What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Sucrose
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Rosa Damascena Flower Water
Masking
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Phenethyl Alcohol
MaskingAllantoin
Skin Conditioning
Disodium EDTA
Citrus Paradisi Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningSodium Hydroxide
BufferingBenzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Citric Acid
Buffering
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Lapsana Communis Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract
Skin ConditioningCitronellol
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Water, Propylene Glycol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sucrose, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Phenoxyethanol, Phenethyl Alcohol, Allantoin, Disodium EDTA, Citrus Paradisi Fruit Extract, Sodium Hydroxide, Benzyl Alcohol, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Lapsana Communis Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Citronellol, Geraniol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Dehydroacetic Acid
Water
Skin ConditioningMethylpropanediol
SolventGlycerin
Humectant
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Pvp
Emulsion StabilisingChlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
PPG-26-Buteth-26
Skin ConditioningHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Emulsifying
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea Fruit Extract
Antioxidant
Sodium Citrate
BufferingParfum
Masking
Tromethamine
BufferingCitric Acid
Buffering
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingGluconolactone
Skin Conditioning
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate
Antioxidant
Calcium Gluconate
HumectantTocopherol
Antioxidant
Water, Methylpropanediol, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Pvp, Chlorphenesin, PPG-26-Buteth-26, Hydroxyacetophenone, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea Fruit Extract, Sodium Citrate, Parfum, Tromethamine, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Gluconolactone, Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Calcium Gluconate, Tocopherol
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.
Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.
It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceCitric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.
Like other AHAs, citric acid can exfoliate skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.
However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.
Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.
In skincare formulas, citric acid can:
While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.
Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Citric AcidGlycerin (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 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.
Both the US FDA and EU Health Committee have approved the use of sodium benzoate. In the US, levels of 0.1% (of the total product) are allowed.
Sodium benzoate works as a preservative by inhibiting the growth of bacteria inside of cells. It prevents the cell from fermenting a type of sugar using an enzyme called phosphofructokinase.
It is the salt of benzoic acid. Foods containing sodium benzoate include soda, salad dressings, condiments, fruit juices, wines, and snack foods.
Studies for using ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate in cosmetics are lacking, especially in skincare routines with multiple steps.
We always recommend speaking with a professional, such as a dermatologist, if you have any concerns.
Learn more about Sodium BenzoateWater. 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
