What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
CleansingSodium Cocoyl Isethionate
CleansingCaprylyl Glucoside
CleansingParfum
MaskingBenzyl Alcohol
PerfumingPhenoxyethanol
PreservativePEG-150 Distearate
EmulsifyingPolyquaternium-7
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin ConditioningPropanediol
SolventSpinacia Oleracea Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningGlycine Soja Oil
EmollientBrassica Oleracea Italica Seed Oil
EmollientMedicago Sativa Extract
TonicPyrus Malus Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningPanthenol
Skin ConditioningCitric Acid
BufferingBenzoic Acid
MaskingSorbic Acid
PreservativeBrassica Oleracea Acephala Leaf Extract
HumectantCarthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
MaskingCucumis Sativus Fruit Extract
EmollientVaccinium Myrtillus Fruit/Leaf Extract
AstringentSaccharum Officinarum Extract
MoisturisingCitrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract
MaskingCitrus Limon Fruit Extract
MaskingGlycerin
HumectantAcer Saccharum Extract
Skin ConditioningCitrus Grandis Fruit Extract
AstringentCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialPassiflora Incarnata Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningSea Water
HumectantLaminaria Digitata Extract
Skin ProtectingChlorella Vulgaris Extract
Skin ConditioningSaccharide Isomerate
HumectantCymbopogon Schoenanthus Extract
Skin ConditioningPanthenyl Hydroxypropyl Steardimonium Chloride
Sodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningSodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate
CleansingCaprylyl Glycol
EmollientBlue 1 Lake
Cosmetic ColorantCI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Caprylyl Glucoside, Parfum, Benzyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, PEG-150 Distearate, Polyquaternium-7, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Propanediol, Spinacia Oleracea Leaf Extract, Glycine Soja Oil, Brassica Oleracea Italica Seed Oil, Medicago Sativa Extract, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Panthenol, Citric Acid, Benzoic Acid, Sorbic Acid, Brassica Oleracea Acephala Leaf Extract, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit/Leaf Extract, Saccharum Officinarum Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract, Citrus Limon Fruit Extract, Glycerin, Acer Saccharum Extract, Citrus Grandis Fruit Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Passiflora Incarnata Fruit Extract, Sea Water, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Chlorella Vulgaris Extract, Saccharide Isomerate, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Extract, Panthenyl Hydroxypropyl Steardimonium Chloride, Sodium Gluconate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Blue 1 Lake, CI 19140
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Methyl 2-Sulfolaurate
CleansingSodium Cocoyl Isethionate
CleansingCocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
CleansingDisodium 2-Sulfolaurate
CleansingPEG-2 Cocamide
EmulsifyingCocamidopropyl Betaine
CleansingPEG-150 Distearate
EmulsifyingPanthenol
Skin ConditioningZingiber Officinale Root Extract
MaskingUrtica Dioica Extract
AstringentOleanolic Acid
Skin ConditioningAesculus Hippocastanum Seed Extract
Skin ConditioningEuterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract
Bambusa Vulgaris Leaf/Stem Extract
HumectantOryza Sativa Bran Oil
EmollientSilk Amino Acids
HumectantRice Amino Acids
Skin ConditioningKeratin Amino Acids
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin ConditioningCreatine
Skin ConditioningApigenin
AntioxidantBiotinoyl Tripeptide-1
Lactic Acid
BufferingZinc Picolinate
SoothingGlycerin
HumectantIsopropyl Alcohol
SolventButylene Glycol
HumectantPropanediol
SolventButyloctanol
HumectantDicetyldimonium Chloride
EmulsifyingSilicone Quaternium-16
Skin ConditioningPPG-26-Buteth-26
Skin ConditioningGlycol Distearate
EmollientGuar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningUndeceth-11
EmollientPEG-120 Methyl Glucose Trioleate
CleansingSteareth-4
EmulsifyingPEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
EmulsifyingUndeceth-5
EmulsifyingPolyquaternium-7
Polyquaternium-10
Disodium EDTA
Trisodium Hedta
Phenoxyethanol
PreservativeEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningChlorphenesin
AntimicrobialSorbic Acid
PreservativeBenzoic Acid
MaskingPotassium Sorbate
PreservativeSodium Benzoate
MaskingLactobacillus Ferment
Skin ConditioningLeuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
AntimicrobialIodopropynyl Butylcarbamate
PreservativeCitric Acid
BufferingParfum
MaskingBenzyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialBenzyl Salicylate
PerfumingHydroxycitronellal
PerfumingWater, Sodium Methyl 2-Sulfolaurate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Disodium 2-Sulfolaurate, PEG-2 Cocamide, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-150 Distearate, Panthenol, Zingiber Officinale Root Extract, Urtica Dioica Extract, Oleanolic Acid, Aesculus Hippocastanum Seed Extract, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, Bambusa Vulgaris Leaf/Stem Extract, Oryza Sativa Bran Oil, Silk Amino Acids, Rice Amino Acids, Keratin Amino Acids, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Creatine, Apigenin, Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1, Lactic Acid, Zinc Picolinate, Glycerin, Isopropyl Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Propanediol, Butyloctanol, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Silicone Quaternium-16, PPG-26-Buteth-26, Glycol Distearate, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Undeceth-11, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Trioleate, Steareth-4, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Undeceth-5, Polyquaternium-7, Polyquaternium-10, Disodium EDTA, Trisodium Hedta, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Chlorphenesin, Sorbic Acid, Benzoic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Lactobacillus Ferment, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Citric Acid, Parfum, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Hydroxycitronellal
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 JuiceBenzoic Acid is an organic acid that shows up in cosmetics as a preservative. It helps keep a product from spoiling by holding back the growth of yeast, mold, and some bacteria.
