What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Cetyl Palmitate
Emollient
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Propanediol
Solvent
Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Gluconolactone
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Geranium Maculatum Oil
Masking
Water
Skin ConditioningEthylhexyl Palmitate
Emollient
Isopropyl Myristate
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Propanediol
Solvent
Glycerin
Humectant
PEG-40 Stearate
Emulsifying
Sorbitan Tristearate
EmulsifyingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Dimethicone
Emollient
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Urea
Buffering
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Saccharide Hydrolysate
HumectantParfum
Masking
Linalool
Perfuming
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Alanine
Masking
Glycine
Buffering
Magnesium Aspartate
Skin ConditioningCreatine
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Maris Aqua
HumectantWater, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Isopropyl Myristate, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Propanediol, Glycerin, PEG-40 Stearate, Sorbitan Tristearate, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethicone, Sodium Benzoate, Allantoin, Urea, Caprylyl Glycol, Chlorphenesin, Saccharide Hydrolysate, Parfum, Linalool, Hexyl Cinnamal, Lactic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Alanine, Glycine, Magnesium Aspartate, Creatine, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Tocopherol, Maris Aqua
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.
Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.
It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceCetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.
Its main roles are:
Though it has "alcohol" in the name, it is not related to denatured alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.
Learn more about Cetyl AlcoholGlycerin (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 StearatePropanediol is an all-star ingredient. It softens, hydrates, and smooths the skin.Â
It’s often used to:
Propanediol is not likely to cause sensitivity and considered safe to use. It is derived from corn or petroleum with a clear color and no scent.
Learn more about PropanediolSodium Benzoate is a preservative. It's used in both cosmetic and food products to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria. It is typically produced synthetically.
Both the US FDA and EU Health Committee have approved the use of sodium benzoate. In the US, levels of 0.1% (of the total product) are allowed.
Sodium benzoate works as a preservative by inhibiting the growth of bacteria inside of cells. It prevents the cell from fermenting a type of sugar using an enzyme called phosphofructokinase.
It is the salt of benzoic acid. Foods containing sodium benzoate include soda, salad dressings, condiments, fruit juices, wines, and snack foods.
Studies for using ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate in cosmetics are lacking, especially in skincare routines with multiple steps.
We always recommend speaking with a professional, such as a dermatologist, if you have any concerns.
Learn more about Sodium BenzoateWater. 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
