What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Petrolatum
Emollient
Dicaprylyl Ether
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
PEG-30 Stearate
Emulsifying
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingBenzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
BHT
Antioxidant
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingDimethiconol
Emollient
Disodium EDTA
Methylparaben
Preservative
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Propylparaben
Preservative
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingTocopherol
Antioxidant
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Water, Glycerin, Petrolatum, Dicaprylyl Ether, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, PEG-30 Stearate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Benzyl Alcohol, BHT, Carbomer, Dimethiconol, Disodium EDTA, Methylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Propylene Glycol, Propylparaben, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate
Water
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
Humectant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Dipropylene Glycol
HumectantPanthenol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Tremella Fuciformis Sporocarp Extract
Antioxidant
Sodium PEG-7 Olive Oil Carboxylate
Emulsifying
Hydrolyzed Elastin
EmollientGlycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer
HumectantGlycereth-25 PCA Isostearate
Emulsifying
Disodium EDTA
Pvm/Ma Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Citrate
BufferingBenzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Methylparaben
Preservative
Ethylparaben
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Water, Butylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Pentylene Glycol, Dipropylene Glycol, Panthenol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Tremella Fuciformis Sporocarp Extract, Sodium PEG-7 Olive Oil Carboxylate, Hydrolyzed Elastin, Glycerin, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Glycereth-25 PCA Isostearate, Disodium EDTA, Pvm/Ma Copolymer, Sodium Citrate, Benzyl Alcohol, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Parfum
Alternatives
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Benzyl Alcohol is an aromatic alcohol with several roles: it's a preservative, solvent, and mild fragrance component with a floral scent.
This ingredient has been deemed safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 5%, and up to 10% in hair dyes. You'll typically see 0.5-2% in most rinse-off or leave-on products.
As a preservative, it works by disrupting the membrane of microbial proteins. This helps keep bacteria and fungi from growing in your products.
The sensitization picture is actually quite assuring as well:of nearly 71,000 patients patch tested with benzyl alcohol, only 0.21% showed a positive reaction with most of them being weakly positive.
This led researchers to conclude that benzyl alcohol cannot be regarded as a significant contact allergen.
It is worth noting this ingredient is classified as one of the EU's regulated fragrance allergens and restricted to 1% in finished products.
Labels must also declare it in concentrations above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.
At concentrations around 5%, localized redness and itching can appear as a direct irritant response and not as a true allergic reaction.
Learn more about Benzyl AlcoholDisodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlycerin (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 GlycerinMethylparaben is a synthetic preservative and one of the most widely used in the world. It has a simple, but important job: prevent your products from going bad by stopping bacteria, yeast, and mold from growing.
Typical use levels are low, often 0.1-0.3%.
This is also one of the most heavily studied preservatives out there and major regulatory bodies have repeatedly given it the green light.
In 2023, the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) confirmed that this ingredient is safe up to 0.4% on its own, of up to 0.8% when mixed with other paraben esters.
Here's the science behind the noise behind parabens/hormones as well:
Methylparaben shows very weak estrogen-like activity in vitro tests (more than 1,000x weaker than your body's own estradiol). In vivo (live-organism) studies don't support a meaningful endocrine-disrupting effect either.
You get a stronger estrogenic effect from eating tofu, actually.
It's also a low sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon; they usually happen on damage or broken skin.
There is a caveat: France has proposed to formally re-examine its endocrine classification in 2025 so the regulatory conversation isn't fully closed as of yet.
But as it stands today, this ingredient is considered safe at permitted levels.
Learn more about MethylparabenWater. 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
