What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningUrea
Buffering
Glycerin
Humectant
Isopropyl Stearate
Emollient
Dicaprylyl Ether
Emollient
Glyceryl Glucoside
Humectant
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Polyglyceryl-4 Diisostearate/Polyhydroxystearate/Sebacate
Emulsifying
Tapioca Starch
Carnitine
Cleansing
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Arginine Hcl
Skin ConditioningSodium PCA
Humectant
Histidine
Humectant
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Mannitol
Humectant
Arginine
Masking
Serine
Masking
Sucrose
Humectant
PCA
Humectant
Citrulline
Skin ConditioningGlycogen
HumectantAlanine
Masking
Threonine
Glutamic Acid
Humectant
Lysine Hcl
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Chloride
Masking1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Water, Urea, Glycerin, Isopropyl Stearate, Dicaprylyl Ether, Glyceryl Glucoside, Sodium Lactate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Polyglyceryl-4 Diisostearate/Polyhydroxystearate/Sebacate, Tapioca Starch, Carnitine, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceramide NP, Arginine Hcl, Sodium PCA, Histidine, Lactic Acid, Mannitol, Arginine, Serine, Sucrose, PCA, Citrulline, Glycogen, Alanine, Threonine, Glutamic Acid, Lysine Hcl, Sodium Chloride, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate
Menthol 0.5%
Masking
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Petrolatum
Emollient
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Dimethicone
Emollient
Stearamidopropyl Pg-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate
Distearyldimonium Chloride
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Steareth-21
CleansingTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Steareth-2
EmulsifyingParfum
Masking
EDTA
Niacinamide
Smoothing
3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingCitric Acid
Buffering
Menthol 0.5%, Water, Glycerin, Petrolatum, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Stearamidopropyl Pg-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Steareth-21, Tocopheryl Acetate, Polysorbate 60, Hydroxyacetophenone, Steareth-2, Parfum, EDTA, Niacinamide, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Citric Acid
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Cetearyl 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 GlycerinWater. 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
