What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate
Surfactant
Lauramidopropyl Betaine
CleansingHydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Acrylates Copolymer
Artemisia Capillaris Extract
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Powder
Apium Graveolens Stem Extract
HumectantCoptis Japonica Extract
AntimicrobialArtemisia Montana Leaf Powder
Exfoliating
Brassica Oleracea Acephala Leaf Extract
HumectantCichorium Intybus Leaf Extract
MaskingBrassica Oleracea Italica Extract
AstringentCitric Acid
Buffering
Potassium Cocoate
Emulsifying
Sodium Chloride
MaskingHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Dipropylene Glycol
Humectant
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningMaltodextrin
Absorbent
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Humectant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Water, Glycerin, Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Lauramidopropyl Betaine, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Acrylates Copolymer, Artemisia Capillaris Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Powder, Apium Graveolens Stem Extract, Coptis Japonica Extract, Artemisia Montana Leaf Powder, Brassica Oleracea Acephala Leaf Extract, Cichorium Intybus Leaf Extract, Brassica Oleracea Italica Extract, Citric Acid, Potassium Cocoate, Sodium Chloride, Hydroxyacetophenone, Dipropylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract, Maltodextrin, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, 1,2-Hexanediol
Glycerin
Humectant
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Disodium Lauroyl Glutamate
CleansingBetaine
Humectant
Lauryl Betaine
Cleansing1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Laminaria Japonica Extract
Skin Protecting
Eclipta Prostrata Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningCentella Asiatica Extract
Cleansing
Ficus Carica Fruit Extract
Humectant
Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract
Skin Conditioning
Amaranthus Caudatus Seed Extract
Skin Conditioning
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Hydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Sodium Chloride
MaskingPolyquaternium-39
Decylene Glycol
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
Humectant
Fructooligosaccharides
Humectant
Beta-Glucan
Skin Conditioning
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningGlycerin, Water, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Disodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Betaine, Lauryl Betaine, 1,2-Hexanediol, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Laminaria Japonica Extract, Eclipta Prostrata Leaf Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Ficus Carica Fruit Extract, Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract, Amaranthus Caudatus Seed Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Sodium Chloride, Polyquaternium-39, Decylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Fructooligosaccharides, Beta-Glucan, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Ceramide NP, Hydroxyacetophenone, Ethylhexylglycerin
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
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolGlycerin (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 GlycerinHydroxyacetophenone is a small phenolic molecule that earns its place in a formulas as an antioxidant and preservative booster.
As a phenol, it is able to neutralize free radicals to protect both the product and the skin from oxidative stress.
Though it can't kill microbes on its own, it works as a good supporting agent when combined with other preservatives like Phenoxyethanol or 1,2-Hexanediol.
This ingredient naturally occurs as piceol in Norwegian spruce needles (~0.4-1.1% dry weight and in cloudberries). Though the cosmetic-grade material is synthesized for purity and consistency.
You'll usually see it used at low levels and suppliers recommend up to 1% added to a water phase.
Safety testing was done at concentrations like 0.05% in SPF products and 0.5% in a Human Repeated Insult Patch Test. The safety evidence is assuring; this ingredient is safe for cosmetics in current use and also holds safety status as a food flavoring as well.
An honest caveat: the "soothing" and "anti-inflammatory" claims come mostly from supplier marketing rather than published clinical trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review's own literature search found no useful efficacy studies on this ingredient.
So the antioxidant and preservative-boosting roles are the well supported ones while the calming benefit is plausible but thinly evidenced.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-irritation multitasker that quietly helps a formula stay fresh and stable.
Learn more about HydroxyacetophenoneHydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate is a modified starch used to help thicken a product.
It is also used in foods.
Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideWater. 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
