Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of e.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner versus e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence .
Published on March 10, 2021
Overview
What they are
These products are both cruelty-free and reef safe . They have a total of 10 ingredients in common
Cool Features
They both contain hyaluronic acid
Suited For
They're both likely to be good for dry skin, brightening skin and better texture
Free From
They both do not contain any common allergens, parabens, silicones or sulfates
What's Inside
They both contain fragrances and oils
We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that need an update? Let us know.
Toner
Toners are used as a “last-step” cleanser, a pH balancer, add moisture to the skin, or may help in reducing impurities on the skin. They have a liquid consistency and are usually used after cleansers but before treatments.
Essence
Essences are used to prep skin for further treatment and may provide extra skin benefits. They are usually used before serum and moisturizers. Essences are thought to have originated in either Japan or Korea and is an essential step in K-Beauty.
Ingredient Info
e.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner 27 ingredients
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence 23 ingredients
Contains Alcohol
Ingredients in this product that are types of alcohol:
Silicon Free
This product is free of silicons 🎉
Contains Fragrance
Ingredients in this product that are forms of fragrance:
Sulfate Free
This product is free of sulfates 🎉
Paraben Free
This product is free of parabens 🎉
Contains Oils
Ingredients in this product that are types of oil:
Not Malassezia Safe
Ingredients in this product that are not malassezia safe:
Reef Safe
This product is free of ingredients that damage reefs 🎉
EU Allergen Free
This product is free of EU allergens 🎉
Non Vegan
This product is not vegan 😥
Cruelty Free
This product is cruelty-free 🎉
Alcohol Free
This product is free of harsh alcohols 🎉
Silicon Free
This product is free of silicons 🎉
Contains Fragrance
Ingredients in this product that are forms of fragrance:
Sulfate Free
This product is free of sulfates 🎉
Paraben Free
This product is free of parabens 🎉
Contains Oils
Ingredients in this product that are types of oil:
Not Malassezia Safe
Ingredients in this product that are not malassezia safe:
Reef Safe
This product is free of ingredients that damage reefs 🎉
EU Allergen Free
This product is free of EU allergens 🎉
Non Vegan
This product is not vegan 😥
Cruelty Free
This product is cruelty-free 🎉
At a glance
Click on any of the items below to learn more
e.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner 27 ingredients
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence 23 ingredients
Benefits
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Concerns
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
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This product contains 5 ingredients that may have this attribute:
Notable Ingredients
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Benefits
This product contains 3 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
Concerns
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Join SkinSortIngredients Compared
Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.
e.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner 27 ingredients
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence 23 ingredients
Water • Alcohol • Butylene Glycol • Glycerin • Propylene Glycol • Hamamelis Virginiana Water • Sodium Hyaluronate • Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract • Hexylene Glycol • Fructose • Glucose • Sucrose • Glutamic Acid • Aspartic Acid • Hexyl Nicotinate • Alanine • Dextrin • Urea • Coceth-6 • Ppg-1-Peg-9 Lauryl Glycol Ether • Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil • Sodium Citrate • Disodium EDTA • Benzoic Acid • Ethylhexylglycerin • Caprylyl Glycol • Parfum
Water • Glycerin • Dipropylene Glycol • Trehalose • Niacinamide • Chondrus Crispus Extract • Coffea Arabica Seed Extract • Cyclodextrin • Sodium Hyaluronate • Sodium PCA • Urea • Polyquaternium-51 • Triacetin • Cocos Nucifera Water • Coceth-7 • Ppg-1-Peg-9 Lauryl Glycol Ether • Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil • Disodium EDTA • Xanthan Gum • Phenoxyethanol • Caprylyl Glycol • Ethylhexylglycerin • Parfum
Ingredients Side-by-side
Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.
Learn more about what what Com. / Irr. ratings are
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Water. 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. Talk about multi-purpose! If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!
Learn more about Watere.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner contains this as ingredient number 1.
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence contains this as ingredient number 1.
Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.
A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.
As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.
Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.
Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.
In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.
This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.
Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.
Learn more about Glycerine.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner contains this as ingredient number 4.
