
Overall, it's a fantastic ingredient for hydration and is suitable for all skin types.
This depends on the source. Squalane can be derived from both plants and animals. Most squalane used in skincare comes from plants.
Please note: the source of squalane is only known if disclosed by the brand. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have any questions about their squalane.
Read more about squalene with an "e".
Though squalane is often called an oil, itâs technically not one. It is a hydrocarbon, meaning it is only made of carbon and hydrogen. True oils are triglycerides and made of fatty acids and glycerol.
The term âoil-freeâ isnât regulated so companies can define it however they want. Some exclude all oils, while others just avoid mineral oil or comedogenic oils.
Squalane has a comedogenic rating of 1 from the original 1972 study that tested raw ingredients under occlusion on rabbit ears. This system is not standardized or peer-reviewed, and using the raw ingredients is very different from how diluted cosmetic formulations are used on human skin.
A comedogenic rating of 1 means it is "unlikely to clog pores" according to the original rating system.
The overall formula of a product matters more than the individual ingredients on whether or not it will cause clogged pores.
Learn more about SqualaneWater. 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
