What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Acrylates Copolymer
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Glyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Dicaprylyl Ether
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Lauryl Alcohol
Emollient
Parfum
Masking
Sodium Chloride
MaskingOrbignya Oleifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Galactoarabinan
Papain
Skin Conditioning
Disodium EDTA
Behenyl Alcohol
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Moringa Oleifera Seed Extract
Skin Conditioning
Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Emollient
Disodium Phosphate
BufferingStearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Protease
Exfoliating
Subtilisin
Skin ConditioningTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Poria Cocos Extract
Skin ConditioningFrog Fat Extract
HumectantWater, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Acrylates Copolymer, Polysorbate 20, Coco-Glucoside, Glycol Distearate, Glyceryl Oleate, Sodium Lactate, Dicaprylyl Ether, Phenoxyethanol, Lauryl Alcohol, Parfum, Sodium Chloride, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Hydroxide, Caprylyl Glycol, Citric Acid, Propylene Glycol, Chlorphenesin, Glyceryl Stearate, Galactoarabinan, Papain, Disodium EDTA, Behenyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Benzoic Acid, Moringa Oleifera Seed Extract, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Disodium Phosphate, Stearyl Alcohol, Protease, Subtilisin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate, Tocopherol, Poria Cocos Extract, Frog Fat Extract
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Acrylates Copolymer is used as a film-forming agent and texture enhancer.
After applied, Acrylates Copolymer forms a thin film cover that helps skin feel more soft. It can help sunscreens become more water-resistant.
It is also used to make a product more thick.
Learn more about Acrylates CopolymerCaprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.
Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.
Because it is not a free-fatty acid, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl GlycolCocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineGlycerin (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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Chances 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 ChlorideSodium 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 is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
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
