What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningLactamide Mea
HumectantSodium Cocoamphoacetate
CleansingCeteareth-60 Myristyl Glycol
EmulsifyingDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate
Cleansing
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Sodium Chloride
MaskingCitric Acid
Buffering
Glycerin
Humectant
Ascorbyl Palmitate
Antioxidant
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate
Emollient
Lecithin
Emollient
PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
Emulsifying
Piroctone Olamine
Preservative
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
Zinc Gluconate
Skin Conditioning
Water, Lactamide Mea, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Ceteareth-60 Myristyl Glycol, Decyl Glucoside, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, Glycerin, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate, Lecithin, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Piroctone Olamine, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Benzoate, Tocopherol, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Zinc Gluconate
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Coco-Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingMannitol
Humectant
Xylitol
Humectant
Rhamnose
HumectantFructooligosaccharides
Humectant
Laminaria Ochroleuca Extract
Skin Conditioning
Zinc Gluconate
Skin Conditioning
PEG-90 Glyceryl Isostearate
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingCoco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Capryloyl Glycine
CleansingDecylene Glycol
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Laureth-2
CleansingAmmonium Glycyrrhizate
MaskingLysine Azelate
BleachingPyridoxine Hcl
Skin ConditioningUndecyl Alcohol
AntiseborrhoeicCitric Acid
Buffering
Disodium EDTA
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingWater, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Coco-Betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Mannitol, Xylitol, Rhamnose, Fructooligosaccharides, Laminaria Ochroleuca Extract, Zinc Gluconate, PEG-90 Glyceryl Isostearate, Sodium Chloride, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Capryloyl Glycine, Decylene Glycol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Laureth-2, Ammonium Glycyrrhizate, Lysine Azelate, Pyridoxine Hcl, Undecyl Alcohol, Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Hydroxide
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Citric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.
Like other AHAs, citric acid can exfoliate skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.
However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.
Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.
In skincare formulas, citric acid can:
While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.
Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Citric AcidCoco-Glucoside is a surfactant, or a cleansing ingredient. It is made from glucose and coconut oil.
Surfactants help gather dirt, oil, and other pollutants from your skin to be rinsed away.
This ingredient is considered gentle and non-comedogenic. However, it may still be irritating for some.
Learn more about Coco-GlucosideGlyceryl Oleate is the monoester of glycerin and oleic acid. It is a skin-conditioning emollient that also helps form emulsions.
What makes glyceryl oleate special is its "re-fatting" effect.
When you wash your hair and skin with a surfactant-based cleanser, the surfactants grab onto everything. This includes your skin's natural lipids, or the fats that live in your skin barrier and sebum. Once you rinse these surfactants away, it leaves your skin feeling tight, dry, and clean (in a not-good way).
Re-fatting is essentially putting some of these lipids back. Glyceryl oleate deposits a thin layer of emollient lipids back on the skin or hair surface reduce some of the barrier damage.
Also, glyceryl oleate isn't a foreign molecule to your skin. It's chemically identical to something your skin already produces and manages naturally. This is why it tends to be well-tolerated with low risk of irritation.
Typical use levels range from 0.5-5%.
Glyceryl Oleate has a function of "perfuming" in the CosIng database. This just means that the ingredient has some scent character that can contribute to the product's overall smell.
The scent of this ingredient is described as "waxy".
As an ester of oleic acid, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe. This is because oleic acid falls into the carbon-chain length that Malassezia can use as a substrate.
Learn more about Glyceryl OleateChances 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 WaterZinc gluconate has antibacterial and wound healing properties. It is particularly effective against fighting inflammatory acne.
This ingredient is the zinc salt of the PHA gluconic acid. PHAs are gentle cousins to AHAs.
