What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl Olivate
EmollientHydrogenated Olive Oil Unsaponifiables
Emollient
Dicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientSodium PCA
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Ribes Nigrum Seed Oil
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil Unsaponifiables
Emollient
Cardiospermum Halicacabum Flower/Leaf/Vine Extract
Skin ConditioningVetiveria Zizanoides Root Extract
Perfuming
Coconut Alkanes
Emollient
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate
Emollient
Octyldodecyl Myristate
EmollientCapparis Spinosa Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningPotassium Cetyl Phosphate
EmulsifyingInulin
Skin Conditioning
Alpha-Glucan Oligosaccharide
Cleansing
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Lactobacillus Ferment
Skin Conditioning
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientPhenylpropanol
Masking
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Phytate
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Water, Glycerin, Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl Olivate, Hydrogenated Olive Oil Unsaponifiables, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Sodium PCA, Glyceryl Stearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Octyldodecanol, Ribes Nigrum Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil Unsaponifiables, Cardiospermum Halicacabum Flower/Leaf/Vine Extract, Vetiveria Zizanoides Root Extract, Coconut Alkanes, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Octyldodecyl Myristate, Capparis Spinosa Fruit Extract, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Inulin, Alpha-Glucan Oligosaccharide, Tocopherol, Lactobacillus Ferment, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Maltodextrin, Caprylyl Glycol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Phenylpropanol, Carbomer, Sodium Phytate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Lactate
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate Citrate
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientGlycerin
Humectant
Populus Tremuloides Bark Extract
AntiseborrhoeicCaprylhydroxamic Acid
Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Galactoarabinan
Cetyl Palmitate
Emollient
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Ribes Nigrum Seed Oil
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil Unsaponifiables
Emollient
Cardiospermum Halicacabum Flower/Leaf/Vine Extract
Skin ConditioningTocopherol
Antioxidant
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialHippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Santalum Spicatum Wood Oil
Perfuming
Rosa Damascena Flower Oil
Masking
Citrus Aurantium Amara Flower Oil
Masking
Cymbopogon Martini Oil
Masking
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Masking
Sodium Phytate
Sodium Anisate
AntimicrobialSclerotium Gum
Emulsion StabilisingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCitric Acid
Buffering
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Glycerin, Populus Tremuloides Bark Extract, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, Galactoarabinan, Cetyl Palmitate, Octyldodecanol, Ribes Nigrum Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil Unsaponifiables, Cardiospermum Halicacabum Flower/Leaf/Vine Extract, Tocopherol, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Santalum Spicatum Wood Oil, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Citrus Aurantium Amara Flower Oil, Cymbopogon Martini Oil, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Sodium Phytate, Sodium Anisate, Sclerotium Gum, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cardiospermum halicacabum extract is more commonly known as Balloon Vine Extract.
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 GlycerinGlyceryl Caprylate comes from glycerin and caprylic acid. It is an emollient, co-emulsifier, and preservative booster.
Its short C8 fatty acid chain makes it behave differently from its longer-chain emollient cousins like Glyceryl Stearate. It feels more lightweight, fast-absorbing, and silky instead of rich and waxy.
As a co-emulsifier, its "head" and "tail" sit at the oil-water interface. But overall, the short C8 tail and not being water soluble means it doesn't really have the muscle to emulsify a formula on its own. That's why you'll often see it paired with a primary emulsifier like Cetearyl Glucoside.
Interestingly, Glyceryl Caprylate acts as a preservative booster. This is because its fatty-acid backbone disrupts microbial lipid membranes. It shows excellent activity against bacteria and yeast but is weaker against mold.
Typical concentrations range from 0.5-1% and this ingredient is generally non-irritating.
Because this ingredient has a C8 fatty acid chain, it is outside the range that the Malassezia yeast metabolizes (making it fungal acne safe).
Learn more about Glyceryl CaprylateThis ingredient is the small fraction of sunflower seed oil (~1.5-2% of the whole oil) that cannot be turned into soap.
This concentrated fraction is rich in skin-nourishing compounds like free fatty acids, tocopherols, and phytosterols. Linoleic acid makes up about 48-74% of its composition.
Unsaponifiables have high antioxidant potential due to the tocopherols, carotenoids, and phenolic acids that help protect skin from free radical damage. On the other hand, linoleic acid supports the skin's barrier by replenishing ceramides and reducing transepidermal water loss.
A manufacturer-sponsored clinical study found that a cream with 2% of this ingredient increased skin moisturization by 48.6% after 1 hour and 34.2% after 24 hours.
Using this cream twice-daily for 4 weeks showed meaningful improvement in dryness, roughness, and desquamation (the shedding of dead skin cells).
Keep in mind this is a small, industry-funded study so it'd be great to see independent replication. However, the mechanism is consistent with well-establish linoleic and phytosterol research.
While this ingredient is generally considered safe, those with an Asteraceae/Compositae plant allergy should patch test this ingredient.
Fungal acne: this ingredient is not considered safe for fungal acne because the Malassezia yeast preferentially metabolizes in the C11-24 range. Linoleic acid falls into this range at C18.
Learn more about Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil UnsaponifiablesOctyldodecanol is a fatty alcohol sourced from plant oils like coconut or palm (or made synthetically).
It is:
You'll likely see this in many BHA products because this is the go-to solvent for salicylic acid.
This ingredient is typically used at levels between 2-20%.
Regarding fungal acne:
In 2019, this ingredient was tested against multiple Malassezia species (the yeast that causes fungal acne) and showed no growth.
Ribes Nigrum Seed Oil is oil from the seeds of Black Currant. A more common name for this ingredient is Black Currant Seed Oil.
Black Currant Seed Oil contains a high amount of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. It also contains linoleic acid.
Black currant berries contain anthocyanins, an antioxidant. Antioxidants help fight free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.
Black currant berries also contain Vitamin E and fatty acids. It can help soften the skin.
Learn more about Ribes Nigrum Seed OilSodium Phytate is the synthetic salt form of phytic acid. Phytic acid is an antioxidant and can be found in plant seeds.
Sodium Phytate is a chelating agent. Chelating agents help prevent metals from binding to water. This helps stabilize the ingredients and the product.
Tocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
Learn more about Tocopherol
