What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycolic Acid
Buffering
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Propanediol
Solvent
Glycerin
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Malic Acid
Buffering
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Phragmites Communis Extract
Skin ConditioningCentella Asiatica Extract
Cleansing
Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract
Skin ConditioningPoria Cocos Extract
Skin ConditioningSodium Lactate
Buffering
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingNiacinamide
Smoothing
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Glycine
Buffering
Fructose
Humectant
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Water, Glycolic Acid, Lactic Acid, Propanediol, Glycerin, Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Phragmites Communis Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract, Poria Cocos Extract, Sodium Lactate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Niacinamide, Sodium PCA, Glycine, Fructose, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzoic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 GlycerinWater. 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
