Updated on March 11, 2024
Overview
What they are
These products are both reef safe face cleansers. They have a total of 4 ingredients in common
Suited For
They're both likely to be good for dry skin, brightening skin and sensitive skin
Free From
They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, fragrances, oils, parabens, silicones or sulfates
We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that needs an update? Let us know.
Ingredient Info
Cetaphil Gentle Foaming Cleanser 12 ingredients
Pyunkang Yul ACNE Facial Cleanser 29 ingredients
At a glance
Click on any of the items below to learn more
Cetaphil Gentle Foaming Cleanser 12 ingredients
Pyunkang Yul ACNE Facial Cleanser 29 ingredients
Notable Ingredients
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Benefits
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Concerns
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Benefits
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This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
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Concerns
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Ingredients Side-by-side
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.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine. Dimethylaminopropylamine is a diamine, an amine with two amino groups.
Coco-Glucoside is a surfactant, or a cleansing ingredient. It is made from glucose and coconut oil.
Betaine is a common humectant (a substance that promotes retention of moisture). It's known to be gentle on the skin and can help balance hydration.
Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.
Panthenol is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin. It can be found naturally in our skin and hair.
Antioxidant Helps brighten skin
Tocopheryl Acetate is AKA Vitamin E. It is an antioxidant and protects your skin from free radicals. Free radicals damage the skin by breaking down collagen.
Sodium Benzoate is a preservative. It's used in both cosmetic and food products to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria. It is typically produced synthetically.
Polysorbate 20 is made by combining ethoxylation of sorbitan, ethylene oxide, and lauric acid. It is a mild cleansing agent, surfactant, and emulsifier.
Polyquaternium-10 is an ammonium salt of hydroxyethylcellulose. It is a white and granular powder used as a film-former and anti-static agent.
Phenoxyethanol 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.
4 Benefits 2 Concerns
Citric Acid is an AHA derived from citrus fruits (think oranges, lemons, and limes!).
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.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine. Dimethylaminopropylamine is a diamine, an amine with two amino groups.
Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.
Disodium EDTA plays a role in making products more stable by aiding other preservatives.
Peg-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate is used to improve texture and stability of a product. It is sugar based and helps thicken a product.
Dimethyl Sulfone is an organic compound that naturally contains sulfur. It is used as a solvent due to its stability. Solvents help mix and stabilize other ingredients.
Salix Alba Bark Extract comes from the white willow tree, which is native to Europe and Central Asia.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Centella Asiatica Extract (Centella) is derived from an herb native to Southeast Asia. It is famous for its anti-inflammatory and soothing properties.
Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract comes from the Japanese Knotweed plant native to Japan, Korea, and China.
Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract comes from the Baikal skullcap or Chinese skullcap plant. This plant is native to Northeast Asia and can be found in China, Mongolia, Korea, and Siberia.
5 Benefits
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract is derived from the leaves of the tea plant. Black tea, green tea, and oolong tea are all harvested from this plant.
Glycyrrhiza Uralensis Root Extract comes from Chinese licorice. This plant is native to Asia and used in Chinese traditional medicine. Chinese licorice root contains antioxidants and polysaccharides.
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract comes from the Chamomile flower.
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract comes from rosemary. Rosemary is native to the Mediterranean.
Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt.
Helps with Anti-Aging
Copper Tripeptide-1 is a peptide naturally found in body fluids. Peptides are building blocks for protein.
Allantoin plays a role in soothing and moisturizing the skin. Because of this, it is often added to products with strong active ingredients.
4 Benefits 2 Concerns
Citric Acid is an AHA derived from citrus fruits (think oranges, lemons, and limes!).
Potassium hydroxide is commonly known as caustic potash. It is used to fix the pH of a product or as a cleaning agent in soap. In cleansers, it is used for the saponification of oils.
Hydroxyacetophenone is antioxidant and helps with skin conditioning.
Ethylhexylglycerin (we can't pronounce this either) is commonly used as a preservative and skin softener. It is derived from glyceryl.
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Methyl Oleoyl Taurate, Peg-75, Acrylates Copolymer, Vp/Va Copolymer, Glycerin, Disodium EDTA, Disodium Cocoamphodipropionate, Peg-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Dimethyl Sulfone, Pyridoxine Hcl, Salix Alba Bark Extract, Forsythia Suspensa Fruit Extract, Butylene Glycol, Centella Asiatica Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycyrrhiza Uralensis Root Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Sodium Chloride, Copper Tripeptide-1, Allantoin, Citric Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Hydroxyacetophenone, Ethylhexylglycerin
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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. Stay hydrated!
Learn more about WaterCocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine. Dimethylaminopropylamine is a diamine, an amine with two amino groups.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine 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 BetaineGlycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.
A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.
As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.
Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.
Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.
In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.
This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.
Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.
Learn more about GlycerinCitric Acid is an AHA derived from citrus fruits (think oranges, lemons, and limes!).
As an AHA, Citric Acid removes the top layer of skin cells from the newer layer of skin underneath. This helps skin to remove dark spots and even out skin tone.
If you spot Citric Acid near the end of an ingredient list, it's likely there as a pH adjuster rather than an active ingredient.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Citric AcidIngredient Ratings
Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.
When to use
Cetaphil Gentle Foaming Cleanser 12 ingredients
Pyunkang Yul ACNE Facial Cleanser 29 ingredients
Reviews
Here's what our community thinks
Cetaphil Gentle Foaming Cleanser 12 ingredients
cgi
It’s okay
This cleanser isn’t too bad, it’s very gentle. But don’t leave it on for too long if you’re one of those people who like letting your...
It’s okay
This cleanser isn’t too bad, it’s very gentle. But don’t leave it on for too long if you’re one of those people who like letting your cleansers sit on your face to let it work, because it actually starts tingling and burning for some reason and leave your skin red and feeling irritated. I do love the foam that comes right out of the bottle, it’s very soft and light-weight and is very easy to wash off. It also helped reduce my acne by just a little bit. I switched from this cleanser to the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser (the big bottle made for your face & body) and I have a much better experience. It’s a simple cleanser and it’s very easy to use. There’s nothing really special about this cleanser, I think it’s an okay option for those who are just starting to get into skincare.
ZephyrRose_888
drying
this stuff makes me feel like my face has never touched moisturizer in years. dryer than the sahara desert. if it actually gets my skin...
drying
this stuff makes me feel like my face has never touched moisturizer in years. dryer than the sahara desert. if it actually gets my skin clean i have no idea, but if it does it is surely not worth the tightness and dryness
Pyunkang Yul ACNE Facial Cleanser 29 ingredients
Fabilush
TL;DR Great for fungal acne, gentle on oily skin, prevents most breakouts
I originally used this as a cleanser to help with my fungal acne and it...
TL;DR Great for fungal acne, gentle on oily skin, prevents most breakouts
I originally used this as a cleanser to help with my fungal acne and it did help a lot with it. I've heard some people say it's too drying but since I have oily skin, this was never an issue for me. It did great at preventing regular breakouts, but once I started having hormonal acne, it didn't do AS great. Still a great cleanser if you're looking for something gentle and simple.
I’ve tried so many different types of cleansers throughout the years but this is the one and only cleanser that worked so god damn well. It’s my holy grail I love this product I’ve used maybe around 8-9 tubes of this and my skin has never been better. It works really well with Isntree’s green tea fresh toner, Iunik’s centella calming gel and axis-y dark spot correcting glow serum.
