What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Urea
Buffering
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Cholesterol
Emollient
Alanine
Masking
Carnitine
Cleansing
Glycine
Buffering
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Arginine Hcl
Skin ConditioningPhytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Potassium Cetyl Phosphate
EmulsifyingOleic Acid
Emollient
Xanthan Gum
Emulsifying1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sodium Chloride
MaskingWater, Glycerin, Urea, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Sodium Lactate, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Ceramide NP, Lactic Acid, Tocopherol, Cholesterol, Alanine, Carnitine, Glycine, Sodium PCA, Arginine Hcl, Phytosphingosine, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Oleic Acid, Xanthan Gum, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Chloride
Water
Skin ConditioningUrea
Buffering
Glycerin
Humectant
Dimethicone
Emollient
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Alcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Zea Mays Starch
Absorbent
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Glycine
Buffering
Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid
BufferingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Lactate
Buffering
Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingCitric Acid
Buffering
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Water, Urea, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Paraffinum Liquidum, Propylene Glycol, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Cetearyl Alcohol, Alcohol Denat., Zea Mays Starch, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Glycine, Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Lactate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Niacinamide, Panthenol, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Carbomer, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 GlycerinGlycine is the smallest amino acid and a key building block of collagen. It's part if your skin's Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF), or the water-loving molecules in your outermost layer of skin (stratum corneum) that keeps everything hydrated and happy.
A study from 2022 found that an amino acid complex featuring taurine, arginine, and glycine significantly reduced skin irritation, improved redness, and accelerated the skin repair process.
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 PhenoxyethanolSodium Lactate is the sodium salt of lactic acid, an AHA. It is a humectant and sometimes used to adjust the pH of a product.
This ingredient is part of our skin's NMF, or natural moisturizing factor. Our NMF is essential for the hydration of our top skin layers and plasticity of skin. NMF also influences our skin's natural acid mantle and pH, which protects our skin from harmful bacteria.
High percentages of Sodium Lactate can have an exfoliating effect.
Fun fact: Sodium Lactate is produced from fermented sugar.
Learn more about Sodium LactateTocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
Learn more about TocopherolUrea is also called carbamide and is the diamide of carbonic acid. In cosmetics, urea is used to hydrate the skin. It also provides exfoliation in higher concentrations.
As a humectant, urea helps draw moisture from the air and from deep within the skin. This helps hydrate your skin. Studies show urea is an effective moisturizer for dry skin conditions. 40% urea is typical in medications for treating eczema and other skin conditions.
Urea has the strongest exfoliation effect in concentrations higher than 10%. It is a keratolytic agent, meaning it breaks down the keratin protein in the top layer of skin. This helps remove dead skin cells and flaking skin.
In medicine, urea has been shown to help increase the potency of other ingredients, such as fungal treatments.
Humans and animals use urea to metabolize nitrogen-containing compounds. Urea is highly soluble in water. Once dissolved, it is neither acidic nor alkaline.
Urea is actually one of the more well-studied and well-supported ingredients out there if you have eczema.
Clinical trials have shown that urea creams in the 5 - 10% range can:
Higher concentrations (20 -30%) can also help with thickened, scaly patches but is also more likely to sting on active flares.
Skip urea if you have rosacea. The AAD (American Academy of Dermatology) lists it alongside alcohol, menthol, and fragrance as a potential irritant for rosacea-prone skin. Urea's keratolytic and penetration-enhancing properties can trigger stinging, burning, and redness.
As always, your skin is unique, so definitely check in with your dermatologist.
Learn more about UreaWater. 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 WaterXanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.
On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.
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.
Learn more about Xanthan Gum
