What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingPEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
Emulsifying
Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
CleansingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Portulaca Oleracea Extract
Skin Conditioning
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil
Antioxidant
Methylparaben
Preservative
Disodium EDTA
Rhus Semialata Gall Extract
Skin ConditioningSalix Alba Bark Extract
Astringent
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Phenoxyethanol, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Butylene Glycol, Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil, Methylparaben, Disodium EDTA, Rhus Semialata Gall Extract, Salix Alba Bark Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Benzoate
Water
Skin ConditioningHydrogenated Polyisobutene
EmollientSimmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
CleansingSodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate
CleansingOlea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Spirulina Maxima Extract
SmoothingCucumis Sativus Fruit Extract
Emollient
Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract
AstringentSea Water
HumectantButylene Glycol
Humectant
Disodium EDTA
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Sulfate
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Hexylene Glycol
EmulsifyingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
CI 42090
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Spirulina Maxima Extract, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Sea Water, Butylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Sulfate, Chlorphenesin, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum, CI 42090
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolCocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient 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 BetaineDisodium 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 EDTAThis ingredient is a cleansing agent, surfactant, and foam booster. It considered an alternative to traditional sulfates (Sulfosuccinate) and is allowed in "sulfate-free" products.
According to a manufacturer, this ingredient is mild and can be used in baby and bath options.
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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).
It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.
On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.
Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).
You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.
Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.
Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.
Learn more about PhenoxyethanolChances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideWater. 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