This ingredient also functions as a fragrance ingredient that helps mask the unpleasant scent of other ingredients.
The way it works is worth understanding; benzoic acid works when the formula is acidic. It is able to sneak into a microbe's cell and mess up how it functions to stop it from growing in an acidic product.
However, the acid switches to an inactive form and stops working if a product isn't acidic enough (above ~5 pH). This is why you'll often see it in low pH products or teamed up with other preservatives to cover the gap.
Safety wise, it's one of the better studied preservatives out there.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 5%.
A large international review found this ingredient had no effects on the human body and had low irritation potential.
Just so you know, real world use is usually much lower than the 5% ceiling (usually 1% of less).
The EU caps it at 2.5% in rinse-off products, 1.7% in oral care, and 0.5% in leave-on products.
One thing worth mentioning (it's nothing to worry about): some people get a little stinging or flushing where they apply it. This isn't a true allergy; it's a temporary and harmless reaction. This is the same kind of mild tingle you might notice from sorbic acid.
Learn more about Benzoic AcidCitric 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 AcidCocamidopropyl 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 GlycerinPanthenol is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin. It is found naturally in our skin and hair.
There are two forms of panthenol: D and L.
D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.
Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):
Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.
This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.
Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.
This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.
Learn more about PanthenolParfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.
Also called "fragrance", this ingredient can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.
For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of āFRAGRANCEā or āPARFUMā according to EU and US regulations.
The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.
For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.
One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.
The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Learn more about ParfumPEG-150 Distearate is a hardworking ingredient that is usually found at the end of a lot of cleansers whose main job is to act as a micellar thickening agent for surfactant-based cleansers.
It works by physically linking up surfactant micelles already in a formula to bump up viscosity and gives products a pourable-but-not-runny body.
Safety-wise, it's been found safe in cosmetics with minimal skin irritation and no evidence of toxicity.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe; it's a diester of stearic acid (C18) that falls into the C11-24 range that the Malassezia yeast feeds on. In vitro studies have also shown the Malassezia can metabolize PEG stearates by cleaving the ester bond to release the fatty acid.
Learn more about PEG-150 DistearatePhenoxyethanol 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.
Polyquaternium-7 is a light to clear colored liquid. It is commonly found in haircare products for its film-forming and anti-static properties.
According to a manufacturer, it is a non-paraben and specially developed for negatively charged surfactant systems. This makes it a great hairstyle holder and helps to improve wet hair detangling without adding buildup.
Propanediol is an all-star ingredient. It softens, hydrates, and smooths the skin.Ā
Itās often used to:
Propanediol is not likely to cause sensitivity and considered safe to use. It is derived from corn or petroleum with a clear color and no scent.
Learn more about PropanediolSodium cocoyl isethionate is a natural ingredient from coconut oil. It is an ultra gentle cleanser that gives a nice foam without drying the skin or impacting the skin barrier.
The amount of foam created depends on the amount of sodium cocoyl isethionate used in the product.
This ingredient also helps improve the spreadability of a product.
This ingredient hasnāt been shown in studies to feed fungal acne yeast.
Learn more about Sodium Cocoyl IsethionateSorbic Acid is a preservative that stops your product from spoiling by stopping microbes from growing.
As a preservative, it's kind of a specialist: it has a broad spectrum of activity against yeast and molds but is weaker against bacteria. That's why it's often paired with another preservative to cover that gap.
This ingredient is also pretty picky about pH; it performs best at pH 6.5 or below.
At the right pH level, sorbic acid is "active" and can slip through the outer wall of a microbe. Once inside, it turns the cell's interior more acidic to shut down the microbe from the inside.
The EU caps this ingredient at 0.6% while the CIR has concluded it's safe at concentrations up to 1%. It's most often used around 0.05-0.2% in cosmetics.
Though this ingredient is considered low-sensitizing and well-tolerated, a very small number of people may have a contact allergy to it. Be sure to patch test if you have a history of allergies towards preservatives.
Learn more about Sorbic 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