What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningShea Butter Ethyl Esters
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Squalane
Emollient
Xylitylglucoside
Humectant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Sodium Polyacrylate Starch
AbsorbentMarmot Oil
Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil
Emollient
Narcissus Tazetta Bulb Extract
Astringent
Centella Asiatica Extract
Cleansing
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Anhydroxylitol
Humectant
Xylitol
Humectant
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sodium Acrylates Copolymer
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil
Emollient
Calendula Officinalis Extract
Skin Conditioning
Chamomilla Vulgaris Extract
Skin ProtectingLecithin
Emollient
Disodium EDTA
BHT
Antioxidant
Cetyl-Pg Hydroxyethyl Palmitamide
Skin ConditioningHydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Cholesterol
Emollient
Water, Shea Butter Ethyl Esters, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Squalane, Xylitylglucoside, Niacinamide, Sodium Polyacrylate Starch, Marmot Oil, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil, Narcissus Tazetta Bulb Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Allantoin, Anhydroxylitol, Xylitol, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil, Calendula Officinalis Extract, Chamomilla Vulgaris Extract, Lecithin, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Cetyl-Pg Hydroxyethyl Palmitamide, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Ceramide NP, Cholesterol
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Acrylates Copolymer
Coconut Alkanes
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Amber Extract
Skin ConditioningTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract
Antioxidant
Laminaria Digitata Extract
Skin Protecting
3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Lecithin
Emollient
Cetyl-Pg Hydroxyethyl Palmitamide
Skin ConditioningCeramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide Ns
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide As
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Withania Somnifera Root Extract
Skin Conditioning
Disodium EDTA
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningWater, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, Coconut Alkanes, Dimethicone, Amber Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract, Laminaria Digitata Extract, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Lecithin, Cetyl-Pg Hydroxyethyl Palmitamide, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide Ns, Ceramide NP, Ceramide As, Ceramide AP, Withania Somnifera Root Extract, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
This ingredient is a lightweight emollient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It is considered a skin-softener by helping the skin prevent moisture loss.
It helps thicken a product's formula and makes it easier to spread by dissolving clumping compounds.
Caprylic Triglyceride is made by combining glycerin with coconut oil, forming a clear liquid. Though it behaves like an oil, it is not technically one due to its chemical composition. It is very stable, resistant to oxidation, and unlikely to go rancid. In practice, that translates to a long shelf life and a consistently elegant skin feel.
While there is an assumption Caprylic Triglyceride can clog pores due to it being derived from coconut oil, there is no research supporting this. Be sure to patch test if you have concerns.
Fractionated coconut oil and MCT Oil are both listed as Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride according to INCI. This is because INCI names are based on the ingredient’s final chemical composition and not its marketing name or source.
Learn more about Caprylic/Capric TriglycerideCeramide NP (formerly known as Ceramide 3) is one of the skin's naturally occurring lipids.
Since ceramides are the major lipid components of the skin, they are crucial for maintaining skin barrier and hydration. Ceramide NP most closely mirrors the dominant kind in human skin amongst ceramide subtypes.
This ceramide works by slotting into gaps within the stratum corneum's lipid matrix to limit trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and shield the skin against external irritants.
A study with 312 patients found that using a ceramide-containing routine for 4 weeks reduced the severity of atopic dermatitis by over 61%.
Another clinical study in subjects aged 60 and older found that a ceramide body wash and moisturizer improved skin dryness and itchy skin in 15 days.
Overall, ceramides are considered non-irritating and safety tests have found little to no observable adverse effects from using this ingredient.
Ceramide NP is usually sourced from plants (like soybean or rice bran), or produced synthetically.
Learn more about Ceramide NPThis ingredient is a synthetic mimic for ceramide NS and is often called a "pseudo-ceramide". It was developed by Kao Corporation in Japan (the same corporation that owns Biore and Curel).
Ceramides play a big role in your stratum corneum, or the outermost layer of skin. Your stratum corneum is structured like a brick wall where skin cells are bricks and ceramides are a big part of the mortar holding everything together.
Aging, harsh cleansers, environmental damage, or skin conditions can cause ceramide levels to drop. This leads to moisture loss, irritation, and dryness.
This is where this ingredient steps in: it's structurally designed with the same key features as natural ceramides. Because of this, it can slot into the lipid layers of your stratum corneum and behave just like real ceramides.
Research on patients with atopic dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, and sensitive skin has shown that topical application of this ingredient enhances stratum corneum function.
Another four-week randomized study on lip care found formulas containing 0.5% or 2% of this ingredient improved lip dryness and roughness.
A study on hairdressers with occupational hand dermatitis found that a barrier cream containing this ingredient reduced dryness, scaling, cracking, redness, and itching.
And a more recent study confirmed that this ingredient is absorbed into the stratum corneum and reduces transepidermal water loss (TEWL), just like a real ceramide.
This ingredient is more stable, free from contaminants, and significantly cheaper to produce. This makes it more practical for everyday skincare formulations.
Learn more about Cetyl-Pg Hydroxyethyl PalmitamideDisodium 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 GlycerinLecithin is a term for a group of substances found in the cell membranes of plants, animals, and humans. They are made up of phospholipids.
Thanks to its amphiphilic structure (water-loving head and oil-loving tail), it is a true multitasker:
It plays well with most ingredients and is typically used at 0.1-1%. However, concentrations up to 50% have been reported in moisturizers.
Depending on the source of this ingredient, lecithin may not be fungal acne safe. This is because some sources of lecithin come from soybean oil, which may feed the malassezia yeast that causes fungal acne.
We recommend reaching out to the brand you are purchasing from to inquire about the source of their lecithin.
Learn more about LecithinPhenoxyethanol 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.
This ingredient is a synthetic, salt form polymer built from acrylic acid, ethacrylic acid, or their simple esters. It works as a binder, film former, and viscosity increasing agent.
Typical concentrations start at around 0.5% but can go up to 25% for film-forming or binding.
The CIR Expert Panel assessed the safety of 126 acrylates copolymers and concluded they are safe in cosmetics at current use levels when formulated to be non-irritating. They also noted the levels present in finished cosmetic products are not considered a safety risk and Genotoxicity testing (Ames tests, chromosomal aberration assays) has come back negative across the board.
Though the raw building blocks (like acrylic acid) can be irritating on their own, cosmetic-grade versions go through purification to keep levels extremely low.
Sodium Acrylates Copolymer is a large molecule that doesn't penetrate skin barrier in any meaningful way.
Learn more about Sodium Acrylates CopolymerWater. 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
