What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract
Masking
Arbutin
Antioxidant
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Masking
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingCetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside
Antioxidant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningGallyl Glucoside
Antioxidant
Glycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
Bleaching
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
PEG-100 Stearate
Petrolatum
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Propyl Gallate
Antioxidant
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSqualane
Emollient
Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane
Antioxidant
Water
Skin ConditioningAllantoin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Arbutin, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Carbomer, Cetyl Alcohol, Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside, Ethylhexylglycerin, Gallyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, PEG-100 Stearate, Petrolatum, Phenoxyethanol, Propyl Gallate, Sodium Hydroxide, Squalane, Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane, Water
Water
Skin ConditioningSqualane
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Polyglyceryl-2 Stearate
Emulsifying
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide Ng
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide As
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Carnosine
Skin Conditioning
Hydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Phytosterols
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-11
Emulsion Stabilising1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
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 StearateHyaluronic acid (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan (basically a long sugar chain) that your skin already makes on its own. In your skin, HA lives in the extracellular matrix and acts as the body's moisture reservoir.
Topically, HA is a humectant that binds water and helps skin look more plump, smooth, and hydrated.
The only catch is that HA isn't a single thing; it actually comes in a wide range of molecular weights (~50 - 2,000+ kDA) and size matters.
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
This is why the best HA serums blend the two sizes together so you get the best of both worlds.
The majority of cosmetic HA is produced by bacterial fermentation, typically using Streptococcus or Bacillus strains. Typical use levels in skincare sit around 0.1-2%.
A clinical study using a 0.2% low-molecular weight HA gel showed improvement in facial seborrheic dermatitis with excellent tolerance.
These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:
Learn more about Hyaluronic AcidSqualane is the hydrogenated and shelf-stable form of squalene (a lipid that naturally occurs in human sebum).
It is an emollient and skin conditioning agent that is able to integrate seamlessly into the skin's lipid barrier without clogging pores.
This is due to how structurally similar it is to what your skin already produces.
Though it is mostly an emollient that helps soften and hydrate skin, it also has some humectant and occlusive action. Humectants help the skin retain moisture while occlusives seal it in, making squalane a triple-threat moisturizer.
Research shows it has antioxidant capabilities that help protect against stressors like UV exposure, specifically UVA induced oxidative stress. This study also found that it supports collagen biosynthesis in human dermal fibroblasts.
No clinical study has reported significant adverse effects and irritation reactions are very rare from this ingredient (even at 100% concentration).
Overall, it's a fantastic ingredient for hydration and is suitable for all skin types.
This depends on the source. Squalane can be derived from both plants and animals. Most squalane used in skincare comes from plants.
Please note: the source of squalane is only known if disclosed by the brand. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have any questions about their squalane.
Read more about squalene with an "e".
Though squalane is often called an oil, it’s technically not one. It is a hydrocarbon, meaning it is only made of carbon and hydrogen. True oils are triglycerides and made of fatty acids and glycerol.
The term “oil-free” isn’t regulated so companies can define it however they want. Some exclude all oils, while others just avoid mineral oil or comedogenic oils.
Squalane has a comedogenic rating of 1 from the original 1972 study that tested raw ingredients under occlusion on rabbit ears. This system is not standardized or peer-reviewed, and using the raw ingredients is very different from how diluted cosmetic formulations are used on human skin.
A comedogenic rating of 1 means it is "unlikely to clog pores" according to the original rating system.
The overall formula of a product matters more than the individual ingredients on whether or not it will cause clogged pores.
Learn more about SqualaneWater. 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
