What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Dipropylene Glycol
HumectantHydrogenated Poly(C6-12 Olefin)
Skin ConditioningPentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
PPG-10 Methyl Glucose Ether
Skin ConditioningCeteth-23
CleansingGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingBehenyl Alcohol
Emollient
Arginine
Masking
Propanediol
Solvent
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Disodium EDTA
Phytosteryl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate
Skin ConditioningCaprylhydroxamic Acid
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate
Humectant
Lactococcus/Hyaluronic Acid Ferment Filtrate
Water, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dipropylene Glycol, Hydrogenated Poly(C6-12 Olefin), Pentylene Glycol, PPG-10 Methyl Glucose Ether, Ceteth-23, Glyceryl Stearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Carbomer, Behenyl Alcohol, Arginine, Propanediol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Disodium EDTA, Phytosteryl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Butylene Glycol, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Lactococcus/Hyaluronic Acid Ferment Filtrate
Water
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Dimethicone
Emollient
Squalane
Emollient
Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate
Emollient
Betaine
Humectant
Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate
Emulsifying
Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate
EmollientCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Hydroxypropyl Bispalmitamide Mea
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate Citrate
Emollient
Cholesterol
Emollient
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Dimethiconol
Emollient
Hydroxypropyl Bislauramide Mea
EmollientBehenyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingDisodium EDTA
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningTromethamine
BufferingSorbitan Isostearate
Emulsifying
Phytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Mannitol
Humectant
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Hydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Acrylates/Ammonium Methacrylate Copolymer
Silica
Abrasive
Sphingolipids
Emollient
Arachidic Acid
Cleansing
Oleic Acid
Emollient
Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Squalane, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Betaine, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Palmitic Acid, 1,2-Hexanediol, Stearic Acid, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Glyceryl Stearate, Hydroxypropyl Bispalmitamide Mea, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Cholesterol, Niacinamide, Dimethiconol, Hydroxypropyl Bislauramide Mea, Behenyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Carbomer, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tromethamine, Sorbitan Isostearate, Phytosphingosine, Mannitol, Ceramide NP, Tocopherol, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Acrylates/Ammonium Methacrylate Copolymer, Silica, Sphingolipids, Arachidic Acid, Oleic Acid
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Behenyl Alcohol is a type of fatty alcohol (these are different from the drying, solvent alcohols).
Fatty Alcohols have hydrating properties and are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product. They are usually derived from natural fats and oils; behenyl alcohol is derived from the fats of vegetable oils.
Emollients help keep your skin soft and hydrated by creating a film that traps moisture in.
In 2000, Behenyl Alcohol was approved by the US as medicine to reduce the duration of cold sores.
Learn more about Behenyl AlcoholButylene 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 GlycolCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride (aka MCT Oil) is a lightweight emollient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It is considered a skin-softener by helping to prevent moisture loss.
Though it behaves like an oil, it is not technically one due to its chemical composition. One perk of this ingredient is that it is very stable, resistant to oxidation, and unlikely to go rancid.
In practice, that translates to a long shelf life and a consistently elegant skin feel.
While there is an assumption Caprylic Triglyceride can clog pores due to it being derived from coconut oil, there is no research supporting this. Just patch test if you have concerns.
Fractionated coconut oil and MCT Oil are both listed as Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride according to INCI. This is because INCI names are based on the ingredient’s final chemical composition and not its marketing name or source.
This ingredient is treated as the gold standard fungal acne safe oil. Even though it is coconut derived, the problematic lauric acid is stripped out.
This leaves just caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) acid. These chain lengths actually trend antifungal; a 2020 study found caprylic acid was enough to disrupt Malassezia furfur cell membrane, with a caprylic acid derivative damaging membrane structures at concentrations as low as 0.2%.
Learn more about Caprylic/Capric TriglycerideCarbomer is a high-molecular weight polymer of acrylic acid. It is used to form gels and thicken formulas.
Due to its large molecular size, carbomer has minimal skin penetration and is considered an inert ingredient.
A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.
Learn more about CarbomerDisodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlycerin (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 StearateWater. 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
