What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningHydroxypropyl Tetrahydropyrantriol
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid
BufferingPalmitic Acid
Emollient
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Oleyl Alcohol
Emollient
Arachidyl Alcohol
Emollient
Myristyl Myristate
Emollient
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Dimethicone
Emollient
Isononyl Isononanoate
EmollientBis-PEG/PPG-16/16 PEG/PPG-16/16 Dimethicone
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Candelilla Cera
Emollient
Euphorbia Cerifera Cera
Astringent
Behenyl Alcohol
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Sodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate
Emollient
4-T-Butylcyclohexanol
Masking
Arachidyl Glucoside
EmulsifyingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingChlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glycyrrhetinic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Parfum
Masking
Sorbitol
Humectant
Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningPotassium Hydroxide
BufferingAdenosine
Skin Conditioning
Citric Acid
Buffering
Punica Granatum Fruit Extract
Antioxidant
Limonene
Perfuming
Coumarin
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate
Antioxidant
Water, Hydroxypropyl Tetrahydropyrantriol, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Stearic Acid, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Pentylene Glycol, Oleyl Alcohol, Arachidyl Alcohol, Myristyl Myristate, Panthenol, Niacinamide, Dimethicone, Isononyl Isononanoate, Bis-PEG/PPG-16/16 PEG/PPG-16/16 Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate, Candelilla Cera, Euphorbia Cerifera Cera, Behenyl Alcohol, PEG-100 Stearate, Sodium Polyacrylate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, 4-T-Butylcyclohexanol, Arachidyl Glucoside, Caprylyl Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Chlorphenesin, Myristic Acid, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Parfum, Sorbitol, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Potassium Hydroxide, Adenosine, Citric Acid, Punica Granatum Fruit Extract, Limonene, Coumarin, Linalool, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 GlycerinPropylene 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 Water
