What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningStearic Acid
Cleansing
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingGlycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingMethylparaben
Preservative
Sodium Chloride
MaskingLactose
HumectantMicrocrystalline Cellulose
AbsorbentDisodium EDTA
Hydroxypropylcellulose
EmulsifyingOctyldodecanol
Emollient
Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningPulsatilla Koreana Extract
Skin ConditioningUsnea Barbata Extract
CI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantAspergillus/Rice Ferment Extract
HumectantHydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Water, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Lauric Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Polysorbate 20, Glycol Distearate, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Methylparaben, Sodium Chloride, Lactose, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Disodium EDTA, Hydroxypropylcellulose, Octyldodecanol, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Pulsatilla Koreana Extract, Usnea Barbata Extract, CI 77891, Aspergillus/Rice Ferment Extract, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Ceramide NP, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Propanediol
Solvent
Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Coco-Betaine
Cleansing
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Polyquaternium-10
Citric Acid
Buffering
Coconut Acid
Cleansing
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Vaccinium Macrocarpon Fruit Extract
AstringentAdansonia Digitata Fruit Extract
EmollientOlea Europaea Leaf Extract
Perfuming
Equisetum Arvense Extract
AstringentCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Nymphaea Alba Flower Extract
Skin ConditioningSophora Japonica Root Extract
Skin ProtectingDisodium EDTA
Water, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Glycerin, Lauric Acid, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Propanediol, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Coco-Betaine, Glyceryl Stearate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Benzoate, Polyquaternium-10, Citric Acid, Coconut Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Vaccinium Macrocarpon Fruit Extract, Adansonia Digitata Fruit Extract, Olea Europaea Leaf Extract, Equisetum Arvense Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Nymphaea Alba Flower Extract, Sophora Japonica Root Extract, Disodium EDTA
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.
It is a:
- Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
- Emollient, helping to soften skin
- Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
- Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives
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 GlycolDisodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlycerin (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 StearateLauric Acid is a saturated fatty acid naturally found in coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and even breast milk.
In cosmetics, it is an:
Lab studies have found that lauric acid is surprisingly good at killing acne-causing bacteria. However, these tests were done on bacteria in a petri dish and not on real skin, so we can't say for certain it works the same in a formulation on a real face.
The comedogenic rating of 4 comes from the 1972 rabbit ear model using undiluted ingredients. Comedogenicity is highly individual and one comedogenic ingredient cannot predict how a formula will behave on skin.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe and research has confirmed Malassezia can use it as a food source.
Learn more about Lauric AcidChances 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 ChlorideWater. 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
