What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Petrolatum
Emollient
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
PEG-100 Stearate
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Ethylhexyl Palmitate
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ammonium Polyacrylate
StabilisingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingHelianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingDisodium EDTA
Polysorbate 80
Emulsifying
Squalane
Emollient
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
Skin Conditioning
Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil
Humectant
Adansonia Digitata Oil
Emollient
Water, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Petrolatum, Paraffinum Liquidum, Stearic Acid, PEG-100 Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Phenoxyethanol, Ammonium Polyacrylate, Caprylyl Glycol, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Dimethicone, Chlorphenesin, Potassium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Polysorbate 80, Squalane, Niacinamide, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Adansonia Digitata Oil
Water
Skin ConditioningParaffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Yogurt Filtrate
Skin ProtectingLactic Acid
Buffering
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Urea
Buffering
Serine
Masking
Sorbitol
Humectant
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Chloride
MaskingPEG-75 Stearate
Ceteth-20
CleansingSteareth-20
CleansingTriethanolamine
BufferingMethylparaben
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
BHT
Antioxidant
Parfum
Masking
CI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Paraffinum Liquidum, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Yogurt Filtrate, Lactic Acid, Sodium Lactate, Urea, Serine, Sorbitol, Allantoin, Sodium Chloride, PEG-75 Stearate, Ceteth-20, Steareth-20, Triethanolamine, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Tocopheryl Acetate, BHT, Parfum, 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.
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 GlycerinGlyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.
Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.
This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.
Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.
Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.
Learn more about Glyceryl StearateParaffinum Liquidum is a highly-refined cosmetic-grade mineral oil. It is also known as liquid paraffin.
Despite its controversial reputation, the science is pretty clear: it's one of the most well-studied and effective moisturizing ingredients out there.
As an occlusive, it forms a protective layer on the skin that locks in moisture and prevents transepidermal water loss (TEWL). This makes it especially great for compromised skin barriers.
The "it clogs your pores" myth has been around for decades; a study found that industrial-grade mineral oil may be comedogenic but cosmetic-grade mineral oil is not (these two are very, very different).
A 2017 review concluded that cosmetic use of mineral oils and waxes does not present a risk to consumers due to absorption.
Mineral oil got a bad rap from the old rabbit ear studies. When tested on actual human skin, cosmetic-grade mineral oil showed no comedogenic activity. The rating of 0 is a correction of outdated science.
Mineral oil is an inert substance with no fatty acids so there's nothing to feed Malassezia. This ingredient is fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Paraffinum LiquidumStearic Acid is a fatty acid that is already found in your skin. It's one of the free fatty acids that works alongside ceramides and cholesterols to maintain your barrier.
In cosmetics, it is a multitasker:
Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.
Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Stearic AcidWater. 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
