Garnier Bright Complete Anti-Acne 3-in-1 Cleanser Versus Cetaphil Healthy Radiance Brightness Reveal Creamy Cleanser
What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingLauric Acid
Cleansing
Glyceryl Distearate
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Kaolin
Abrasive
Perlite
Absorbent
PEG-14m
Emulsion StabilisingLinalool
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Parfum
Masking
Pumice
Abrasive
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Limonene
Perfuming
Ascorbyl Glucoside
Antioxidant
Tetrasodium EDTA
Citrus Limon Fruit Extract
Masking
Benzyl Salicylate
Perfuming
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Water, Glycerin, Myristic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Lauric Acid, Glyceryl Distearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Kaolin, Perlite, PEG-14m, Linalool, Geraniol, Parfum, Pumice, Salicylic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Limonene, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citrus Limon Fruit Extract, Benzyl Salicylate, Benzyl Alcohol
Glycerin
Humectant
Water
Skin ConditioningStearic Acid
Cleansing
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingLauric Acid
Cleansing
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene
EmollientGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Anhydroxylitol
Humectant
Arachidic Acid
Cleansing
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Capric Acid
Cleansing
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningHydrogenated Polydecene
EmollientNiacinamide
Smoothing
Oleic Acid
Emollient
Pancratium Maritimum Extract
BleachingPolyquaternium-7
Potassium Benzoate
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSorbitol
Humectant
Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
Xylitol
Humectant
Xylitylglucoside
Humectant
Glycerin, Water, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Lauric Acid, Palmitic Acid, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Glyceryl Stearate, Anhydroxylitol, Arachidic Acid, Butylene Glycol, Capric Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Niacinamide, Oleic Acid, Pancratium Maritimum Extract, Polyquaternium-7, Potassium Benzoate, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Chloride, Sorbitol, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Xylitol, Xylitylglucoside
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 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 AcidMyristic Acid is a saturated fatty acid. It is naturally found in milk fat. Other sources include palm oil, coconut oil, and butter fat.
Myristic Acid is an emulsifer and cleanser. As an emulsifer, it stabilizes a product by preventing ingredients from separating. Myristic Acid helps clean your skin by acting as a surfactant. It tends to gather oil and dirt on your skin to be easily rinsed away.
One study from 2021 found Myristic Acid to have anti-inflammatory properties.
Learn more about Myristic AcidPalmitic Acid is a fatty acid naturally found in our skin and in many plant and animal sources.
In cosmetics, it is usually derived from palm oil. It serves many purposes in skincare, acting as a cleanser, emollient, and emulsifier.
Interestingly, topically applied Palmitic Acid can be elongated into longer chain fatty acids and ceramides. A 2019 study found low levels of Palmitic Acid lead to slower development of cells, suggesting it plays a role in keeping your skin's renewal process on track.
The CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review) panel determined it safe as used in cosmetics at concentrations up to 13%. It is non-irritating and non-sensitizing in clinical studies.
The culprit behind fungal acne, the Malassezia yeast, feeds on fatty acids with carbon chain lengths between C11-C24. Palmitic Acid, at C16, falls right into that sweet spot.
In vitro studies have shown that Palmitic Acid is one of the fatty acids that induce rapid Malassezia growth in lab settings.
It's worth noting that what feeds yeast in a lab doesn't necessarily feed it on your face since formulation and your skin's chemistry play a bigger role.
Learn more about Palmitic AcidPotassium hydroxide is commonly known as caustic potash. It is used to fix the pH of a product or as a cleaning agent in soap. In cleansers, it is used for the saponification of oils.
Sapnification is the process of creating fatty acid metal salts from triglycerides and a strong base. During this process, Potassium Hydroxide is used up and is not present in the final product.
Using high concentrations of Potassium Hydroxide have shown to irritate the skin.
Learn more about Potassium HydroxideStearic Acid is a fatty acid that is already found in your skin. It's one of the free fatty acids that works alongside ceramides and cholesterols to maintain your barrier.
In cosmetics, it is a multitasker:
Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.
Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Stearic AcidWater. 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
