What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Coco-Betaine
Cleansing
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
Emulsifying
Sodium Chloride
MaskingAcrylates Copolymer
Citric Acid
Buffering
Capryloyl Glycine
CleansingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingNiacinamide
Smoothing
Disodium EDTA
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate
EmulsifyingCeramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Phytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Cholesterol
Emollient
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCeramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Water, Glycerin, Coco-Betaine, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Sodium Chloride, Acrylates Copolymer, Citric Acid, Capryloyl Glycine, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Hydroxide, Niacinamide, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Ceramide NP, Phenoxyethanol, Ceramide AP, Phytosphingosine, Cholesterol, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Ceramide EOP
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Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Coco-Betaine is the natural version of Cocamidopropyl Betaine. It is often derived from coconuts.
Coco-Betaine is a surfactant, meaning it helps remove dirt and oil from the skin.
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 GlycerinChances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideSodium Hyaluronate is the salt form of hyaluronic acid. It is a long sugar chain that is naturally found in your skin, joints, and connective tissue that maintains hydration and elasticity.
In skincare, it works as a humectant. It pulls water from the environment and deeper layers of skin and binds it to the surface.
Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.
You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium HyaluronateWater. 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
