What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Benzoyl Peroxide 10%
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
Cleansing
Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingCeramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingNiacinamide
Smoothing
Glycolic Acid
Buffering
Trideceth-6
EmulsifyingTriethyl Citrate
Masking
Sodium Citrate
BufferingSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Lauroyl Lactylate
EmulsifyingCholesterol
Emollient
Propanediol
Solvent
Tetrasodium EDTA
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Diethylhexyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate
CleansingPhytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingAcrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingBenzoic Acid
Masking
PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate
Emulsifying
Benzoyl Peroxide 10%, Water, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Potassium Hydroxide, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Carbomer, Niacinamide, Glycolic Acid, Trideceth-6, Triethyl Citrate, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Cholesterol, Propanediol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Caprylyl Glycol, Diethylhexyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate, Phytosphingosine, Xanthan Gum, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Benzoic Acid, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Chloride
MaskingCoco-Betaine
Cleansing
PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate
Emulsifying
Hexylene Glycol
EmulsifyingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingPEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides
EmulsifyingZinc Gluconate
Skin Conditioning
Tetrasodium EDTA
Polyquaternium-47
Skin ConditioningMenthol
Masking
Capryloyl Salicylic Acid
Exfoliating
Citric Acid
Buffering
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 GlycerinSodium 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 HydroxideTetrasodium EDTA is the salt formed from neutralizing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid with sodium hydroxide. It is a chelating agent and used to prevent metal ions from binding to other ingredients. This helps keep the product and ingredients stable.
Tetrasodium EDTA comes as a white solid and is soluble in water.
Water. 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
