What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningBetaine
HumectantAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
HumectantButylene Glycol
HumectantPropanediol
SolventHyaluronic Acid
HumectantHydrolyzed Soy Protein
HumectantTrehalose
HumectantHydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Skin ConditioningSilybum Marianum Extract
Skin ConditioningPinus Strobus Bark Extract
Skin ConditioningCitrullus Lanatus Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingLecithin
EmollientSclerotium Gum
Emulsion StabilisingPullulan
Disodium Adenosine Triphosphate
Skin ConditioningCarica Papaya Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningAlgin
MaskingPhenoxyethanol
PreservativeCaprylyl Glycol
EmollientAcetyl Hexapeptide-8
HumectantCI 16035
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Betaine, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Propanediol, Hyaluronic Acid, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Trehalose, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Silybum Marianum Extract, Pinus Strobus Bark Extract, Citrullus Lanatus Fruit Extract, Xanthan Gum, Lecithin, Sclerotium Gum, Pullulan, Disodium Adenosine Triphosphate, Carica Papaya Fruit Extract, Algin, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, CI 16035
Water
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
HumectantMatrixyl 3000
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
HumectantPortulaca Oleracea Extract
Skin ConditioningHyaluronic Acid
HumectantCodium Tomentosum Extract
Skin ProtectingCitrus Paradisi Seed Extract
MaskingCereus Grandiflorus Extract
AntioxidantPolyglyceryl-6 Caprylate
EmulsifyingTrehalose
HumectantHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant1,2-Hexanediol
Skin ConditioningCocos Nucifera Oil
MaskingRosa Canina Fruit Oil
EmollientHelianthus Annuus Seed Oil
EmollientAllantoin
Skin ConditioningStearic Acid
CleansingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingWater, Butylene Glycol, Matrixyl 3000, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Codium Tomentosum Extract, Citrus Paradisi Seed Extract, Cereus Grandiflorus Extract, Polyglyceryl-6 Caprylate, Trehalose, Hydroxyacetophenone, 1,2-Hexanediol, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Allantoin, Stearic Acid, Xanthan Gum
Reviews
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 JuiceButylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolGlycerin (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 GlycerinHyaluronic acid (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan (basically a long sugar chain) that your skin already makes on its own. In your skin, HA lives in the extracellular matrix and acts as the body's moisture reservoir.
Topically, HA is a humectant that binds water and helps skin look more plump, smooth, and hydrated.
The only catch is that HA isn't a single thing; it actually comes in a wide range of molecular weights (~50 - 2,000+ kDA) and size matters.
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
This is why the best HA serums blend the two sizes together so you get the best of both worlds.
The majority of cosmetic HA is produced by bacterial fermentation, typically using Streptococcus or Bacillus strains. Typical use levels in skincare sit around 0.1-2%.
A clinical study using a 0.2% low-molecular weight HA gel showed improvement in facial seborrheic dermatitis with excellent tolerance.
These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:
Learn more about Hyaluronic AcidTrehalose is a disaccharide made of two glucose molecules (glucose is sugar!). Trehalose is used to help moisturize skin. It also has antioxidant properties.
As a humectant, trehalose helps draw moisture from the air to your skin. This helps keep your skin hydrated.
Due to its antioxidant properties, trehalose may help with signs of aging. Antioxidants help fight free-radical molecules, unstable molecules that may damage your skin.
In medicine, trehalose and hyaluronic acid are used to help treat dry eyes.
Some animals, plants, and bacteria create trehalose as a source of energy to survive freeze or lack of water.
Learn more about TrehaloseWater. 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 WaterXanthan 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