What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Isopropyl Palmitate
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Dihydroxyacetone
Skin ConditioningDimethicone
Emollient
Glycol Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Caramel
Cosmetic ColorantCetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Dimethiconol
Emollient
Disodium EDTA
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingHydroxystearic Acid
Cleansing
Isohexadecane
EmollientIsopropyl Myristate
Emollient
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Parfum
Masking
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Sodium Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Abrasive
Sorbitan Isostearate
Emulsifying
Stearamide Amp
Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone
Perfuming
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Butylphenyl Methylpropional
Perfuming
Citronellol
Perfuming
Coumarin
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Limonene
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
CI 16255
Cosmetic ColorantCI 47005
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Glycerin, Isopropyl Palmitate, Stearic Acid, Dihydroxyacetone, Dimethicone, Glycol Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Caramel, Cetyl Alcohol, Citric Acid, Dimethiconol, Disodium EDTA, Glyceryl Stearate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Hydroxystearic Acid, Isohexadecane, Isopropyl Myristate, Maltodextrin, Palmitic Acid, Parfum, Phenoxyethanol, Polysorbate 60, Sodium Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Sorbitan Isostearate, Stearamide Amp, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Alcohol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citronellol, Coumarin, Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, CI 16255, CI 47005
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
C15-19 Alkane
SolventSalicylic Acid
Masking
Steareth-2
EmulsifyingHydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Steareth-20
CleansingXylitylglucoside
Humectant
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Anhydroxylitol
Humectant
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingXylitol
Humectant
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningPolysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Sorbitan Isostearate
Emulsifying
Squalene
Emollient
Glycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Glucose
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Beta-Sitosterol
Emulsion Stabilising
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Water, Glycerin, C15-19 Alkane, Salicylic Acid, Steareth-2, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Steareth-20, Xylitylglucoside, Sodium Hyaluronate, Anhydroxylitol, Sodium Hydroxide, Xylitol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Isostearate, Squalene, Glycine Soja Oil, Glucose, Tocopherol, Beta-Sitosterol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol
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 GlycerinThis is a synthetic polymer. It helps improve the texture of products by adding thickness and gel-like feel.
It is also an emulsifer, meaning it prevents ingredients such as oil and water from separating. It also helps evenly disperse other ingredients.
Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Polysorbate 60 is used to help stabilize products. It is a surfactant and emulsifier. These properties help keep ingredients together in a product. Surfactants help reduce surface tension between ingredients with different states, such as liquids and solids. Emulsifiers help prevent oils and waters from separating.
Polysorbate 60 is sorbitol-based and created from the ethoxylation of sorbitan. Ethoxylation is a chemical reaction used to add ethylene oxide. Sorbitan is a the dehydrated version of sorbitol, a sugar found in fruits.
In this case, the 60 comes from reacting 60 units of ethylene oxide with sorbitan.
Polysorbates are commonly used in medicine and foods.
Learn more about Polysorbate 60Sorbitan Isostearate is an emulsifer. It is created from isostearic acid and sorbitol.
As an emulsifier, it keeps the water and oil ingredients from separating. This keeps formulas stable and smooth.
In a 24 hour occlusive patch test on 56 subjects, 10% sorbitan isostearate was completely non-irritating. Most formulas use less than 10%.
Because it's a fatty acid ester, it may not be fungal acne safe since the Malassezia yeast can utilize it as a nutrient source.
Learn more about Sorbitan IsostearateWater. 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
