What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningDisodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingCarthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingPanthenol
Skin Conditioning
Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Avena Sativa Kernel Flour
Abrasive
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingAminomethyl Propanol
BufferingCaprylhydroxamic Acid
Rosa Canina Fruit Oil
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Beta-Glucan
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Water, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Caprylyl Glycol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Panthenol, Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Stearic Acid, Avena Sativa Kernel Flour, Xanthan Gum, Aminomethyl Propanol, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Tocopherol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycine Soja Oil, Beta-Glucan, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Citric Acid
Water
Skin ConditioningPetrolatum
Emollient
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Lauryl Betaine
CleansingLactic Acid
Buffering
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Xanthan Gum
Emulsifying1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Sodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Cholesterol
Emollient
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.
Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.
Because it is not a free-fatty acid, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl GlycolCarthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil comes from the seeds of the safflower plant. It is a skin conditioning agent that helps soften skin and keep it hydrated.
This seed oil has an unusual fatty acid profile: it is one of the highest linoleic acid plant oils out there (~55-77%). It also has low amounts of oleic acid, and this high-linoleic/low-oleic ratio gets people excited.
Linoleic acid helps maintain skin barrier integrity and is a building block for the ceramides in your stratum corneum. Notably, people with acne tend to have lower linoleic acid in their skin lipids as well (and this gets worse as acne gets more severe).
Overall, it's a lightweight, fast-absorbing oil that has a long safety track record. Lab testing has found it to be non-irritating for skin or eyes.
The Malassezia yeast can metabolize the fatty acids in this oil to grow; therefore this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Carthamus Tinctorius Seed OilGlycerin (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 GlycerinWater. 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 WaterXanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.
On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.
Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.
Learn more about Xanthan Gum
