What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
Cleansing
Sodium Coco-Sulfate
Cleansing
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingSodium Chloride
MaskingCoco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil
Masking
Lavandula Hybrida Oil
Emollient
Mentha Piperita Oil
Masking
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Masking
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Glycerin
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Phytate
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Limonene
Perfuming
Water, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium Coco-Sulfate, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Sodium Chloride, Coco-Glucoside, Panthenol, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil, Lavandula Hybrida Oil, Mentha Piperita Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycerin, Citric Acid, Sodium Phytate, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Potassium Sorbate, Tocopherol, Limonene
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laurylglucosides Hydroxypropylsulfonate
CleansingCoco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingNiacinamide
Smoothing
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Saccharum Officinarum Extract
MoisturisingPyrus Malus Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract
MaskingCitrus Limon Fruit Extract
Masking
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil
Humectant
Caryodendron Orinocense Seed Oil
Emollient
Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Citric Acid
Buffering
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Sodium Phytate
Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil
Perfuming
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
Abies Sibirica Oil
Masking
Zingiber Officinale Root Oil
Masking
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil
Masking
Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil
Masking
Water, Sodium Laurylglucosides Hydroxypropylsulfonate, Coco-Glucoside, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Glycerin, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Sodium Chloride, Niacinamide, Tocopherol, Saccharum Officinarum Extract, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract, Citrus Limon Fruit Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Caryodendron Orinocense Seed Oil, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Citric Acid, Chlorphenesin, Sodium Phytate, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Abies Sibirica Oil, Zingiber Officinale Root Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil, Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (tea extract) is one of the most well-researched plant extracts in skincare with an impressive resume.
Black tea, green tea, and oolong tea are all harvested from the Camellia Sinensis plant.
Studies show green tea extract and its catechins (like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)) help your skin cells product energy more efficiently and reducing the number of free-radicals that can damage your skin from the inside.
In lab-grown skin models, this translated to younger, healthier, and stronger skin.
There's also good sun protection data; researchers saw less DNA damage and redness on human skin when green tea was applied before UVB exposure. And the more they applied, the better the protection.
Needless to say, this ingredient shouldn't replace your sunscreen. But it is a great supportive ingredient that you can already find in many sunscreens and antioxidant serums.
A 2009 study found a 2% green tea lotion was effective for mild-to-moderate acne thanks to its anti-inflammatory and mild antimicrobial activity.
The quality of the extract matters a lot here:
Good extracts contain 50-90% catechins while lower quality ones are mostly there for marketing. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the quality or source of their ingredients.
Human Repeated Insult Patch Testing showed no irritation or sensitization at use concentrations (0.86% in leave-on products and up to 30% as leaf water).
Learn more about Camellia Sinensis Leaf ExtractCitric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.
Like other AHAs, citric acid can exfoliate skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.
However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.
Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.
In skincare formulas, citric acid can:
While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.
Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Citric AcidCitrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil is oil from the peel of an orange fruit.
Limonene and linalool make up the majority of oils from citrus peels. Limonene has a "citrus" fragrance. Citrus peels also contain flavonoids, which have anti-inflammatory properties.
Citrus peel is also a rich source of flavonoids. Flavonoids are natural antioxidants and help protect your skin against damage. Flavonoids are a group of compounds naturally found in vegetables and fruits.
The term '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.
Learn more about Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel OilCoco-Glucoside is a surfactant, or a cleansing ingredient. It is made from glucose and coconut oil.
Surfactants help gather dirt, oil, and other pollutants from your skin to be rinsed away.
This ingredient is considered gentle and non-comedogenic. However, it may still be irritating for some.
Learn more about Coco-GlucosideGlycerin (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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol 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.
Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideSodium Phytate is the synthetic salt form of phytic acid. Phytic acid is an antioxidant and can be found in plant seeds.
Sodium Phytate is a chelating agent. Chelating agents help prevent metals from binding to water. This helps stabilize the ingredients and the product.
Tocopherol 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 TocopherolWater. 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
