Etos Truly Natural Clean Skin Refreshing Face Wash Versus Freshly Cosmetics Salicylic Facial Cleanser

This ingredient is considered gentle and non-comedogenic. However, it may still be irritating for some.

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.

When you wash your hair and skin with a surfactant-based cleanser, the surfactants grab onto everything. This includes your skin's natural lipids, or the fats that live in your skin barrier and sebum. Once you rinse these surfactants away, it leaves your skin feeling tight, dry, and clean (in a not-good way).

Re-fatting is essentially putting some of these lipids back. Glyceryl oleate deposits a thin layer of emollient lipids back on the skin or hair surface reduce some of the barrier damage.

Also, glyceryl oleate isn't a foreign molecule to your skin. It's chemically identical to something your skin already produces and manages naturally. This is why it tends to be well-tolerated with low risk of irritation.

Typical use levels range from 0.5-5%.

Glyceryl Oleate has a function of "perfuming" in the CosIng database. This just means that the ingredient has some scent character that can contribute to the product's overall smell.

The scent of this ingredient is described as "waxy".

As an ester of oleic acid, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe. This is because oleic acid falls into the carbon-chain length that Malassezia can use as a substrate.

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 “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” 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.

Both potassium sorbate and sorbic acid can be found in baked goods, cheeses, dried meats, dried fruit, ice cream, pickles, wine, yogurt, and more.

You'll often find this ingredient used with other preservatives.

Sodium benzoate works as a preservative by inhibiting the growth of bacteria inside of cells. It prevents the cell from fermenting a type of sugar using an enzyme called phosphofructokinase.

It is the salt of benzoic acid. Foods containing sodium benzoate include soda, salad dressings, condiments, fruit juices, wines, and snack foods.

Studies for using ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate in cosmetics are lacking, especially in skincare routines with multiple steps.

We always recommend speaking with a professional, such as a dermatologist, if you have any concerns.

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!

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.