What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingUrea
Buffering
Schizophyllan
HumectantAllantoin
Skin Conditioning
Salix Alba Bark Extract
Astringent
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Lauryl Glucoside
CleansingCucumis Sativus Fruit Extract
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Phytate
Sodium Cocoyl Apple Amino Acids
Skin Conditioning
Epilobium Angustifolium Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract
Skin ConditioningArnica Montana Flower Extract
Masking
Brassica Oleracea Italica Seed Oil
Emollient
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Hexylene Glycol
EmulsifyingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningSodium Hydroxide
BufferingParfum
Masking
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Allantoin, Sodium Phytate, Sodium Cocoyl Apple Amino Acids, Epilobium Angustifolium Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Arnica Montana Flower Extract, Brassica Oleracea Italica Seed Oil, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Parfum
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Allantoin is a soothing ingredient known for its protective and moisturizing properties; it's basically a quiet workhorse ingredient you can find in a huge range of cosmetics.
Though it can be derived from the comfrey plant, allantoin is produced synthetically for cosmetic products to ensure purity.
Research shows it can encourage your skin cells to turn over and renew by stimulating keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation.
It also has mild keratolytic properties to help loosen and shed dead skin cells without being harsh.
Studies also suggest allantoin can help calm inflammation by dialing down some of the chemical signals your skin sends out when it is irritated.
This ingredient is typically used in the 0.1-0.5% range, and the FDA recognizes it as a skin protectant in OTC products up to 2%.
Overall, allantoin is a wonderful addition to most routines; it is stable across a wide pH range (~4-8), works well with other ingredients, and is considered non-sensitizing/non-irritating.
Fun fact: Allantoin is naturally occurring in comfrey root, beets, chamomile, and wheat sprouts. Our bodies even produce it as a byproduct of uric acid metabolism.
Learn more about AllantoinCocamidopropyl 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 BetaineDecyl Glucoside is a plant-derived surfactant and emulsion stabilizer. It is created by reacting glucose with the fatty acids from plants.
Like all surfactants, it works by lowering the surface tension between water and oil. This makes it so that dirt, sebum, and makeup can be lifted off your skin and rinsed away. It also produces a dense and creamy foam.
Because it has a neutral charge, it is compatible with a wide range of ingredients and stays stable across a broad pH range/water hardiness conditions.
Patch testing has shown it to have the lowest irritation potential among common cleansing surfactants (like SLS).
Typical use levels range from 5-20% in rinse-off cleansers.
One thing worth knowing: The American Contact Dermatitis Society named the parent family, alkyl glucosides, "Allergen of the Year" in 2017. The prevalence of allergy is pretty low but be sure to patch test if you've reacted to "gentle" or sulfate-free cleansers before.
This ingredient is fungal acne safe because the fatty alcohol portion of this ingredient is not within the C11-24 chain length that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Decyl GlucosideEthylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:
The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.
Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.
Learn more about EthylhexylglycerinGlycerin (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 a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
