What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningDicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientHydroxyethyl Urea
Humectant
Cyclopentasiloxane
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingHomarine Hcl
Skin ConditioningSodium PCA
Humectant
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingErythritol
Humectant
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl Olivate
EmollientHydrogenated Olive Oil Unsaponifiables
Emollient
Dicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientSodium PCA
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Ribes Nigrum Seed Oil
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil Unsaponifiables
Emollient
Cardiospermum Halicacabum Flower/Leaf/Vine Extract
Skin ConditioningVetiveria Zizanoides Root Extract
Perfuming
Coconut Alkanes
Emollient
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate
Emollient
Octyldodecyl Myristate
EmollientCapparis Spinosa Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningPotassium Cetyl Phosphate
EmulsifyingInulin
Skin Conditioning
Alpha-Glucan Oligosaccharide
Cleansing
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Lactobacillus Ferment
Skin Conditioning
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientPhenylpropanol
Masking
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Phytate
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Water, Glycerin, Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl Olivate, Hydrogenated Olive Oil Unsaponifiables, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Sodium PCA, Glyceryl Stearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Octyldodecanol, Ribes Nigrum Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil Unsaponifiables, Cardiospermum Halicacabum Flower/Leaf/Vine Extract, Vetiveria Zizanoides Root Extract, Coconut Alkanes, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Octyldodecyl Myristate, Capparis Spinosa Fruit Extract, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Inulin, Alpha-Glucan Oligosaccharide, Tocopherol, Lactobacillus Ferment, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Maltodextrin, Caprylyl Glycol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Phenylpropanol, Carbomer, Sodium Phytate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Lactate
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 GlycolDicaprylyl Carbonate comes from carbonic acid and caprylyl alcohol, a fatty alcohol. It is an emollient and gives skin a velvet feel. The sources of Dicaprylyl Carbonate may be synthetic or from animals.
As an emollient, Dicaprylyl Carbonate creates a film on the skin. This film traps moisture in, keeping your skin soft and hydrated.
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 GlycerinGlyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.
Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.
This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.
Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.
Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.
Learn more about Glyceryl StearateHydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid is hyaluronic acid (HA) that is broken down into lower molecular weight fragments.
It's a humectant that pulls and holds water in the skin to help with hydration, plumpness, and reduce transepidermal water loss.
Because hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid is smaller in size, it can slip past your outermost layer of skin more easily than full-sized HA.
Most formulations will combine all sizes to get the best of both worlds.
Typical usage levels range from 0.01-1%. Any percentage higher than 2% might become goopy and tacky.
Learn more about Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic AcidSodium PCA is the sodium salt of pyroglutamic acid. It is naturally occurring in our skin's natural moisturizing factors where it works to maintain hydration.
The PCA stands for pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, a natural amino acid derivative.
This ingredient has skin conditioning, anti-inflammatory, and humectant properties. Humectants help hydrate your skin by drawing moisture from the air. This helps keep your skin moisturized.
Learn more about Sodium PCAWater. 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
