What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Pyrus Malus Juice
Skin ConditioningVitis Vinifera Seed Extract
Antimicrobial
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Masking
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Achillea Millefolium Extract
CleansingTrifolium Pratense Flower Extract
AstringentEchinacea Purpurea Root Extract
MoisturisingHippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Water
Skin ConditioningDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Cetyl Betaine
CleansingSaccharomyces/Xylinum/Black Tea Ferment
Skin Conditioning
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Prunus Armeniaca Juice
MoisturisingLactococcus Ferment Lysate
Skin Conditioning
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Jasminum Officinale Flower Extract
Masking
Zingiber Officinale Root Extract
Masking
Inulin
Skin Conditioning
Lauramine Oxide
Cleansing1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingPropanediol
Solvent
Lavandula Hybrida Oil
Emollient
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Salvia Sclarea Oil
Masking
Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil
Masking
Heptyl Glucoside
SurfactantTropolone
Skin ConditioningCitric Acid
Buffering
Alcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Vinegar
Sodium Dehydroacetate
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract
Citrus Limon Juice
Skin Conditioning
Malpighia Glabra Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningEmblica Officinalis Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningAdansonia Digitata Fruit Extract
EmollientMyrciaria Dubia Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningDaucus Carota Sativa Root Extract
Skin Conditioning
Cocos Nucifera Water
Masking
Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract
Astringent
Thioctic Acid
Antioxidant
Ubiquinone
Antioxidant
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Pyrus Malus Juice, Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Achillea Millefolium Extract, Trifolium Pratense Flower Extract, Echinacea Purpurea Root Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Glycerin, Tocopherol, Maltodextrin, Water, Decyl Glucoside, Cetyl Betaine, Saccharomyces/Xylinum/Black Tea Ferment, Coco-Glucoside, Prunus Armeniaca Juice, Lactococcus Ferment Lysate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Jasminum Officinale Flower Extract, Zingiber Officinale Root Extract, Inulin, Lauramine Oxide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Propanediol, Lavandula Hybrida Oil, Lactic Acid, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Salvia Sclarea Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Heptyl Glucoside, Tropolone, Citric Acid, Alcohol Denat., Vinegar, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Sodium Benzoate, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, Citrus Limon Juice, Malpighia Glabra Fruit Extract, Emblica Officinalis Fruit Extract, Adansonia Digitata Fruit Extract, Myrciaria Dubia Fruit Extract, Daucus Carota Sativa Root Extract, Cocos Nucifera Water, Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract, Thioctic Acid, Ubiquinone
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Pyrus Malus Juice
Skin ConditioningDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCitrus Limon Juice
Skin Conditioning
Vitis Vinifera Juice
Antioxidant
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingVaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningSaccharum Officinarum Extract
MoisturisingAcer Saccharum Extract
Skin ConditioningTaraxacum Officinale Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningSalvia Officinalis Leaf Extract
CleansingTocopherol
Antioxidant
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Glycolic Acid
Buffering
Sodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningPotassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Phytate
Citric Acid
Buffering
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Flower Oil
Astringent
Litsea Cubeba Fruit Oil
Masking
Cinnamomum Camphora Wood Oil
Masking
Citrus Grandis Peel Oil
Masking
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Pyrus Malus Juice, Decyl Glucoside, Coco-Glucoside, Xanthan Gum, Citrus Limon Juice, Vitis Vinifera Juice, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Saccharum Officinarum Extract, Acer Saccharum Extract, Taraxacum Officinale Leaf Extract, Salvia Officinalis Leaf Extract, Tocopherol, Lactic Acid, Glycolic Acid, Sodium Levulinate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Phytate, Citric Acid, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Flower Oil, Litsea Cubeba Fruit Oil, Cinnamomum Camphora Wood Oil, Citrus Grandis Peel Oil
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 JuiceThis ingredient is a mild surfactant made by sticking glucose onto a blend of fatty acids.
