What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAmmonium Lauryl Sulfate
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingSodium Chloride
MaskingPEG-120 Methyl Glucose Trioleate
Cleansing
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Zinc PCA
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Citric Acid
Buffering
Disodium EDTA
DMDM Hydantoin
Preservative
Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Water, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Sodium Chloride, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Trioleate, Caprylyl Glycol, Zinc PCA, Glycerin, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA, DMDM Hydantoin, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Parfum, Propylene Glycol, Benzoic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate
Water
Skin ConditioningDisodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
CleansingCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Lauryl Glucoside
CleansingSodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Cleansing
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingPhenethyl Alcohol
MaskingNiacinamide
Smoothing
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
PEG/PPG-120/10 Trimethylolpropane Trioleate
Laureth-2
Cleansing1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
Humectant
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate
Humectant
Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate
Skin Conditioning
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningSodium PCA
Humectant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Zinc PCA
Humectant
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Water, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Lauryl Glucoside, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Phenethyl Alcohol, Niacinamide, Pentylene Glycol, PEG/PPG-120/10 Trimethylolpropane Trioleate, Laureth-2, 1,2-Hexanediol, Salicylic Acid, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium PCA, Panthenol, Zinc PCA, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (tea extract) is one of the most well-researched plant extracts in skincare with an impressive resume.
Black tea, green tea, and oolong tea are all harvested from the Camellia Sinensis plant.
Studies show green tea extract and its catechins (like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)) help your skin cells product energy more efficiently and reducing the number of free-radicals that can damage your skin from the inside.
In lab-grown skin models, this translated to younger, healthier, and stronger skin.
There's also good sun protection data; researchers saw less DNA damage and redness on human skin when green tea was applied before UVB exposure. And the more they applied, the better the protection.
Needless to say, this ingredient shouldn't replace your sunscreen. But it is a great supportive ingredient that you can already find in many sunscreens and antioxidant serums.
A 2009 study found a 2% green tea lotion was effective for mild-to-moderate acne thanks to its anti-inflammatory and mild antimicrobial activity.
The quality of the extract matters a lot here:
Good extracts contain 50-90% catechins while lower quality ones are mostly there for marketing. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the quality or source of their ingredients.
Human Repeated Insult Patch Testing showed no irritation or sensitization at use concentrations (0.86% in leave-on products and up to 30% as leaf water).
Learn more about Camellia Sinensis Leaf ExtractCocamidopropyl 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 BetaineWater. 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 WaterZinc PCA is a clever two-in-one molecule: the zinc salt of pyrrolidone carboxylic acid (PCA).
Think of it as two useful things bonded together; the PCA half is one of your skin's own natural moisturizing factors (NMF) so it helps hold water in the upper layers. On the other hand, the zinc half does the heavy lifting on oil and bacteria.
The zinc part slows down an enzyme that turns testosterone into DHT, the hormone that tells your oil glands to pump out more sebum. Less of that signal means less oil. It also gently fights acne-causing bacteria and soothes redness/irritation.
This is why Zinc PCA often shows up in products for oily, breakout-prone skin and greasy scalps.
One lab study also hinted it might have a small anti-aging perk because it seemed to protect collagen from UVA damage and even helped the skin make a bit more of it. That last bit is still early research done in a dish and not real skin, so take it as a nice bonus rather than a promise for now.
As for scar healing, the picture is more "maybe" than a firm yes. Zinc itself plays a real role in wound repair because it is a cofactor for the enzymes involved in collagen building, calming inflammation, and helping new skin cells cover a wound. Lower zinc levels are also linked to slower healing.
Most of the scar healing research is on zinc oxide or oral zinc rather than zinc PCA specifically, with a focus on healing fresh wounds instead of scars that are already there.
Direct evidence that zinc PCA improves the look of established scars is still limited at this time. Though it would be fair to say zinc PCA supports the general skin-repair environment thanks to its zinc content .
This ingredient is water-soluble and plays nicely with other actives like niacinamide and salicylic acid. It works best at mildly acidic formulas (~4-6 pH) and is effective at low levels. Around 0.1% is enough to be active and finished products commonly use it anywhere up to 4%.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-drama multitasker that suits oily and acne-prone skin.
Learn more about Zinc PCA
