What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Water
MaskingAlcohol
Antimicrobial
Glycerin
Humectant
Methyl Gluceth-20
Humectant
PEG-150 Distearate
Emulsifying
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Pullulan
Pvp
Emulsion StabilisingTrehalose
Humectant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6
Emulsion StabilisingArginine
Masking
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingParfum
Masking
Glycine Soja Seed Extract
Skin Conditioning
Menthol
Masking
Citric Acid
Buffering
Inositol
Humectant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Maltose
MaskingSpirulina Platensis Extract
Skin ProtectingButylene Glycol
Humectant
Agave Tequilana Leaf Extract
AstringentSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Biosaccharide Gum-1
Humectant
Sodium Citrate
BufferingOphiopogon Japonicus Root Extract
Skin ConditioningSophora Flavescens Root Extract
Antioxidant
Opuntia Ficus-Indica Stem Extract
Skin Conditioning
Chrysanthellum Indicum Extract
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Prunus Avium Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningBenzyl Salicylate
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
CI 42090
Cosmetic ColorantCI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water, Alcohol, Glycerin, Methyl Gluceth-20, PEG-150 Distearate, Pentylene Glycol, Pullulan, Pvp, Trehalose, 1,2-Hexanediol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Arginine, Carbomer, Parfum, Glycine Soja Seed Extract, Menthol, Citric Acid, Inositol, Panthenol, Maltodextrin, Maltose, Spirulina Platensis Extract, Butylene Glycol, Agave Tequilana Leaf Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Sodium Citrate, Ophiopogon Japonicus Root Extract, Sophora Flavescens Root Extract, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Stem Extract, Chrysanthellum Indicum Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Prunus Avium Fruit Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Benzyl Salicylate, Linalool, Hexyl Cinnamal, CI 42090, CI 19140
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.
It is a:
- Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
- Emollient, helping to soften skin
- Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
- Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives
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 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 HydroxyacetophenonePanthenol is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin. It is found naturally in our skin and hair.
There are two forms of panthenol: D and L.
D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.
Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):
Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.
This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.
Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.
This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.
Learn more about PanthenolPEG-150 Distearate is a hardworking ingredient that is usually found at the end of a lot of cleansers whose main job is to act as a micellar thickening agent for surfactant-based cleansers.
It works by physically linking up surfactant micelles already in a formula to bump up viscosity and gives products a pourable-but-not-runny body.
Safety-wise, it's been found safe in cosmetics with minimal skin irritation and no evidence of toxicity.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe; it's a diester of stearic acid (C18) that falls into the C11-24 range that the Malassezia yeast feeds on. In vitro studies have also shown the Malassezia can metabolize PEG stearates by cleaving the ester bond to release the fatty acid.
Learn more about PEG-150 DistearatePvp is a water-soluble synthetic polymer and common hairstyling ingredient. It is a film-forming ingredient and used to "hold" specific shapes of hair.
In cosmetics, PVP helps products like sunscreens and color cosmetics last longer and wear more evenly.
It is less effective in high-humidity. It tends to draw moisture, but this moisture dismantles the structure and "hold".
PVP is generally well tolerated on skin and toxicity studies are negative for dermal irritation.
Learn more about PvpWater. 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
