What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningBentonite
Absorbent
Kaolin
Abrasive
Glycerin
Humectant
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
Absorbent
Charcoal
Abrasive
Sea Silt
Skin ConditioningSucrose
Humectant
Sodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingDisodium EDTA
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Musa Sapientum Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningCocos Nucifera Fruit Extract
Emollient
Aleurites Moluccanus Seed Extract
Skin ConditioningZingiber Officinale Root Extract
Masking
Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract
AstringentCymbopogon Schoenanthus Extract
Skin ConditioningCarica Papaya Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningRubus Idaeus Fruit Extract
AstringentSantalum Album Extract
CleansingMacrocystis Pyrifera Extract
Skin Conditioning
Nasturtium Officinale Extract
Perfuming
Maranta Arundinacea Root Extract
SmoothingPEG-12 Dimethicone
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Diazolidinyl Urea
Preservative
Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Iron Oxides
Charcoal Powder
Abrasive
Water, Bentonite, Kaolin, Glycerin, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Charcoal, Sea Silt, Sucrose, Sodium Polyacrylate, Xanthan Gum, Disodium EDTA, Propylene Glycol, Musa Sapientum Fruit Extract, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, Aleurites Moluccanus Seed Extract, Zingiber Officinale Root Extract, Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Extract, Carica Papaya Fruit Extract, Rubus Idaeus Fruit Extract, Santalum Album Extract, Macrocystis Pyrifera Extract, Nasturtium Officinale Extract, Maranta Arundinacea Root Extract, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Parfum, Iron Oxides, Charcoal Powder
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Charcoal powder comes from grounded charcoal. Charcoal can originate from peat, bamboo, coal, wood, coconut shell, or petroleum.
This ingredient has absorbent properties, making it great at absorbing oil.
Glycerin (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 GlycerinKaolin is a clay. It is used for oil control and to help minimize pores. Like other clays, kaolin has the ability to absorb excess sebum or oil. This can help clean out pores and mattify the skin.
Some types of kaolin may have exfoliating properties. When water is added to kaolin, it becomes a paste with small abrasive particles.
Most kaolin is a white color, but may be pink/orange/red depending on where it comes from.
The name 'kaolin' comes from a Chinese village named 'Gaoling'. Kaolin clay comes from rocks rich in kaolinite. Kaolinite, the mineral, has a silicate layered structure. Kaolinite is formed from chemical weathering of aluminum siilicate minerals.
Besides skincare, kaolin is commonly used to make glossy paper, in ceramics, toothpaste, and as medicine to soothe stomach issues.
Learn more about KaolinParfum 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 ParfumPhenoxyethanol 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.
Propylene Glycol is a synthetic, colorless, odorless liquid that has been a staple in cosmetics for decades. It is a skin conditioning agent, humectant, and solvent.
As a humectant, it draw water to the skin to reduce flaking and restore suppleness. It's also a solvent that helps dissolve other actives and keeps formulas stable across temperature changes.
The CIR Expert Panel has confirmed this ingredient to be nontoxic and clinical studies show no sensitization at cosmetic use concentrations.
True allergic reactions are quite rare: a 15-year retrospective study of 6,751 patients found only 0.31% had a positive reaction (and less than half were considered clinically relevant).
It seemed that when sensitization does occur, it's most commonly linked to topical medication (like corticosteroids) and not cosmetics. Allergic contact dermatitis also appears largely limited to individuals with underlying skin conditions.
Overall, propylene glycol is a well-studied ingredient that most people can tolerate without issue.
Learn more about Propylene GlycolWater. 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 WaterThis ingredient is a combination of red, black, and yellow iron oxide pigments. This combination of colors is usually found in foundation, because it results in a "skin" color.
The EU typically uses CI numbers for colorants when applicable, such as CI 77489. In the US, iron oxides are regulated as color additives and "iron oxides" is the most commonly used name in US cosmetic practice.
A 2021 paper looked at skincare formulations containing iron oxides and found that they reduced transmission of blue light when measured optically. In simple terms, the pigment particles helped block or scatter part of the visible light spectrum in lab testing and the authors suggest this could translate into better protection against blue-light-related skin effects.
There is also clinical and experimental research showing that tinted products containing iron oxides can reduce visible light-induced pigmentation:
Please note, whether a product reduces visible or blue light depends on things like:
In the EU's CosIng database, iron oxides are only listed as a colorant. CosIng groups ingredients by their main cosmetic role, such as colorant, preservative, or UV filter.
Though studies say iron oxides can "attenuate blue light", they're describing an optical property and not an officially recognized cosmetic function.
So CosIng isn’t contradicting the research. It’s just classifying iron oxides by what they officially are: pigments that add color.
Learn more about Iron Oxides
