What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Ricinus Communis Seed Oil
Masking
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Cetyl Palmitate
Emollient
PEG-40 Stearate
Emulsifying
Glycyrrhiza Inflata Root Extract
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Decylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Piroctone Olamine
Preservative
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCitric Acid
Buffering
Menthoxypropanediol
Masking
Trisodium EDTA
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
BHT
Antioxidant
Water, Glycerin, Paraffinum Liquidum, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Octyldodecanol, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Palmitate, PEG-40 Stearate, Glycyrrhiza Inflata Root Extract, Ceramide NP, Decylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Piroctone Olamine, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Citric Acid, Menthoxypropanediol, Trisodium EDTA, Benzyl Alcohol, BHT
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Niacinamide
Smoothing
10-Hydroxydecenoic Acid
Skin ConditioningAvena Sativa Leaf/Stem Extract
Skin ConditioningBenzoic Acid
Masking
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Cetearyl Glucoside
Emulsifying
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Oenothera Biennis Oil
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Polyacrylate-13
Polyisobutene
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSorbitan Isostearate
Emulsifying
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Niacinamide, 10-Hydroxydecenoic Acid, Avena Sativa Leaf/Stem Extract, Benzoic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Oenothera Biennis Oil, PEG-100 Stearate, Polyacrylate-13, Polyisobutene, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Hydroxide, Sorbitan Isostearate, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Caprylic/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 TriglycerideCaprylyl 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 GlycolCetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.
Its main roles are:
Though it has "alcohol" in the name, it is not related to denatured alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe. It is a primary fatty alcohol with a chain length above 12 carbons. A study from 2019 show Malassezia can feed on fatty alcohols in this range, so it may trigger fungal acne in those prone to it.
Learn more about Cetyl AlcoholGlycerin (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 GlycerinGlyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.
Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.
This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.
Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.
Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.
Learn more about Glyceryl StearateWater. 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
