What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
PEG-150 Distearate
Emulsifying
Polysorbate 80
Emulsifying
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Hylocereus Undatus Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
PEG-240/Hdi Copolymer Bis-Decyltetradeceth-20 Ether
StabilisingPotassium Laurate
Emulsifying1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Disodium EDTA
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
CI 16035
Cosmetic ColorantCI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Niacinamide, PEG-150 Distearate, Polysorbate 80, Tocopherol, Hylocereus Undatus Fruit Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, PEG-240/Hdi Copolymer Bis-Decyltetradeceth-20 Ether, Potassium Laurate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Disodium EDTA, Pentylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylyl Glycol, CI 16035, CI 19140
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Malus Domestica Fruit Extract
Antioxidant
Nymphaea Caerulea Flower Extract
Skin ConditioningAmmonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer
C12-14 Alketh-12
EmulsifyingBetaine
Humectant
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingPvp
Emulsion StabilisingHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingTromethamine
BufferingAdenosine
Skin Conditioning
Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer
HumectantBakuchiol
Antimicrobial
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Trisodium EDTA
Parfum
Masking
Water, Glycerin, Propanediol, Niacinamide, Pentylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Malus Domestica Fruit Extract, Nymphaea Caerulea Flower Extract, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer, C12-14 Alketh-12, Betaine, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Pvp, Hydroxyacetophenone, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Tromethamine, Adenosine, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Bakuchiol, Propylene Glycol, Trisodium EDTA, 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.
1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.
It is a:
- Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
- Emollient, helping to soften skin
- Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
- Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives
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 GlycerinHydroxyacetophenone is a small phenolic molecule that earns its place in a formulas as an antioxidant and preservative booster.
As a phenol, it is able to neutralize free radicals to protect both the product and the skin from oxidative stress.
Though it can't kill microbes on its own, it works as a good supporting agent when combined with other preservatives like Phenoxyethanol or 1,2-Hexanediol.
This ingredient naturally occurs as piceol in Norwegian spruce needles (~0.4-1.1% dry weight and in cloudberries). Though the cosmetic-grade material is synthesized for purity and consistency.
You'll usually see it used at low levels and suppliers recommend up to 1% added to a water phase.
Safety testing was done at concentrations like 0.05% in SPF products and 0.5% in a Human Repeated Insult Patch Test. The safety evidence is assuring; this ingredient is safe for cosmetics in current use and also holds safety status as a food flavoring as well.
An honest caveat: the "soothing" and "anti-inflammatory" claims come mostly from supplier marketing rather than published clinical trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review's own literature search found no useful efficacy studies on this ingredient.
So the antioxidant and preservative-boosting roles are the well supported ones while the calming benefit is plausible but thinly evidenced.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-irritation multitasker that quietly helps a formula stay fresh and stable.
Learn more about HydroxyacetophenoneNiacinamide is a multitasking form of vitamin B3 that strengthens the skin barrier, reduces pores and dark spots, regulates oil, and improves signs of aging.
And the best part? It's gentle and well-tolerated by most skin types, including sensitive and reactive skin.
You might have heard of "niacin flush", or the reddening of skin that causes itchiness. Niacinamide has not been found to cause this.
In very rare cases, some individuals may not be able to tolerate niacinamide at all or experience an allergic reaction to it.
If you are experiencing flaking, irritation, and dryness with this ingredient, be sure to double check all your products as this ingredient can be found in all categories of skincare.
When incorporating niacinamide into your routine, look out for concentration amounts. Typically, 5% niacinamide provides benefits such as fading dark spots. However, if you have sensitive skin, it is better to begin with a smaller concentration.
When you apply niacinamide to your skin, your body converts it into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD is an essential coenzyme that is already found in your cells as "fuel" and powers countless biological processes.
In your skin, NAD helps repair cell damage, produce new healthy cells, support collagen production, strengthen the skin barrier, and fight environmental stressors (like UV and pollution).
Our natural NAD levels start to decline with age, leading to slower skin repair, visible aging, and a weaker skin barrier. By providing your skin niacinamide, you're recharging your skin's NAD levels. This leads to stronger, healthier, and younger looking skin.
Another name for vitamin B3 is nicotinamide. This vitamin is water-soluble and our bodies don't store it. We obtain Vitamin B3 from either food or skincare. Meat, fish, wheat, yeast, and leafy greens contain vitamin B3.
The type of niacinamide used in skincare is synthetically created.
Learn more about NiacinamidePentylene Glycol (1,2-pentanediol) is a multitasking little diol with three main roles in a formula:
Research on alkanediols (the family pentylene glycol belongs to) show they work by disrupting microbial cell membranes. This disruption helps the primary preservative system in a product work more effectively at lower doses.
On the safety side, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe as used in current cosmetic practices + concentrations.
Typical use levels in a formula run about 1-5%.
Learn more about Pentylene GlycolWater. 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
