What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Citric Acid
Buffering
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate
Surfactant
Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Polyquaternium-7
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sodium Chloride
MaskingLauric Acid
Cleansing
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingDisodium EDTA
BHT
Antioxidant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningSodium Citrate
BufferingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Alpha-Arbutin
Antioxidant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Emulsifying
3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Retinyl Palmitate
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Sodium Metabisulfite
Antioxidant
Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate
Skin Conditioning
Lecithin
Emollient
Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate
Humectant
Phytic Acid
Centella Asiatica Extract
Cleansing
Trehalose
Humectant
Urea
Buffering
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Serine
Masking
Biosaccharide Gum-4
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Glyceryl Polyacrylate
Algin
Masking
Disodium Phosphate
BufferingPullulan
Potassium Phosphate
BufferingWater, Glycerin, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Citric Acid, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Myristic Acid, Polyquaternium-7, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Chloride, Lauric Acid, Chlorphenesin, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate, Alpha-Arbutin, Niacinamide, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Octyldodecanol, Retinyl Palmitate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Metabisulfite, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Lecithin, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Phytic Acid, Centella Asiatica Extract, Trehalose, Urea, 1,2-Hexanediol, Pentylene Glycol, Serine, Biosaccharide Gum-4, Caprylyl Glycol, Glyceryl Polyacrylate, Algin, Disodium Phosphate, Pullulan, Potassium Phosphate
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Cleansing
Sodium Cocoamphoacetate
CleansingPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Betaine
Humectant
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
PCA
Humectant
Serine
Masking
Alanine
Masking
Glycine
Buffering
Glutamic Acid
Humectant
Lysine Hcl
Skin Conditioning
Threonine
Arginine
Masking
Proline
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Acrylates/Beheneth-25 Methacrylate Copolymer
Sodium Chloride
MaskingLactic Acid
Buffering
Lauramine Oxide
CleansingSodium Carbonate
BufferingPolysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Imidazolidinyl Urea
Preservative
Water, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Propylene Glycol, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Salicylic Acid, Panthenol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium PCA, Betaine, Sodium Lactate, PCA, Serine, Alanine, Glycine, Glutamic Acid, Lysine Hcl, Threonine, Arginine, Proline, Glycerin, Acrylates/Beheneth-25 Methacrylate Copolymer, Sodium Chloride, Lactic Acid, Lauramine Oxide, Sodium Carbonate, Polysorbate 20, Imidazolidinyl Urea
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineGlycerin (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 GlycerinSerine is a non-essential amino acid (your body makes it on its own!). It is a major player in your skin's natural moisturizing factor (NMF), or the water-loving molecules in your outermost layer of skin (stratum corneum) that keeps everything hydrated and happy.
Serine is one of your NMF's most abundant components that works as a skin-identical humectant. Its hydroxyl group grabs onto water molecules to boost hydration without any heaviness or occlusion.
Research on a hydrogel with serine confirmed this serine got delivered to your stratum corneum and demonstrated enhanced skin moisturization.
Interestingly serine also helps your skin produce filaggrin, a protein that keeps your skin barrier strong and used to create collagen.
Learn more about SerineChances 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 ChlorideSodium Hyaluronate is the salt form of hyaluronic acid. It is a long sugar chain that is naturally found in your skin, joints, and connective tissue that maintains hydration and elasticity.
In skincare, it works as a humectant. It pulls water from the environment and deeper layers of skin and binds it to the surface.
Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.
You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium HyaluronateWater. 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
