What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Maltitol
HumectantPropylene Glycol
Humectant
PEG-150
HumectantSodium Cocoyl Glutamate
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroyl Aspartate
CleansingLauryl Hydroxysultaine
CleansingPolysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningDisodium EDTA
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Humectant
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Methylparaben
Preservative
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Laureth-6 Carboxylic Acid
CleansingMyristic Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingAlcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Zinc Gluconate
Skin Conditioning
Zinc Chloride
AntimicrobialSalicylic Acid
Masking
Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate
Antioxidant
Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Humectant
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Sodium Chloride
MaskingO-Cymen-5-Ol
Antimicrobial
Disodium EDTA
Ethylparaben
Preservative
Methylparaben
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Water, Glycerin, Laureth-6 Carboxylic Acid, Myristic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Alcohol Denat., Lauric Acid, Niacinamide, Zinc Gluconate, Zinc Chloride, Salicylic Acid, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Butylene Glycol, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Palmitic Acid, Polysorbate 60, Octyldodecanol, Sodium Chloride, O-Cymen-5-Ol, Disodium EDTA, Ethylparaben, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate comes from licorice root.
Extracts of licorice have demonstrated to have antibacterial, anti‐inflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant properties.
One component, glabridin, has extra potent antioxidant and soothing properties. It has also been found to block pigmentation from UVB rays in guinea pigs.
Licorice Root also contains a flavonoid. Flavonoids are a natural substance from in plants. Flavonoids also have antioxidant properties.
Another component, glycyrrhizin, has been found to have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial benefits. This may make licorice root extract effective at treating acne. However, more research is needed to support this.
Liquiritin is one of the flavone compounds found in licorice. It has been found to help lighten skin by preventing tyrosinase from reacting with tyrosine. When the two react, protein is converted to melanin. Melanin is the substance in your body that gives your features pigmentation.
Licorice root is native to Southern Europe and Asia. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to help with respiratory issues.
Learn more about Dipotassium GlycyrrhizateDisodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlycerin (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 GlycerinMethylparaben is a synthetic preservative and one of the most widely used in the world. It has a simple, but important job: prevent your products from going bad by stopping bacteria, yeast, and mold from growing.
Typical use levels are low, often 0.1-0.3%.
This is also one of the most heavily studied preservatives out there and major regulatory bodies have repeatedly given it the green light.
In 2023, the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) confirmed that this ingredient is safe up to 0.4% on its own, of up to 0.8% when mixed with other paraben esters.
Here's the science behind the noise behind parabens/hormones as well:
Methylparaben shows very weak estrogen-like activity in vitro tests (more than 1,000x weaker than your body's own estradiol). In vivo (live-organism) studies don't support a meaningful endocrine-disrupting effect either.
You get a stronger estrogenic effect from eating tofu, actually.
It's also a low sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon; they usually happen on damage or broken skin.
There is a caveat: France has proposed to formally re-examine its endocrine classification in 2025 so the regulatory conversation isn't fully closed as of yet.
But as it stands today, this ingredient is considered safe at permitted levels.
Learn more about MethylparabenPhenoxyethanol 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.
Polysorbate 60 is used to help stabilize products. It is a surfactant and emulsifier. These properties help keep ingredients together in a product. Surfactants help reduce surface tension between ingredients with different states, such as liquids and solids. Emulsifiers help prevent oils and waters from separating.
Polysorbate 60 is sorbitol-based and created from the ethoxylation of sorbitan. Ethoxylation is a chemical reaction used to add ethylene oxide. Sorbitan is a the dehydrated version of sorbitol, a sugar found in fruits.
In this case, the 60 comes from reacting 60 units of ethylene oxide with sorbitan.
Polysorbates are commonly used in medicine and foods.
Learn more about Polysorbate 60Potassium hydroxide is commonly known as caustic potash. It is used to fix the pH of a product or as a cleaning agent in soap. In cleansers, it is used for the saponification of oils.
Sapnification is the process of creating fatty acid metal salts from triglycerides and a strong base. During this process, Potassium Hydroxide is used up and is not present in the final product.
Using high concentrations of Potassium Hydroxide have shown to irritate the skin.
Learn more about Potassium HydroxideWater. 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
