What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Emulsifying Wax
Glycerin
Humectant
Elaeis Guineensis Oil
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Azadirachta Indica Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Rosa Damascena Flower Water
Masking
Rosa Rubiginosa Seed Oil
Emollient
Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil
Emollient
Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil
Emollient
Retinyl Acetate
Skin Conditioning
Ascorbyl Palmitate
Antioxidant
Calcium Ascorbate
Antioxidant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Salix Alba Bark Extract
Astringent
Alcohol
Antimicrobial
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingTetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Persea Gratissima Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Emulsifying Wax, Glycerin, Elaeis Guineensis Oil, Stearic Acid, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Azadirachta Indica Seed Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Rosa Rubiginosa Seed Oil, Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil, Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil, Retinyl Acetate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Calcium Ascorbate, Panthenol, Allantoin, Salix Alba Bark Extract, Alcohol, Xanthan Gum, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Water
MaskingOlea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Oenothera Biennis Oil
Emollient
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Citrus Limon Juice
Skin Conditioning
Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil
Emollient
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Juice
Skin ConditioningSimmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Cucumis Sativus Juice
EmollientCitrus Aurantium Amara Flower Extract
RefreshingCitrus Aurantium Dulcis Oil
Masking
Commiphora Myrrha Resin
MaskingTriethanolamine
BufferingCetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Geraniol
Perfuming
Farnesol
Perfuming
Limonene
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Hydroxycitronellal
Perfuming
Parfum
Masking
Methylparaben
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Water, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Stearic Acid, Oenothera Biennis Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil, Glycerin, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Citrus Limon Juice, Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Juice, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Cucumis Sativus Juice, Citrus Aurantium Amara Flower Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Oil, Commiphora Myrrha Resin, Triethanolamine, Cetearyl Alcohol, Geraniol, Farnesol, Limonene, Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal, Parfum, Methylparaben, Propylparaben
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 GlycerinThis ingredient is also known as Avocado oil. It's the cold-pressed oil from the flesh of the avocado fruit packed with fatty acids (mostly oleic acid).
The rich fatty acid profile allows it to function as a skin conditioning agent and emollient; it helps soften and smooth skin while reducing water loss.
Preclinical research has found that topical avocado oil increased collagen synthesis and reduced inflammation during wound healing, giving it some skin-repairing credibility.
The unsaponifiable fraction of the oil is also interesting: studies on avocado unsaponifiables showed that it helped skin produce more collagen and other structural compounds that support healing.
The CIR Expert Panel has found this ingredient to be non-irritating in formulations.
It's a great ingredient for dry or compromised skin. Just know it may not be fungal acne safe. This is because the oleic acid content falls within the range that Malassezia can use as a food source.
Learn more about Persea Gratissima OilJojoba oil is one of the most well-studied plant-derived ingredients in cosmetics. It is an emollient with a special structure.
Because it is made up of 97-98% wax esters, it closely mirrors the linear monoesters found in human sebum. This makes it skin compatible, non-greasy, and lightweight.
Unlike other plant oils, jojoba wax doesn't easily penetrate skin. It mostly works in the uppermost layers as an emollient. This just means it forms a light barrier on the skin to help retain moisture.
Formulations with jojoba esters up to 90% reduced transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and increased barrier recovery by 81% (outperforming bisabolol at 47%).
Besides barrier support, the science also suggests jojoba to have anti-inflammatory effects and potential applications for skin infections, aging, and wound healing.
Fun fact: Indigenous cultures have used jojoba as a moisturizer and to help treat burns for centuries.
Fungal acne: The Malassezia yeast is known to metabolize fatty acids in the C11-24 range and jojoba's dominant fatty acid components fall into this range. This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Simmondsia Chinensis Seed OilStearic Acid is a fatty acid that is already found in your skin. It's one of the free fatty acids that works alongside ceramides and cholesterols to maintain your barrier.
In cosmetics, it is a multitasker:
Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.
Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Stearic AcidTriticum Vulgare Germ Oil is better known as wheat germ oil. It's a golden oil that softens skin as an emollient and deliver antioxidants.
Most of its fatty acid profile is dominated by linoleic acid (~55%) with smaller amounts of palmitic, oleic, and linolenic. Linoleic acid helps reinforce the skin barrier and slow moisture loss.
Wheat germ oil's real claim to fame is its vitamin E content; it has the highest vitamin E of any vegetable oil. This gives is strong antioxidant properties and helps the oil resist going rancid.
Patch-testing of wheat-germ products has shown no irritation or sensitization, and this ingredient is a great choice for dry skin. It might be a bit heavy for acne-prone or oily skin.
There are just three caveats worth knowing:
Like other plant oils, it contains the C11-24 fatty acids that Malassezia can metabolize. Therefore, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Refined oils carry very little protein, but anyone diagnosed with a wheat or gluten allergy should patch test just to be cautious.
While blogs like to list this ingredient with a comedogenic rating of 5, the original study was actually done on a different ingredient: wheat germ triglycerides. Wheat germ triglycerides actually scored a 3 and not a 5. The 5 appears to be a mix-up that spread across charts over the years, with no actual data behind it.
Learn more about Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil
