What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Colloidal Oatmeal 5%
Absorbent
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Masking
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Ceteth-20
CleansingDimethicone
Emollient
Disodium EDTA
Glycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Isopropyl Myristate
Emollient
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate
CleansingTriethanolamine
BufferingWater
Skin ConditioningColloidal Oatmeal 5%, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteth-20, Dimethicone, Disodium EDTA, Glycerin, Glyceryl Caprylate, Glyceryl Stearate, Hydroxyacetophenone, Isopropyl Myristate, Paraffinum Liquidum, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Triethanolamine, Water
Glycerin
Humectant
Water
Skin ConditioningPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Dimethicone
Emollient
Urea
Buffering
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Glycine
Buffering
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Parfum
Masking
Glycerin, Water, Propylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Pentylene Glycol, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Dimethicone, Urea, Allantoin, Caprylyl Glycol, Citric Acid, Glycine, Hydroxyacetophenone, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Polyacrylate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Parfum
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetearyl 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.
A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholDimethicone is a type of synthetic silicone created from natural materials such as quartz. It is also known as polydimethylsiloxane.
What it does:
Dimethicone comes in different viscosities:
Depending on the viscosity, dimethicone has different properties.
Ingredients lists don't always show which type is used, so we recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the viscosity.
This ingredient is unlikely to cause irritation because it does not get absorbed into skin. However, people with silicone allergies should be careful about using this ingredient.
Note: Dimethicone may contribute to pilling. This is because it is not oil or water soluble, so pilling may occur when layered with products. When mixed with heavy oils in a formula, the outcome is also quite greasy.
Learn more about DimethiconeGlycerin (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 StearateHydroxyacetophenone is a small phenolic molecule that earns its place in a formulas as an antioxidant and preservative booster.
As a phenol, it is able to neutralize free radicals to protect both the product and the skin from oxidative stress.
Though it can't kill microbes on its own, it works as a good supporting agent when combined with other preservatives like Phenoxyethanol or 1,2-Hexanediol.
This ingredient naturally occurs as piceol in Norwegian spruce needles (~0.4-1.1% dry weight and in cloudberries). Though the cosmetic-grade material is synthesized for purity and consistency.
You'll usually see it used at low levels and suppliers recommend up to 1% added to a water phase.
Safety testing was done at concentrations like 0.05% in SPF products and 0.5% in a Human Repeated Insult Patch Test. The safety evidence is assuring; this ingredient is safe for cosmetics in current use and also holds safety status as a food flavoring as well.
An honest caveat: the "soothing" and "anti-inflammatory" claims come mostly from supplier marketing rather than published clinical trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review's own literature search found no useful efficacy studies on this ingredient.
So the antioxidant and preservative-boosting roles are the well supported ones while the calming benefit is plausible but thinly evidenced.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-irritation multitasker that quietly helps a formula stay fresh and stable.
Learn more about HydroxyacetophenoneWater. 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
