What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningHydroxyethyl Urea
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Petrolatum
Emollient
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Steareth-21
CleansingJojoba Esters
Emollient
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate
Antioxidant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Distearyldimonium Chloride
Stearamidopropyl Pg-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate
Ceramide Ng
Skin Conditioning
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Methyl Gluceth-20
Humectant
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Silk Amino Acids
HumectantPotassium Hydroxide
BufferingC12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialTribehenin
Emollient
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
PEG-10 Phytosterol
EmulsifyingParfum
Masking
EDTA
Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12
Skin Conditioning
Water, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Glycerin, Stearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Petrolatum, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Steareth-21, Jojoba Esters, Tocopheryl Acetate, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Niacinamide, Panthenol, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Stearamidopropyl Pg-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Ceramide Ng, Polysorbate 60, Methyl Gluceth-20, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Propylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters, Hydroxyacetophenone, Silk Amino Acids, Potassium Hydroxide, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Tribehenin, Butylene Glycol, Citric Acid, PEG-10 Phytosterol, Parfum, EDTA, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholEthylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:
The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.
Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.
Learn more about EthylhexylglycerinGlycerin (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 GlycerinWater. 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
