What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Isohexadecane
EmollientNiacinamide
Smoothing
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Oryza Sativa Starch
AbsorbentPolymethyl Methacrylate
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Glucoside
Emulsifying
Dicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientDisodium Phosphate
BufferingGlyceryl Laurate
Emollient
Myrtus Communis Leaf Extract
Perfuming
Polyacrylate-13
Polyisobutene
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Potassium Phosphate
BufferingSodium Cetearyl Sulfate
Cleansing
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSorbitan Isostearate
Emulsifying
Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate
Skin ConditioningTocopherol
Antioxidant
Tripterygium Wilfordii Callus Extract
Skin ConditioningXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingWater, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Isohexadecane, Niacinamide, Pentylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Octyldodecanol, Oryza Sativa Starch, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Benzoic Acid, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Cetearyl Glucoside, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Disodium Phosphate, Glyceryl Laurate, Myrtus Communis Leaf Extract, Polyacrylate-13, Polyisobutene, Polysorbate 20, Potassium Phosphate, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Sodium Hydroxide, Sorbitan Isostearate, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate, Tocopherol, Tripterygium Wilfordii Callus Extract, Xanthan Gum
Water
Skin ConditioningDi-C12-13 Alkyl Malate
EmollientPropanediol
Solvent
Propylheptyl Caprylate
EmollientGlycerin
Humectant
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate
Emulsion StabilisingArachidyl Alcohol
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Behenyl Alcohol
Emollient
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Arachidyl Glucoside
EmulsifyingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Citrate
BufferingChondrus Crispus Extract
Skin Conditioning
Mannitol
Humectant
Propyl Gallate
Antioxidant
Xylitol
Humectant
Rhamnose
HumectantSodium Metabisulfite
Antioxidant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Parfum
Masking
Water, Di-C12-13 Alkyl Malate, Propanediol, Propylheptyl Caprylate, Glycerin, Salicylic Acid, Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Arachidyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behenyl Alcohol, Coco-Glucoside, Arachidyl Glucoside, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Citrate, Chondrus Crispus Extract, Mannitol, Propyl Gallate, Xylitol, Rhamnose, Sodium Metabisulfite, Tocopherol, Parfum
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholGlycerin (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 GlycerinSodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.
Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.
"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.
Learn more about Sodium HydroxideTocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.
Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.
Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.
You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.
There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.
Learn more about TocopherolWater. 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
