What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Glycerin
HumectantTriticum Vulgare Germ Extract 24.2%
Skin ConditioningMyristic Acid
CleansingWater
Skin ConditioningPotassium Hydroxide
BufferingStearic Acid
CleansingGlyceryl Stearate
EmollientCocamidopropyl Betaine
CleansingGlycol Distearate
EmollientPalmitic Acid
EmollientSorbitan Olivate
EmulsifyingSalicylic Acid
MaskingSodium Chloride
MaskingLauric Acid
CleansingArachidic Acid
Cleansing1,2-Hexanediol
Skin ConditioningOleic Acid
EmollientDisodium EDTA
Chlorphenesin
AntimicrobialEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningParfum
MaskingGlycerin, Triticum Vulgare Germ Extract 24.2%, Myristic Acid, Water, Potassium Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycol Distearate, Palmitic Acid, Sorbitan Olivate, Salicylic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Lauric Acid, Arachidic Acid, 1,2-Hexanediol, Oleic Acid, Disodium EDTA, Chlorphenesin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Parfum
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laureth Sulfate
CleansingDecyl Glucoside
CleansingCocamidopropyl Betaine
CleansingGlycerin
HumectantPEG-55 Propylene Glycol Oleate
SurfactantPropylene Glycol
HumectantSodium Chloride
MaskingPanthenol
Skin ConditioningPEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
EmulsifyingPhenoxyethanol
PreservativeGlycol Distearate
EmollientTocopheryl Acetate
AntioxidantPolyquaternium-39
Cocamide Mea
EmulsifyingLaureth-10
EmulsifyingDisodium EDTA
Sodium Benzoate
MaskingHydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin
MaskingPantolactone
HumectantBenzoic Acid
MaskingBisabolol
AntioxidantIodopropynyl Butylcarbamate
PreservativeCitric Acid
BufferingWater, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, PEG-55 Propylene Glycol Oleate, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Panthenol, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Phenoxyethanol, Glycol Distearate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Polyquaternium-39, Cocamide Mea, Laureth-10, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Benzoate, Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin, Pantolactone, Benzoic Acid, Bisabolol, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, 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.
Cocamidopropyl 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 BetaineDisodium 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 GlycerinGlycol Distearate is an emulsifier and emollient that adds a "pearly" appearance to formulations.
That lustrous look you see in many shampoos is due to this ingredient: when cooled, it crystallizes into small platelets that reflect light to give products that rich, shimmering look.
This ingredient is considered safe at present practices of use and concentration and repeated insult patch test with 50% Glycol Distearate on 125 subjects found no evidence of skin irritation, hypersensitivity, or acute toxicity.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.1-10%.
Because it's an ester of stearic acid, it falls into the range that Malassezia likes to metabolize. This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Glycol DistearateChances 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 ChlorideWater. 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