What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Hydrocortisone Acetate 1%
Skin ConditioningWater
Skin ConditioningCetyl Ethylhexanoate
EmollientGlycerin
Humectant
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Emulsifying
Glyceryl Dilaurate
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Colloidal Oatmeal
Absorbent
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Sodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Ceteareth-20
CleansingGlyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingCyclopentasiloxane
Emollient
Trideceth-6
EmulsifyingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingDisodium EDTA
Sorbic Acid
Preservative
PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone
Emulsifying
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Hydrocortisone Acetate 1%, Water, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Glycerin, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Glyceryl Dilaurate, Dimethicone, Colloidal Oatmeal, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Sodium Polyacrylate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ceteareth-20, Glyceryl Oleate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Cyclopentasiloxane, Trideceth-6, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Sorbic Acid, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Tocopheryl Acetate, Maltodextrin, Phenoxyethanol
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.
Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.
Because it is not a free-fatty acid, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl GlycolCeteareth-20 is an emulsifier and surfactant made by reacting cetearyl alcohol with 20 moles of ethylene oxide.
This gives it both oil and water-loving properties that makes it an effect emulsifier; it's really great at pulling oil droplets into water to create a stable, creamy, and easy-to-spread base.
Typical use ranges from 0.5-30%. Most leave-on products are in the 1-10% zone.
The 20 ethylene oxide units is well above the PEG-10 threshold and therefore not a food source for Malassezia (it's fungal acne safe).
This ingredient has a comedogenic rating of 2 and an irritancy rating of 3. These numbers come from testing the raw ingredient on rabbit ears and doesn't reflect how it will behave in a finished product.
In practice, this ingredient is a well-tolerated ingredient. The ratings reflect cautious lab conditions and not real-world use. Just be sure to patch test any formulas you feel unsure about.
Learn more about Ceteareth-20Glycerin (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 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 PhenoxyethanolWater. 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 WaterWe don't have a description for Hydrocortisone Acetate yet.
