Overview
What they are
These products are both cruelty-free, fungal acne (malassezia) safe, and reef safe makeup removers. They have a total of 5 ingredients in common
Suited For
They're both likely to be good for dry skin and brightening skin
Free From
They both do not contain any common allergens, fragrances, oils, parabens, silicones or sulfates
What's Inside
They both contain harsh alcohols
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Ingredient Info
Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water - Oily Skin 6 ingredients
Garnier Micellar Water Salicylic BHA 11 ingredients
At a glance
Click on any of the items below to learn more
Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water - Oily Skin 6 ingredients
Garnier Micellar Water Salicylic BHA 11 ingredients
Benefits
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Concerns
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Notable Ingredients
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Benefits
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Concerns
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
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Ingredients Side-by-side
Water. 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.
Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.
5 Concerns
Alcohol Denat. is an alcohol with a denaturant property. It is created by mixing ethanol with other additives.
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate is a surfactant and helps cleanse skin. It is created from the fatty acids of coconut oil.
Disodium EDTA plays a role in making products more stable by aiding other preservatives.
Water. 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.
Hexylene Glycol is a surfactant. Glycols are a class of alcohols. Hexylene Glycol is a surfactant and emulsifier.
Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.
5 Concerns
Alcohol Denat. is an alcohol with a denaturant property. It is created by mixing ethanol with other additives.
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate is a surfactant and helps cleanse skin. It is created from the fatty acids of coconut oil.
Preservative 5 Benefits 4 Concerns
Salicylic Acid (also known as beta hydroxy acid or BHA) is one of the most well-known ingredients for treating skin that struggles with blackheads and acne. It helps to exfoliate both the skin's surface and pores, and also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.
Disodium EDTA plays a role in making products more stable by aiding other preservatives.
Myrtrimonium Bromide is a preservative and a quaternary ammonium salt.
Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
Antioxidant 6 Benefits
Ascorbyl Glucoside is a stable form of Vitamin C. It is created by combining glucose from starch.
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Water. 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. Stay hydrated!
Learn more about WaterGlycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.
A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.
As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.
Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.
Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.
In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.
This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.
Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.
Learn more about GlycerinAlcohol Denat. is an alcohol with a denaturant property. It is created by mixing ethanol with other additives.
This ingredient gets a bad rep because it is irritating and drying - mostly due to its astringent property. Astringents draw out natural oils in tissue, constricting pores and leaving your skin dried out.
However, alcohol denat. is not all that bad.
Due to its low molecular weight, alcohol denat. tends to evaporate quickly. One study on pig skin found half of applied alcohol evaporated in 10 seconds and less than 3% stayed on skin.
This also helps other ingredients become better absorbed upon application.
Studies are conflicted about whether this ingredient causes skin dehydration. One study from 2005 found adding emollients to propanol-based sanitizer decreased skin dryness and irritation. Another study found irritation only occurs if your skin is already damaged.
Small amounts of alcohol are generally tolerated by oily skin or people who live in humid environments.
The rule of thumb is if this alcohol is near the end of an ingredients list, it will probably not affect your skin much.
Also...
This ingredient has antimicrobial and solvent properties.
The antimicrobial property helps preserve products and increase their shelf life. As a solvent, it helps dissolve other ingredients.
Other types of astringent alcohols include:
Learn more about Alcohol Denat.Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate is a surfactant and helps cleanse skin. It is created from the fatty acids of coconut oil.
Surfactants help rinse oil, dirt, and other pollutants easily from skin. It has a faint fruit-like scent.
Disodium EDTA plays a role in making products more stable by aiding other preservatives.
It is a chelating agent, meaning it neutralizes metal ions that may be found in a product.
Disodium EDTA is a salt of edetic acid and is found to be safe in cosmetic ingredients.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAIngredient Ratings
Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.
When to use
Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water - Oily Skin 6 ingredients
Garnier Micellar Water Salicylic BHA 11 ingredients
Reviews
Here's what our community thinks
Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water - Oily Skin 6 ingredients
Alexandra Alvarez
My mom picked this up for me at CVS. I didn't specify which kind to get since I've never had an issue with any micellar water. This one was...
My mom picked this up for me at CVS. I didn't specify which kind to get since I've never had an issue with any micellar water. This one was irritating my skin and I realized it contains denatured alcohol.
