What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningIsobutane
Trimethoxycaprylylsilane
SmoothingOleth-100
SurfactantCetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Terminalia Chebula Extract
AstringentBiotin
AntiseborrhoeicAsparagus Racemosus Root Powder
Skin ConditioningSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Folic Acid
Skin ConditioningSorbitan Fatty Acid Ester
EmulsifyingDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Pvm/Ma Decadiene Crosspolymer
Myristyl Alcohol
Emollient
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingLeuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Water, Isobutane, Trimethoxycaprylylsilane, Oleth-100, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Terminalia Chebula Extract, Biotin, Asparagus Racemosus Root Powder, Sodium Hyaluronate, Folic Acid, Sorbitan Fatty Acid Ester, Decyl Glucoside, Pvm/Ma Decadiene Crosspolymer, Myristyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Phenoxyethanol
Alternatives
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.
Its main roles are:
Though it has "alcohol" in the name, it is not related to denatured alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe. It is a primary fatty alcohol with a chain length above 12 carbons. A study from 2019 show Malassezia can feed on fatty alcohols in this range, so it may trigger fungal acne in those prone to it.
Learn more about Cetyl 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 GlycerinWater. 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
