What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Ethylhexyl Palmitate
Emollient
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Dicaprylyl Ether
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Behenyl Alcohol
Emollient
Propanediol
Solvent
Squalane
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingChlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Piroctone Olamine
Preservative
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCetrimonium Bromide
Antimicrobial
O-Cymen-5-Ol
Antimicrobial
Safflower Oil/Palm Oil Aminopropanediol Esters
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingBorage Seed Oil Aminopropanediol Amides
Skin Conditioning
Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate
Skin Conditioning
Asiaticoside
Antioxidant
Phytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Triethyl Citrate
Masking
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Polyglyceryl-6 Behenate
Emulsion Stabilising
Behenic Acid
Cleansing
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cholesterol
Emollient
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Ceramide Ns
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate
Cleansing
Water, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Octyldodecanol, Dicaprylyl Ether, Glycerin, Polysorbate 60, Behenyl Alcohol, Propanediol, Squalane, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Chlorphenesin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Piroctone Olamine, Xanthan Gum, Cetrimonium Bromide, O-Cymen-5-Ol, Safflower Oil/Palm Oil Aminopropanediol Esters, Sodium Hydroxide, Borage Seed Oil Aminopropanediol Amides, Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate, Asiaticoside, Phytosphingosine, Triethyl Citrate, Tocopherol, Polyglyceryl-6 Behenate, Behenic Acid, Ceramide NP, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cholesterol, Lactic Acid, Ceramide Ns, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide AP, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholGlycerin (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 GlycerinWater. 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
