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 Hcl
Skin ConditioningLactic 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 Hcl, Lactic Acid, Mannitol, Arginine, Serine, Sucrose, PCA, Citrulline, Glycogen, Alanine, Threonine, Glutamic Acid, Lysine Hcl, Sodium Chloride, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate
Glycerin 15%
Humectant
Urea
Buffering
Water
Skin ConditioningGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides
Emollient
Dicaprylyl Ether
Emollient
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
PEG-40 Stearate
Emulsifying
Talc
Abrasive
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Pantolactone
Humectant
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Dimethicone
Emollient
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCitric Acid
Buffering
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Parfum
Masking
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Dicaprylyl Ether is created from caprylic acid. It is a texture-enhancer and emollient.
As an emollient, Dicaprylyl Ether is non-comedogenic. It helps soften and smooth the skin by creating a barrier on top. This barrier helps trap moisture in, helping to hydrate the skin.
Dicaprylyl Ether gives a non-greasy feel and better spreadability to products.
Learn more about Dicaprylyl EtherGlycerin (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 GlycerinLactic Acid is another well-loved alpha hydroxy acid (AHA). It is gentler than glycolic acid but still highly effective.
Its main role is to exfoliate the surface of the skin by loosening the âglueâ that holds dead skin cells together. Shedding those old cells leads to smoother, softer, and more even-toned skin.
Because lactic acid molecules are larger than glycolic acid, they donât penetrate as deeply. This means theyâre less likely to sting or irritate, making it a great choice for beginners or those with sensitive skin.
Like glycolic acid, it can:
Lactic acid also acts as a humectant (like hyaluronic acid). It can draw water into the skin to improve hydration and also plays a role in the skin's natural moisturizing factor (NMF) in the form of sodium lactate.
Studies show it can boost ceramide production to strengthen the skin barrier and even help balance the skinâs microbiome.
To get results, choose products with a pH between 3-4.
Lower strengths (5-12%) focus on surface exfoliation; higher strengths (12% and up) can reach deeper in the dermis (deeper, supportive layer) to improve skin texture and firmness over time.
Though it was originally derived from milk, most modern lactic acid used in skincare is vegan. It is made through non-dairy fermentation to create a bio-identical and stable form suitable for all formulations.
When lactic acid shows up near the end of an ingredient list, it usually means the brand added just a tiny amount to adjust the productâs pH.
Legend has it that Cleopatra used to bathe in sour milk to help reduce wrinkles.
Lactic acid is truly a gentle multitasker: it exfoliates, hydrates, strengthens, and brightens. It's a great ingredient for giving your skin a smooth, glowing, and healthy look without the harshness of stronger acids.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Lactic AcidPhenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Sodium 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 LactateUrea 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 Water
