What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Distearoylethyl Dimonium Chloride
Isomalt
HumectantSodium Benzoate
Masking
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Polyglyceryl-6 Distearate
Emulsifying
Citric Acid
Buffering
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningPhyllostachys Bambusoides Extract
Skin ConditioningMangifera Indica Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningPisum Sativum Sprout Extract
Skin ConditioningParfum
Masking
Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Coco-Glucoside, Distearoylethyl Dimonium Chloride, Isomalt, Sodium Benzoate, Persea Gratissima Oil, Polyglyceryl-6 Distearate, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Gluconate, Phyllostachys Bambusoides Extract, Mangifera Indica Fruit Extract, Pisum Sativum Sprout Extract, Parfum
Water
Skin ConditioningBehentrimonium Methosulfate
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Stearalkonium Chloride
Preservative
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Oryza Sativa Bran Oil
Emollient
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Hydrolyzed Quinoa
Skin ConditioningHydrolyzed Rice Protein
Skin ConditioningCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Water, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Stearalkonium Chloride, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Sodium Benzoate, Oryza Sativa Bran Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Hydrolyzed Quinoa, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.
Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.
It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceCetearyl 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 AlcoholGlycerin (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 OilSodium Benzoate is a preservative. It's used in both cosmetic and food products to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria. It is typically produced synthetically.
Both the US FDA and EU Health Committee have approved the use of sodium benzoate. In the US, levels of 0.1% (of the total product) are allowed.
Sodium benzoate works as a preservative by inhibiting the growth of bacteria inside of cells. It prevents the cell from fermenting a type of sugar using an enzyme called phosphofructokinase.
It is the salt of benzoic acid. Foods containing sodium benzoate include soda, salad dressings, condiments, fruit juices, wines, and snack foods.
Studies for using ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate in cosmetics are lacking, especially in skincare routines with multiple steps.
We always recommend speaking with a professional, such as a dermatologist, if you have any concerns.
Learn more about Sodium BenzoateWater. 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
