What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningMyristic Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Lauramide DEA
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Snail Secretion Filtrate
Skin Conditioning
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Disodium EDTA
Parfum
Masking
Morus Alba Bark Extract
Skin ConditioningMelia Azadirachta Bark Extract
AntimicrobialInula Helenium Extract
MaskingBuddleja Officinalis Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningMagnolia Liliflora Bud Extract
Skin ConditioningBelamcanda Chinensis Root Extract
Skin ConditioningPlantago Asiatica Extract
Skin ConditioningPlatycodon Grandiflorus Root Extract
Antioxidant
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Extract
Skin ConditioningLonicera Caprifolium Extract
AstringentGold
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Myristic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauramide DEA, Stearic Acid, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Glycol Distearate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Snail Secretion Filtrate, Allantoin, Disodium EDTA, Parfum, Morus Alba Bark Extract, Melia Azadirachta Bark Extract, Inula Helenium Extract, Buddleja Officinalis Leaf Extract, Magnolia Liliflora Bud Extract, Belamcanda Chinensis Root Extract, Plantago Asiatica Extract, Platycodon Grandiflorus Root Extract, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Extract, Lonicera Caprifolium Extract, Gold
Water
Skin ConditioningMyristic Acid
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingLauramide DEA
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Ceteth-25
CleansingPentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract
Skin ConditioningHouttuynia Cordata Extract
Skin Conditioning
Citrus Unshiu Peel Extract
Masking
Olea Europaea Leaf Extract
Perfuming
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate
Skin ConditioningAllantoin
Skin Conditioning
Tetrasodium Etidronate
Emulsion StabilisingTocopherol
Antioxidant
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Water, Myristic Acid, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Lauramide DEA, Glycol Distearate, Ceteth-25, Pentylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Citrus Unshiu Peel Extract, Olea Europaea Leaf Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate, Allantoin, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Tocopherol, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Allantoin is a soothing ingredient known for its protective and moisturizing properties; it's basically a quiet workhorse ingredient you can find in a huge range of cosmetics.
Though it can be derived from the comfrey plant, allantoin is produced synthetically for cosmetic products to ensure purity.
Research shows it can encourage your skin cells to turn over and renew by stimulating keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation.
It also has mild keratolytic properties to help loosen and shed dead skin cells without being harsh.
Studies also suggest allantoin can help calm inflammation by dialing down some of the chemical signals your skin sends out when it is irritated.
This ingredient is typically used in the 0.1-0.5% range, and the FDA recognizes it as a skin protectant in OTC products up to 2%.
Overall, allantoin is a wonderful addition to most routines; it is stable across a wide pH range (~4-8), works well with other ingredients, and is considered non-sensitizing/non-irritating.
Fun fact: Allantoin is naturally occurring in comfrey root, beets, chamomile, and wheat sprouts. Our bodies even produce it as a byproduct of uric acid metabolism.
Learn more about AllantoinGlycerin (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 GlycerinGlycol Distearate serves as a pearlizing or opacifying agent in cosmetic products.
It's often included in cleansers and haircare products to give them a lustrous or shimmering appearance.
It is derived from stearic acid, a natural fatty acid commonly found in vegetable oils and animal fats.
Glycol Distearate isn't fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Glycol DistearateWe don't have a description for Lauramide DEA yet.
Myristic Acid is a saturated fatty acid. It is naturally found in milk fat. Other sources include palm oil, coconut oil, and butter fat.
Myristic Acid is an emulsifer and cleanser. As an emulsifer, it stabilizes a product by preventing ingredients from separating. Myristic Acid helps clean your skin by acting as a surfactant. It tends to gather oil and dirt on your skin to be easily rinsed away.
One study from 2021 found Myristic Acid to have anti-inflammatory properties.
Learn more about Myristic AcidPhenoxyethanol 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.
Potassium hydroxide is commonly known as caustic potash. It is used to fix the pH of a product or as a cleaning agent in soap. In cleansers, it is used for the saponification of oils.
Sapnification is the process of creating fatty acid metal salts from triglycerides and a strong base. During this process, Potassium Hydroxide is used up and is not present in the final product.
Using high concentrations of Potassium Hydroxide have shown to irritate the skin.
Learn more about Potassium HydroxideStearic Acid is a fatty acid that is already found in your skin. It's one of the free fatty acids that works alongside ceramides and cholesterols to maintain your barrier.
In cosmetics, it is a multitasker:
Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.
Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Stearic AcidWater. 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
