What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Sodium Chloride
MaskingGlycerin
Humectant
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Lauroyl Glutamate
SurfactantPropanediol
Solvent
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate
Surfactant
Diglycerin
Humectant
Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingEucalyptus Globulus Leaf Extract
Perfuming
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Citric Acid
Buffering
Polyquaternium-22
Polyacrylamide
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingC13-14 Isoparaffin
Emollient
Disodium EDTA
Charcoal Powder
Abrasive
Laureth-7
EmulsifyingAllantoin
Skin Conditioning
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Lactobionic Acid
Buffering
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Parfum
Masking
Potassium Benzoate
Preservative
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Limonene
Perfuming
Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Water, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Propanediol, Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Diglycerin, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Extract, Lauric Acid, Salicylic Acid, Citric Acid, Polyquaternium-22, Polyacrylamide, Xanthan Gum, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Disodium EDTA, Charcoal Powder, Laureth-7, Allantoin, Butylene Glycol, Lactobionic Acid, 1,2-Hexanediol, Parfum, Potassium Benzoate, Hydroxyacetophenone, Limonene
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Perlite
Absorbent
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate
SurfactantCetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Parfum
Masking
Gaultheria Procumbens Leaf Extract
Perfuming
Crambe Abyssinica Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Cellulose Acetate
Disodium EDTA
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Potassium Benzoate
Preservative
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Benzyl Salicylate
Perfuming
Water, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Perlite, Glycerin, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Parfum, Gaultheria Procumbens Leaf Extract, Crambe Abyssinica Seed Oil, Palmitic Acid, Cellulose Acetate, Disodium EDTA, Myristic Acid, Stearic Acid, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Potassium Benzoate, Hydroxyacetophenone, Benzyl Salicylate
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Disodium 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 GlycerinHydroxyacetophenone is a small phenolic molecule that earns its place in a formulas as an antioxidant and preservative booster.
As a phenol, it is able to neutralize free radicals to protect both the product and the skin from oxidative stress.
Though it can't kill microbes on its own, it works as a good supporting agent when combined with other preservatives like Phenoxyethanol or 1,2-Hexanediol.
This ingredient naturally occurs as piceol in Norwegian spruce needles (~0.4-1.1% dry weight and in cloudberries). Though the cosmetic-grade material is synthesized for purity and consistency.
You'll usually see it used at low levels and suppliers recommend up to 1% added to a water phase.
Safety testing was done at concentrations like 0.05% in SPF products and 0.5% in a Human Repeated Insult Patch Test. The safety evidence is assuring; this ingredient is safe for cosmetics in current use and also holds safety status as a food flavoring as well.
An honest caveat: the "soothing" and "anti-inflammatory" claims come mostly from supplier marketing rather than published clinical trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review's own literature search found no useful efficacy studies on this ingredient.
So the antioxidant and preservative-boosting roles are the well supported ones while the calming benefit is plausible but thinly evidenced.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-irritation multitasker that quietly helps a formula stay fresh and stable.
Learn more about HydroxyacetophenoneHydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate is a modified starch used to help thicken a product.
It is also used in foods.
Parfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.
Also called "fragrance", this ingredient 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.
For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.
The term 'parfum' or '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 by INCI standards.
One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.
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 ParfumThis ingredient is a preservative and inhibits the growth of fungi, certain bacteria, yeast, and mold.
It is the potassium salt of benzoic acid.
Potassium benzoate works best in products with a low pH level (below 4.5).
Learn more about Potassium BenzoateChances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideSodium Lauroyl Glutamate is an amino-acid based mild surfactant that is used in formulas as a primary or secondary cleansing agent. This means it helps lift away oil, dirt, and makeup.
You'll see this ingredient in facial cleansers, shampoos, and even toothpaste because it foams reasonably well while being much gentler than harsher surfactants like SLS.
A study comparing surfactant mixtures found that Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate caused visibly less disruption to skin lipid structure and less irritation than SLS when tested on human subjects; this correlated with the data from in vivo results as well.
The Tenside, Surfactants, Detergents cosmetics industry journal has also concluded that amino acid based surfactants are generally milder than their corresponding alkyl sulfate counterparts. They also stated glutamates in particular are considered one of the gentler options in the category.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel has reviewed dermal irritation and sensitization data for this ingredient at the highest reported use concentration and concluded it to be safe in present practices.
Typical use concentrations tend to run low (generally less than 10%) though the CIR's review noted the highest reported use concentration was 40% as a raw material blend (and not a diluted finished cosmetic product).
Learn more about Sodium Lauroyl GlutamateWater. 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
