What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Urea
Buffering
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides
Emollient
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Arginine Hcl
Skin ConditioningGlycine
Buffering
Alanine
Masking
Carnitine
Cleansing
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Carrageenan
Cholesterol
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Tapioca Starch
Dimethicone
Emollient
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Decylene Glycol
Skin ConditioningAcrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Cetearyl Sulfate
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingWater, Glycerin, Urea, Cetearyl Alcohol, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Octyldodecanol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Sodium Lactate, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Ceramide NP, Lactic Acid, Arginine Hcl, Glycine, Alanine, Carnitine, Sodium PCA, Carrageenan, Cholesterol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Tapioca Starch, Dimethicone, Pentylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Decylene Glycol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Sodium Chloride
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Ethylhexyl Cocoate
Emollient
Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides
Emollient
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Glyceryl Stearate Citrate
Emollient
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Ubiquinone
Antioxidant
Biotin
AntiseborrhoeicBiosaccharide Gum-1
Humectant
Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate
Antioxidant
Zea Mays Oil
Emulsifying
Beta-Carotene
Skin ConditioningTocopherol
Antioxidant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingTrisodium EDTA
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Water, Glycerin, Ethylhexyl Cocoate, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Stearyl Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Cetyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Octyldodecanol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ubiquinone, Biotin, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Zea Mays Oil, Beta-Carotene, Tocopherol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Carbomer, Sodium Hydroxide, Trisodium EDTA, Dehydroacetic Acid, Phenoxyethanol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
This ingredient is also known as shea butter. It is a plant-derived extract from the nuts of the Africa shea tree and one of the most well-studied emollients.
Because it has a high concentration of fatty acids (primarily oleic, stearic, and linoleic) it is able to form a protective barrier on the skin's surface. This helps seal in moisture and prevents transepidermal water loss (TEWL).
In vitro research found an increase in skin hydration by 58% and a decrease in TEWL by 37.8% after 24 hours of applying this ingredient (pretty impressive for a single ingredient!).
Besides hydration, shea butter also contains triterpenes that have anti-inflammatory potential. In particule, lupeol cinnamate has shown the highest anti-inflammatory activity in vivo.
Shea butter also contains vitamins A and E which may contribute to antioxidant activity.
While Shea Butter has an SPF rating of about 3-4, it is not a sunscreen replacement.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe because its fatty acids fall within the C11-C24 range that the Malassezia yeast can metabolize.
Learn more about Butyrospermum Parkii ButterCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride (aka MCT Oil) is a lightweight emollient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It is considered a skin-softener by helping to prevent moisture loss.
Though it behaves like an oil, it is not technically one due to its chemical composition. One perk of this ingredient is that it is very stable, resistant to oxidation, and unlikely to go rancid.
In practice, that translates to a long shelf life and a consistently elegant skin feel.
While there is an assumption Caprylic Triglyceride can clog pores due to it being derived from coconut oil, there is no research supporting this. Just patch test if you have concerns.
Fractionated coconut oil and MCT Oil are both listed as Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride according to INCI. This is because INCI names are based on the ingredient’s final chemical composition and not its marketing name or source.
This ingredient is treated as the gold standard fungal acne safe oil. Even though it is coconut derived, the problematic lauric acid is stripped out.
This leaves just caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) acid. These chain lengths actually trend antifungal; a 2020 study found caprylic acid was enough to disrupt Malassezia furfur cell membrane, with a caprylic acid derivative damaging membrane structures at concentrations as low as 0.2%.
Learn more about Caprylic/Capric TriglycerideGlycerin (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 GlycerinHydrogenated Coco-Glycerides isn't fungal acne safe.
Octyldodecanol is a fatty alcohol sourced from plant oils like coconut or palm (or made synthetically).
It is:
You'll likely see this in many BHA products because this is the go-to solvent for salicylic acid.
This ingredient is typically used at levels between 2-20%.
Regarding fungal acne:
In 2019, this ingredient was tested against multiple Malassezia species (the yeast that causes fungal acne) and showed no growth.
Phenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).
It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.
On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.
Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).
You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.
Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.
Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.
Learn more about PhenoxyethanolWater. 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
