What's inside
What's inside
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Brassica Alcohol
Emollient
Betaine
Humectant
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Surfactant
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Sodium Isethionate
CleansingGuar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningParfum
Masking
Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil
Masking
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Chloride
MaskingWater
Skin ConditioningDehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Mica
Cosmetic ColorantCitral
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
CI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77288
Cosmetic ColorantSodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Brassica Alcohol, Betaine, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Lactic Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Parfum, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Water, Dehydroacetic Acid, Mica, Citral, Geraniol, Linalool, CI 77891, CI 77288
Sodium Coco-Sulfate
Cleansing
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Water
Skin ConditioningTheobroma Cacao Seed Butter
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Brassica Alcohol
Emollient
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil
Masking
Sodium Isethionate
CleansingLimonene
Perfuming
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Surfactant
Zingiber Officinale Root Powder
Skin ConditioningMagnesium Sulfate
Cinnamomum Cassia Bark
Skin ConditioningSodium Coco-Sulfate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Decyl Glucoside, Water, Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter, Glycerin, Brassica Alcohol, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Lactic Acid, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil, Sodium Isethionate, Limonene, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Zingiber Officinale Root Powder, Magnesium Sulfate, Cinnamomum Cassia Bark
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Behentrimonium Methosulfate is an ammonium salt. It is mainly used to prevent static in haircare products as a surfactant.
Surfactants have differing ends: one side is hydrophilic while the other end is hydrophobic.
Surfactants also help your cleansers remove pollutants more easily from the skin.
Learn more about Behentrimonium MethosulfateBrassica Alcohol isn't fungal acne safe and is a fatty alcohol.
Glycerin (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 AcidSodium 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 hasnât been shown in studies to feed fungal acne yeast.
Learn more about Sodium Cocoyl IsethionateWe don't have a description for Sodium Isethionate yet.
Stearic Acid is a fatty acid that is already found in your skin. It's one of the free fatty acids that works alongside ceramides and cholesterols to maintain your barrier.
In cosmetics, it is a multitasker:
Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.
Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Stearic AcidTheobroma Cacao Seed Butter comes from the Theobroma cacoa, or Cacao tree. Cacao trees are native to tropical landscapes.
Like other plant butters, Cacao seed butter is an emollient. Emollients help soothe and soften your skin. By creating a barrier to trap moisture in, emollients help keep your skin hydrated.
Cacao seed butter contains antioxidants known as polyphenols. Antioxidants help fight free-radical molecules by stabilizing them. Unstable free-radicals may cause damage to your skin cells. Antioxidants may help with anti-aging.
Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter can be bad for acne prone skin.
Learn more about Theobroma Cacao Seed ButterWater. 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
