What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Masking
Calendula Officinalis Flower Oil
Masking
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Medicago Sativa Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningSymphytum Officinale Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningHelianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialCitrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Extract
Emulsion Stabilising
Daucus Carota Sativa Extract
Perfuming
Lavandula Angustifolia Flower Extract
Cleansing
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Oryza Sativa Extract
Absorbent
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Dioscorea Villosa Root Extract
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Tocopheryl Glucoside
EmollientTheobroma Cacao Husk
Abrasive
Honey
Humectant
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingEchinacea Purpurea Extract
MoisturisingMacadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil
Emollient
Panax Ginseng Root Extract
Emollient
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Zingiber Officinale Root Extract
Masking
Crataegus Monogyna Meristem Cell Culture Extract
Skin ConditioningPrunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingLactic Acid
Buffering
Ascorbyl Palmitate
Antioxidant
Zinc Sulfate
Antimicrobial
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Euterpe Oleracea Sterols
Skin ConditioningCitrus Limon Peel
MaskingMalpighia Glabra Fruit
Skin ConditioningEmblica Officinalis Fruit
Skin ConditioningAdansonia Digitata Oil
Emollient
Myrciaria Cauliflora Pulp
Skin ConditioningDaucus Carota Sativa Callus Lysate
Antioxidant
Cocos Nucifera Water
Masking
Lycium Barbarum Amino Acids
Skin ConditioningTapioca Starch
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Oil, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Medicago Sativa Leaf Extract, Symphytum Officinale Leaf Extract, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Extract, Daucus Carota Sativa Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia Flower Extract, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Oryza Sativa Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Dioscorea Villosa Root Extract, Glycerin, Tocopheryl Glucoside, Theobroma Cacao Husk, Honey, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Echinacea Purpurea Extract, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Zingiber Officinale Root Extract, Crataegus Monogyna Meristem Cell Culture Extract, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Tocopherol, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Xanthan Gum, Lactic Acid, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Zinc Sulfate, Potassium Sorbate, Niacinamide, Euterpe Oleracea Sterols, Citrus Limon Peel, Malpighia Glabra Fruit, Emblica Officinalis Fruit, Adansonia Digitata Oil, Myrciaria Cauliflora Pulp, Daucus Carota Sativa Callus Lysate, Cocos Nucifera Water, Lycium Barbarum Amino Acids, Tapioca Starch
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Water
Skin ConditioningTheobroma Cacao Seed Powder
Abrasive
Glycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Glucoside
Emulsifying
Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Saccharum Officinarum Extract
MoisturisingMalus Domestica Fruit Cell Culture Extract
Skin ConditioningCoffea Arabica Husk Extract
Antioxidant
Resveratrol
Antioxidant
Ubiquinone
Antioxidant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPotassium Carbonate
BufferingSimmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Lecithin
Emollient
Phenethyl Alcohol
MaskingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Water, Theobroma Cacao Seed Powder, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Cetearyl Glucoside, Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil, Tocopherol, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Saccharum Officinarum Extract, Malus Domestica Fruit Cell Culture Extract, Coffea Arabica Husk Extract, Resveratrol, Ubiquinone, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Carbonate, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Lecithin, Phenethyl Alcohol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Alternatives
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.
Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.
It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (tea extract) is one of the most well-researched plant extracts in skincare with an impressive resume.
Black tea, green tea, and oolong tea are all harvested from the Camellia Sinensis plant.
Studies show green tea extract and its catechins (like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)) help your skin cells product energy more efficiently and reducing the number of free-radicals that can damage your skin from the inside.
In lab-grown skin models, this translated to younger, healthier, and stronger skin.
There's also good sun protection data; researchers saw less DNA damage and redness on human skin when green tea was applied before UVB exposure. And the more they applied, the better the protection.
Needless to say, this ingredient shouldn't replace your sunscreen. But it is a great supportive ingredient that you can already find in many sunscreens and antioxidant serums.
A 2009 study found a 2% green tea lotion was effective for mild-to-moderate acne thanks to its anti-inflammatory and mild antimicrobial activity.
The quality of the extract matters a lot here:
Good extracts contain 50-90% catechins while lower quality ones are mostly there for marketing. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the quality or source of their ingredients.
Human Repeated Insult Patch Testing showed no irritation or sensitization at use concentrations (0.86% in leave-on products and up to 30% as leaf water).
Learn more about Camellia Sinensis Leaf ExtractGlycerin (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 GlycerinHelianthus Annuus Seed Oil is a plant oil derived from the seeds of a sunflower.
It is rich in fatty acids, primarily linoleic acid and oleic acid. This gives it emollient and skin conditioning properties.
The reason this ingredient is so effective is because it forms a thin film on the skin that reduces transepidermal water loss (TEWL) while supplying linoleic acid to the stratum corneum to improve barrier strength.
The high linoleic acid content is particularly noteworthy for acne-prone skin.
Research suggests that acne-prone skin tends to be deficient in linoleic acid in sebum. Topical application may help replenish this to support a healthier follicular environment and less comedone-promoting sebum.
One randomized study found sunflower seed oil preserved skin barrier integrity in adult volunteers with and without atopic dermatitis (outperforming olive oil).
This ingredient is well-studied, gentle, and an effective emollient suitable for most skin types.
On fungal acne: This ingredient may not be Fungal acne (Malassezia folliculitis) safe. This is because it contains fatty acids with carbon chain lengths in the C11-C24 range.
Learn more about Helianthus Annuus Seed OilJojoba oil is one of the most well-studied plant-derived ingredients in cosmetics. It is an emollient with a special structure.
Because it is made up of 97-98% wax esters, it closely mirrors the linear monoesters found in human sebum. This makes it skin compatible, non-greasy, and lightweight.
Unlike other plant oils, jojoba wax doesn't easily penetrate skin. It mostly works in the uppermost layers as an emollient. This just means it forms a light barrier on the skin to help retain moisture.
Formulations with jojoba esters up to 90% reduced transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and increased barrier recovery by 81% (outperforming bisabolol at 47%).
Besides barrier support, the science also suggests jojoba to have anti-inflammatory effects and potential applications for skin infections, aging, and wound healing.
Fun fact: Indigenous cultures have used jojoba as a moisturizer and to help treat burns for centuries.
Due to its fatty acid content, Jojoba oil may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Simmondsia Chinensis Seed OilTocopherol 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 TocopherolXanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.
On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.
Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.
Learn more about Xanthan Gum