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence contains this as ingredient number 2.
Sodium Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid's salt form. It is commonly derived from the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid.
Like hyaluronic acid, it is great at holding water and acts as a humectant. This makes it a great skin hydrating ingredient.
Sodium Hyaluronate is naturally occurring in our bodies and is mostly found in eye fluid and joints.
These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:
Learn more about Sodium Hyaluronatee.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner contains this as ingredient number 7.
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence contains this as ingredient number 9.
Urea is also called carbamide and is the diamide of carbonic acid. In cosmetics, urea is used to hydrate the skin. It also provides exfoliation in higher concentrations.
As a humectant, urea helps draw moisture from the air and from deep within the skin. This helps hydrate your skin. Studies show urea is an effective moisturizer for dry skin conditions. 40% urea is typical in medications for treating eczema and other skin conditions.
Urea has the strongest exfoliation effect in concentrations higher than 10%. It is a keratolytic agent, meaning it breaks down the keratin protein in the top layer of skin. This helps remove dead skin cells and flaking skin.
In medicine, urea has been shown to help increase the potency of other ingredients, such as fungal treatments.
Humans and animals use urea to metabolize nitrogen-containing compounds. Urea is highly soluble in water. Once dissolved, it is neither acidic nor alkaline.
Learn more about Ureae.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner contains this as ingredient number 18.
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence contains this as ingredient number 11.
We don't have a description for Ppg-1-Peg-9 Lauryl Glycol Ether.
e.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner contains this as ingredient number 20.
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence contains this as ingredient number 16.
Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil is derived from castor oil and polyethylene glycol (PEG). It is used as a emollient and emulsifier.
As an emulsifier, it helps prevent ingredients from separating. It also helps make the other ingredients more soluble; it is often used to solubilize fragrances. This increases spreadability and elongates shelf life in a product.
Emollients help soothe and soften the skin. They do this by creating a protective film on your skin. This barrier helps trap moisture and keeps your skin hydrated. Emollients may be effective at treating dry or itchy skin.
This ingredient may or may not be vegan, depending on the source.
Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil may not be fungal-acne safe. We recommend speaking with a professional if you have any questions or concerns.
Learn more about Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oile.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner contains this as ingredient number 21.
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence contains this as ingredient number 17.
Disodium EDTA plays a role in making products more stable by aiding other preservatives.
It is a chelating agent, meaning it neutralizes metal ions that may be found in a product.
Disodium EDTA is a salt of edetic acid and is found to be safe in cosmetic ingredients.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAe.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner contains this as ingredient number 23.
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence contains this as ingredient number 18.
Ethylhexylglycerin (we can't pronounce this either) is commonly used as a preservative and skin softener. It is derived from glyceryl.
You might see Ethylhexylglycerin often paired with other preservatives such as phenoxyethanol. Ethylhexylglycerin has been found to increase the effectiveness of these other preservatives.
e.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner contains this as ingredient number 25.
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence contains this as ingredient number 22.
Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant and emollient, meaning it attracts and preserves moisture.
It is a common ingredient in many products, especially those designed to hydrate skin. The primary benefits are retaining moisture, skin softening, and promoting a healthy skin barrier.
Though Caprylyl Glycol is an alcohol derived from fatty acids, it is not the kind that can dry out skin.
This ingredient is also used as a preservative to extend the life of products. It has slight antimicrobial properties.
Learn more about Caprylyl Glycole.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner contains this as ingredient number 26.
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence contains this as ingredient number 21.
Parfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give aroma to products. Parfum, or fragrance, can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "Parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.
In the US, the alternative name for parfum is 'fragrance'. The term 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.
For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance. One example is Calendula flower extract. Essential oil ingredients still impart a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, it can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Products use parfum often to give products a scent or cover up smells of different ingredients.
The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Learn more about Parfume.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner contains this as ingredient number 27.
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence contains this as ingredient number 23.
Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.
e.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner 27 ingredients
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence 23 ingredients
Usage
Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.
When to use
e.l.f. cosmetics Keep Your Balance Toner 27 ingredients
e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Essence 23 ingredients
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