What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Isocetyl Stearoyl Stearate
Emollient
Triethylhexanoin
MaskingGlycerin
Humectant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate
HumectantMethyl Gluceth-20
Humectant
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Beta-Sitosterol
Emulsion Stabilising
C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside
EmulsifyingC14-22 Alcohols
Emulsion Stabilising
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingDisodium EDTA
Parfum
Masking
Polyglyceryl-10 Myristate
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Isocetyl Stearoyl Stearate, Triethylhexanoin, Glycerin, 1,2-Hexanediol, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Methyl Gluceth-20, Benzoic Acid, Beta-Sitosterol, C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside, C14-22 Alcohols, Carbomer, Disodium EDTA, Parfum, Polyglyceryl-10 Myristate, Sodium Hydroxide, Tocopheryl Acetate
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.
It is a:
- Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
- Emollient, helping to soften skin
- Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
- Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives
Carbomer is a high-molecular weight polymer of acrylic acid. It is used to form gels and thicken formulas.
Due to its large molecular size, carbomer has minimal skin penetration and is considered an inert ingredient.
A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.
Learn more about CarbomerGlycerin (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 GlycerinMethyl Gluceth-20 is a humectant. Humectants help draw moisture from the air to your skin.
It is created by combining polyethylene glycol with glucose.
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.
In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.
Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.
"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.
Learn more about Sodium HydroxideWater. 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
