What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
We don't have a description for Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate yet.
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 GlycerinParaffin is a solid wax that pulls its weight as an emollient, occlusive, and consistency-booster.
It softens skin and lays down a protective film to slow water loss and gives products a stable body and structure.
The cosmetic grade stuff is highly refined with a solid safety record. The CIR Expert Panel has repeatedly reaffirmed this ingredient to be safe in current practices of use and concentration.
The worry about carcinogenic compounds only applies to industrial grades, not the purified version used in skincare.
Despite its reputation, the highly reformed form is non-comedogenic and doesn't penetrate deeply into skin.
The good news for fungal-acne prone folks: the Malassezia yeast feeds on fatty acids and lipids and paraffin doesn't contain any of these (so there's nothing for the yeast to metabolize). This ingredient is considered fungal acne safe.
Learn more about ParaffinWater. 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
