What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCellulose
Absorbent
Glycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate
CleansingCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
PEG-100 Stearate
Octadecane
Emollient
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingAminomethyl Propanol
BufferingDisodium EDTA
Oryza Sativa Hull Powder
Abrasive
Avena Sativa Kernel Extract
Abrasive
Citric Acid
Buffering
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingParfum
Masking
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Water, Cellulose, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Glyceryl Stearate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-100 Stearate, Octadecane, Hydroxyacetophenone, Carbomer, Aminomethyl Propanol, Disodium EDTA, Oryza Sativa Hull Powder, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Parfum, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate
Salicylic Acid 2%
Masking
Water
Skin ConditioningJuglans Regia Shell Powder
Abrasive
Glycol Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate
CleansingZea Mays Kernel Meal
Abrasive
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Triethanolamine
BufferingCetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Prunus Armeniaca Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningCetyl Acetate
Emollient
Ceteareth-20
CleansingCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingPolysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Acetylated Lanolin Alcohol
Emollient
Parfum
Masking
PPG-2 Methyl Ether
Perfuming
Phenethyl Alcohol
MaskingMethylisothiazolinone
Preservative
CI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantSalicylic Acid 2%, Water, Juglans Regia Shell Powder, Glycol Stearate Se, Glycerin, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Zea Mays Kernel Meal, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cetearyl Alcohol, Triethanolamine, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Prunus Armeniaca Fruit Extract, Cetyl Acetate, Ceteareth-20, Carbomer, Polysorbate 60, Acetylated Lanolin Alcohol, Parfum, PPG-2 Methyl Ether, Phenethyl Alcohol, Methylisothiazolinone, CI 77891
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Carbomer is a high-molecular weight polymer of acrylic acid. It is used to form gels and thicken formulas.
Due to its large molecular size, carbomer has minimal skin penetration and is considered an inert ingredient.
A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.
Learn more about CarbomerCetearyl 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 AlcoholCocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineGlycerin (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 is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.
Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.
This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.
Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.
Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.
Learn more about Glyceryl StearateParfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.
Also called "fragrance", this ingredient can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.
For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.
The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.
For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.
One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.
The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Learn more about ParfumPeg-100 Stearate is an emollient and emulsifier. As an emollient, it helps keep skin soft by trapping moisture in. On the other hand, emulsifiers help prevent oil and water from separating in a product.
PEGS are a hydrophilic polyether compound . There are 100 ethylene oxide monomers in Peg-100 Stearate. Peg-100 Stearate is polyethylene glycol ester of stearic acid.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is an organic salt with a naturally sweet odor. It is an alternative to traditional sulfates and is commonly found in "sulfate-free" products.
In cosmetics, this ingredient is used to increase the volume of foam, emulsify ingredients, and as a cleansing agent.
As a cleansing agent, sodium lauryl sulfoacetate helps reduce the surface tension of dirt, oil, and other pollutants so they can be rinsed away easily.
Cosmetic Ingredient Review found this ingredient to irritate the eyes and skin in concentrations of 0.18% and 0.7%.
Learn more about Sodium Lauryl SulfoacetateWater. 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
