What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Sodium Chloride
MaskingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
PEG-150 Distearate
Emulsifying
Polyquaternium-7
Melissa Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Limonene
Perfuming
Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate
Antioxidant
Linalool
Perfuming
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Parfum
Masking
Geraniol
Perfuming
Tetrasodium EDTA
Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil
Masking
Citronellol
Perfuming
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Water, Glycerin, Myristic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, PEG-150 Distearate, Polyquaternium-7, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Oil, Limonene, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Linalool, Caprylyl Glycol, Parfum, Geraniol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil, Citronellol, Hexyl Cinnamal
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 GlycerinGlyceryl Stearate Se is a self-emulsifying (SE) form of glyceryl stearate. Self-emusifying means this ingredient automatically blends with water. It is an emulsifier, emollient, and cleansing agent.
As an emulsifier, Glyceryl Stearate Se prevents ingredients such as oil and water from separating. It is also a surfactant, meaning it helps cleanse the skin. Surfactants help gather oil, dirt, and other pollutants so they may be rinsed away easily.
Emollients help your skin stay smooth and soft. It does so by creating a film on top of the skin that helps trap moisture in.
Learn more about Glyceryl Stearate SeMyristic Acid, aka tetradecanoic acid, is a naturally occurring fatty acid found in coconut oil and palm oil.
In skincare, it is an:
Research indicates that this ingredient posts a low risk of irritation and sensitization.
Since myristic acid is a C14 fatty acid, it falls within the range that Malassezia can metabolize, and therefore not fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Myristic AcidPolyquaternium-7 is a light to clear colored liquid. It is commonly found in haircare products for its film-forming and anti-static properties.
According to a manufacturer, it is a non-paraben and specially developed for negatively charged surfactant systems. This makes it a great hairstyle holder and helps to improve wet hair detangling without adding buildup.
Tetrasodium EDTA is the salt formed from neutralizing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid with sodium hydroxide. It is a chelating agent and used to prevent metal ions from binding to other ingredients. This helps keep the product and ingredients stable.
Tetrasodium EDTA comes as a white solid and is soluble in water.
Water. 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
