What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningHydrogenated Polyisobutene
EmollientSimmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
CleansingSodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate
CleansingOlea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Spirulina Maxima Extract
SmoothingCucumis Sativus Fruit Extract
Emollient
Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract
AstringentSea Water
HumectantButylene Glycol
Humectant
Disodium EDTA
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Sulfate
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Hexylene Glycol
EmulsifyingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
CI 42090
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Spirulina Maxima Extract, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Sea Water, Butylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Sulfate, Chlorphenesin, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum, CI 42090
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.
Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.
Because it is not a free-fatty acid, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl GlycolCocamidopropyl 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 BetaineThis extract comes from cucumber. Cucumbers are mostly made up of water (95%), and the other 5% is composed of: vitamin C, caffeic acid, fatty acids, amino acids, and other minerals.
Cucumbers have anti-inflammatory, barrier repair, and hydrating properties.
They contain shikimate dehydrigenase, an enzyme shown to help reduce inflammation and soothe the skin.
The amino acids found in cucumbers help nourish our skin's natural acid mantle (it's an important part of our skin barrier). This slightly acidic film acts as a barrier to protect us from bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants.
Unless you have an allergy to cucumbers, this is generally a non-irritating ingredient.
Fun fact: Cucumis Sativus is native to South Asia and can now be found on every continent.
Learn more about Cucumis Sativus Fruit 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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol 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.
Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideWater. 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