It does two jobs because it has a sugar head that loves water and a fatty tail that loves oil:
Typical use levels range from 10-20% in cleansers and 15-30% in shower products.
Once on your skin, your skin's glucoside hydrolases breaks it down into glucose and the parent fatty alcohols.
This ingredient is considered fungal acne safe because its fatty alcohol portion sits outside the Malassezia yeast's metabolization range.
Learn more about Caprylyl/Capryl GlucosideCitric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.
Like other AHAs, citric acid can exfoliate skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.
However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.
Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.
In skincare formulas, citric acid can:
While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.
Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Citric AcidCitrus Limon juice is also lemon juice.
While lemon juice contains antioxidants and vitamins, it can sensitize the skin.
The acidity of lemons may work as an astringent for acne. This can cause sensitivity. Lemon juice can also increase photosensitivity, or sensitivity to the sun.
Learn more about Citrus Limon JuiceCoco-Glucoside is a surfactant, or a cleansing ingredient. It is made from glucose and coconut oil.
Surfactants help gather dirt, oil, and other pollutants from your skin to be rinsed away.
This ingredient is considered gentle and non-comedogenic. However, it may still be irritating for some.
Learn more about Coco-GlucosideDecyl Glucoside is a plant-derived surfactant and emulsion stabilizer. It is created by reacting glucose with the fatty acids from plants.
Like all surfactants, it works by lowering the surface tension between water and oil. This makes it so that dirt, sebum, and makeup can be lifted off your skin and rinsed away. It also produces a dense and creamy foam.
Because it has a neutral charge, it is compatible with a wide range of ingredients and stays stable across a broad pH range/water hardiness conditions.
Patch testing has shown it to have the lowest irritation potential among common cleansing surfactants (like SLS).
Typical use levels range from 5-20% in rinse-off cleansers.
One thing worth knowing: The American Contact Dermatitis Society named the parent family, alkyl glucosides, "Allergen of the Year" in 2017. The prevalence of allergy is pretty low but be sure to patch test if you've reacted to "gentle" or sulfate-free cleansers before.
This ingredient is fungal acne safe because the fatty alcohol portion of this ingredient is not within the C11-24 chain length that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Decyl GlucosideGlycerin (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 GlycerinLactic Acid is another well-loved alpha hydroxy acid (AHA). It is gentler than glycolic acid but still highly effective.
Its main role is to exfoliate the surface of the skin by loosening the âglueâ that holds dead skin cells together. Shedding those old cells leads to smoother, softer, and more even-toned skin.
Because lactic acid molecules are larger than glycolic acid, they donât penetrate as deeply. This means theyâre less likely to sting or irritate, making it a great choice for beginners or those with sensitive skin.
Like glycolic acid, it can:
Lactic acid also acts as a humectant (like hyaluronic acid). It can draw water into the skin to improve hydration and also plays a role in the skin's natural moisturizing factor (NMF) in the form of sodium lactate.
Studies show it can boost ceramide production to strengthen the skin barrier and even help balance the skinâs microbiome.
To get results, choose products with a pH between 3-4.
Lower strengths (5-12%) focus on surface exfoliation; higher strengths (12% and up) can reach deeper in the dermis (deeper, supportive layer) to improve skin texture and firmness over time.
Though it was originally derived from milk, most modern lactic acid used in skincare is vegan. It is made through non-dairy fermentation to create a bio-identical and stable form suitable for all formulations.
When lactic acid shows up near the end of an ingredient list, it usually means the brand added just a tiny amount to adjust the productâs pH.
Legend has it that Cleopatra used to bathe in sour milk to help reduce wrinkles.
Lactic acid is truly a gentle multitasker: it exfoliates, hydrates, strengthens, and brightens. It's a great ingredient for giving your skin a smooth, glowing, and healthy look without the harshness of stronger acids.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Lactic AcidThis ingredient is also known as apple juice. Apples are rich in Vitamin C, sugars, and antioxidants.
Tocopherol 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 Tocopherol
