What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate
SurfactantSodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Cetearyl Glucoside
Emulsifying
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Lauroamphoacetate
CleansingCetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Titanium Dioxide
Cosmetic Colorant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Retinyl Palmitate
Skin Conditioning
Methylparaben
Preservative
Phosphatidylcholine
EmulsifyingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCaprylhydroxamic Acid
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate
CleansingAlumina
Abrasive
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Water, Glycerin, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cetearyl Glucoside, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Titanium Dioxide, Butylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Retinyl Palmitate, Methylparaben, Phosphatidylcholine, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Ceramide NP, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Alumina, Hydroxyacetophenone
Water
Skin ConditioningStearic Acid
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Potassium Laureth Phosphate
EmulsifyingCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Acrylates Copolymer
Cetyl Dimethicone
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Chloride
MaskingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningSodium Benzoate
Masking
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Water, Stearic Acid, Glycerin, Lauric Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Propylene Glycol, Palmitic Acid, Potassium Laureth Phosphate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycol Distearate, Acrylates Copolymer, Cetyl Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Sodium Chloride, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Benzoate, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Hyaluronic Acid
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Ethylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:
The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.
Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.
Learn more about EthylhexylglycerinGlycerin (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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).
It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.
On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.
Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).
You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.
Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.
Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.
Learn more about PhenoxyethanolChances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideWater. 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
