What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Cleansing
Charcoal Powder
Abrasive
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Volcanic Ash
Abrasive
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Vinegar
Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Extract
Skin ConditioningCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract
Astringent
Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningSodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingPolysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Mica
Cosmetic ColorantDehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Citric Acid
Buffering
Titanium Dioxide
Cosmetic Colorant
Iron Oxides
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Charcoal Powder, Tocopheryl Acetate, Volcanic Ash, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum, Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Vinegar, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Polysorbate 20, Mica, Dehydroacetic Acid, Citric Acid, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Benzyl Alcohol
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
Cleansing
Xylitol
Humectant
Sea Salt
Abrasive
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningVinegar
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Urtica Dioica Root Extract
Skin ConditioningCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Colloidal Oatmeal
Absorbent
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Salix Alba Bark Extract
Astringent
Ascorbic Acid
Antioxidant
Mentha Piperita Oil
Masking
Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil
Antioxidant
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Citrus Grandis Seed Extract
Astringent
Water, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Xylitol, Sea Salt, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Vinegar, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Urtica Dioica Root Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Colloidal Oatmeal, Benzyl Alcohol, Salix Alba Bark Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Mentha Piperita Oil, Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Citrus Grandis Seed Extract
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Benzyl Alcohol is an aromatic alcohol with several roles: it's a preservative, solvent, and mild fragrance component with a floral scent.
This ingredient has been deemed safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 5%, and up to 10% in hair dyes. You'll typically see 0.5-2% in most rinse-off or leave-on products.
As a preservative, it works by disrupting the membrane of microbial proteins. This helps keep bacteria and fungi from growing in your products.
The sensitization picture is actually quite assuring as well:of nearly 71,000 patients patch tested with benzyl alcohol, only 0.21% showed a positive reaction with most of them being weakly positive.
This led researchers to conclude that benzyl alcohol cannot be regarded as a significant contact allergen.
It is worth noting this ingredient is classified as one of the EU's regulated fragrance allergens and restricted to 1% in finished products.
Labels must also declare it in concentrations above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.
At concentrations around 5%, localized redness and itching can appear as a direct irritant response and not as a true allergic reaction.
Learn more about Benzyl AlcoholCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (tea extract) is one of the most well-researched plant extracts in skincare with an impressive resume.
Black tea, green tea, and oolong tea are all harvested from the Camellia Sinensis plant.
Studies show green tea extract and its catechins (like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)) help your skin cells product energy more efficiently and reducing the number of free-radicals that can damage your skin from the inside.
In lab-grown skin models, this translated to younger, healthier, and stronger skin.
There's also good sun protection data; researchers saw less DNA damage and redness on human skin when green tea was applied before UVB exposure. And the more they applied, the better the protection.
Needless to say, this ingredient shouldn't replace your sunscreen. But it is a great supportive ingredient that you can already find in many sunscreens and antioxidant serums.
A 2009 study found a 2% green tea lotion was effective for mild-to-moderate acne thanks to its anti-inflammatory and mild antimicrobial activity.
The quality of the extract matters a lot here:
Good extracts contain 50-90% catechins while lower quality ones are mostly there for marketing. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the quality or source of their ingredients.
Human Repeated Insult Patch Testing showed no irritation or sensitization at use concentrations (0.86% in leave-on products and up to 30% as leaf water).
Learn more about Camellia Sinensis Leaf ExtractCocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineGlycerin (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 GlycerinThis ingredient is derived from guar gum. It is a skin conditioning agent that creates a thin, breathable film to reduce water loss during cleansing.
This leaves the skin feeling soft rather than stripped and also contributes to a creamier lather.
Due to the large molecule size, this ingredient is unlikely to penetrate skin.
Learn more about Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium ChlorideIn cosmetics, vinegar is often used to help adjust the pH of a product. It is also a light exfoliant. The pH of your skin is important to maintain a healthy skin barrier.
Vinegar is created by the process of double-fermentation. It is an aqueous solution consisting mostly of water and acetic acid. Typically, vinegar contains anywhere from 5-8% acetic acid.
Other components include small amounts of contains small amounts of tartaric acid and citric acid. Depending on what is used to ferment the vinegar, it can have traces of flavoring as well.
Learn more about VinegarWater. 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
