Explore Routine Login

Product Comparison

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser versus St. Ives Acne Control Face Scrub Apricot .

Published on February 13, 2022

Overview

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for dry skin and brightening skin

Free From

They both do not contain any oils, silicones or sulfates

What's Inside

They both contain fragrances

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that need an update? Let us know.

Face Cleanser American Brand United States
Exfoliator British Brand United Kingdom

Face Cleanser

Face cleansers are used to remove makeup, dead skin cells, pollutants, oil, dirt, and/or clean out pores on the skin. Face cleansers may specialize in having one function (exa. just removing makeup) or may have multiple functions (exa. Removing makeup and cleaning pores).

Exfoliator

Exfoliators are used to exfoliate the skin, or remove dead skin cells from the skin. Exfoliators may be chemical or physical.

Price

Shop

Buy Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser

Starts at $4.49
Shop

Buy Acne Control Face Scrub Apricot

Starts at $4.97

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and view relevant ingredients.
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Benefits

Hydrating
Brightening

Concerns

Drying
May Worsen Oily Skin
Acne Trigger (2)
Rosacea
Eczema (3)

Notable Ingredients

BHA
Exfoliators (2)

Benefits

Hydrating
Good For Oily Skin
Reduces Large Pores
Scar Healing
Acne Fighting
Brightening (2)

Concerns

Drying (2)
May Worsen Oily Skin (4)
Acne Trigger (2)
Irritating (2)
Rosacea (3)
Eczema (6)
Join our community

Build your routine, track which ingredients work for you, and much more with your free account.

Join SkinSort

Ingredients Side-by-side

Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.

Learn more about what what Com. / Irr. ratings are

Loading ingredients...

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

1
What it does: Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

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. Talk about multi-purpose! If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water

Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 1.

St. Ives Acne Control Face Scrub Apricot contains this as ingredient number 2.

2
What it does: Buffering, Emulsifying, Masking
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Triethanolamine is an emulsifier and pH adjuster. It is created using ethylene oxide and ammonia. This gives Triethanolamine a nitrogen core and a similar scent to ammonia.

As an emulsifier, it prevents ingredients from separating and enhances texture by adding volume to a product.

PH adjusters are common in cosmetic products. The pH of a product can affect the effectiveness of other ingredients. A product with a high pH may also irritate the skin.

Learn more about Triethanolamine

Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 2.

St. Ives Acne Control Face Scrub Apricot contains this as ingredient number 9.

3
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Glycerin 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 Glycerin

Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 6.

St. Ives Acne Control Face Scrub Apricot contains this as ingredient number 5.

4
What it does: Cleansing
Community Rating: Disliked

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.

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 Betaine

Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 8.

St. Ives Acne Control Face Scrub Apricot contains this as ingredient number 11.

5
What it does: Masking, Perfuming
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Parfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give aroma to products. Parfum, or fragrance, can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "Parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.

In the US, the alternative name for parfum is 'fragrance'. The term 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.

For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance. One example is Calendula flower extract. Essential oil ingredients still impart a scent or 'fragrance'.

Depending on the blend, it can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.

Products use parfum often to give products a scent or cover up smells of different ingredients.

The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.

Learn more about Parfum

Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 10.

St. Ives Acne Control Face Scrub Apricot contains this as ingredient number 20.

Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.

19% are loved or liked
0% have mixed ratings
56% are disliked or very disliked
25% have no rating yet
12% are loved or liked
0% have mixed ratings
68% are disliked or very disliked
20% have no rating yet

Usage

Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.

When to use

Loading routine usage...
Loading routine usage...

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser 16 ingredients

1.0 /5
from 1 rating
ShiBLue's avatar

ShiBLue

1 year ago · Combination Skin
Review

Not for me!
2019 this is my first cleanser that I bought because it was cheap but after 1 months of using it, I have a lot of acne on my skin and...

Not for me!
2019 this is my first cleanser that I bought because it was cheap but after 1 months of using it, I have a lot of acne on my skin and this product didn't help, it only got worse. Many types of acne appear on my face, you name it my worst nightmare is an Acne Cyst, it really hurts to wash my face with this product.
👎 0/10

St. Ives Acne Control Face Scrub Apricot 25 ingredients

1.7 /5
from 3 ratings
Drying (1) Irritating (1)
SiriMiri's avatar

SiriMiri

5 months ago · Combination Skin
Review

Used this in my tweenage age and I thought it was a cleanser instead of a scrub but even so, my nose area was never the same after using this...

Used this in my tweenage age and I thought it was a cleanser instead of a scrub but even so, my nose area was never the same after using this because it's always red and the skin never healed back now

Alternatives

Our Dupe Finder has found 50 potential alternatives that have similar ingredients to Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser.

See 50 alternatives

Our Dupe Finder has found 20 potential alternatives that have similar ingredients to St. Ives Acne Control Face Scrub Apricot.

See 20 alternatives
Loading similar comparisons...