What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAluminum Chlorohydrate
AstringentDipropylene Glycol
HumectantMethyl Gluceth-20
Humectant
Parfum
Masking
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Emulsifying
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingButylene Glycol
Humectant
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Glycerin
Humectant
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Disodium EDTA
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialHamamelis Virginiana Leaf Extract
Skin Conditioning
Barosma Betulina Leaf Extract
Perfuming
Butylphenyl Methylpropional
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Benzyl Salicylate
Perfuming
Citronellol
Perfuming
Water, Aluminum Chlorohydrate, Dipropylene Glycol, Methyl Gluceth-20, Parfum, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Butylene Glycol, Polysorbate 20, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium EDTA, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana Leaf Extract, Barosma Betulina Leaf Extract, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Geraniol, Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Dipropylene Glycol is a synthetically created humectant, stabilizer, and solvent.
This ingredient helps:
Dipropylene glycol is technically an alcohol, but it belongs to the glycol family (often considered part of the ‘good’ alcohols). This means it is hydrating and gentle on skin unlike drying solvent alcohols like denatured alcohol.
As a masking agent, Dipropylene Glycol can be used to cover the smell of other ingredients. However, it does not have a scent.
Studies show Dipropylene Glycol is considered safe to use in skincare.
Learn more about Dipropylene GlycolDisodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlycerin (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 GlycerinParfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.
Also called "fragrance", this ingredient can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.
For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.
The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.
For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.
One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.
The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Learn more about ParfumWater. 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
