What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Houttuynia Cordata Extract
Skin Conditioning
Trehalose
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Dicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientSteareth-21
CleansingButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Urea
Buffering
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Fructose
Humectant
Maltose
MaskingSodium PCA
Humectant
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Glucose
Humectant
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide Ns
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide As
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Beta-Glucan
Skin Conditioning
Laminaria Digitata Extract
Skin Protecting
Hippophae Rhamnoides Oil
Emollient
Cetyl-Pg Hydroxyethyl Palmitamide
Skin ConditioningSodium Acrylates Copolymer
C12-18 Alkanoyl Glycerin/Sebacic Acid Copolymer
Sodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Sodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningCitric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Chloride
MaskingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningWater, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Trehalose, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Steareth-21, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Allantoin, Panthenol, Urea, Pentylene Glycol, Fructose, Maltose, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glucose, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide Ns, Ceramide NP, Ceramide As, Ceramide AP, Beta-Glucan, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Oil, Cetyl-Pg Hydroxyethyl Palmitamide, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, C12-18 Alkanoyl Glycerin/Sebacic Acid Copolymer, Sodium Polyacrylate, Sodium Gluconate, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin
Water
Skin ConditioningCalendula Officinalis Extract
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Diheptyl Succinate
EmollientAloe Barbadensis Extract
Skin Conditioning
Triethanolamine
BufferingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Betaine
Humectant
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium PCA
Humectant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningSodium Lactate
Buffering
PCA
Humectant
Capryloyl Glycerin/Sebacic Acid Copolymer
Skin ConditioningSerine
Masking
Alanine
Masking
Glycine
Buffering
Glutamic Acid
Humectant
Lysine Hcl
Skin Conditioning
Threonine
Arginine
Masking
Proline
Skin Conditioning
Water, Calendula Officinalis Extract, Glycerin, Diheptyl Succinate, Aloe Barbadensis Extract, Triethanolamine, Phenoxyethanol, Betaine, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium PCA, Panthenol, Sodium Gluconate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Lactate, PCA, Capryloyl Glycerin/Sebacic Acid Copolymer, Serine, Alanine, Glycine, Glutamic Acid, Lysine Hcl, Threonine, Arginine, Proline
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Ethylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:
The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.
Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.
Learn more about EthylhexylglycerinGlycerin (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 GlycerinPanthenol is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin. It is found naturally in our skin and hair.
There are two forms of panthenol: D and L.
D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.
Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):
Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.
This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.
Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.
This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.
Learn more about PanthenolPhenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).
It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.
On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.
Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).
You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.
Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.
Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.
Learn more about PhenoxyethanolThis is the synthetic salt of gluconic acid, a form of PHA and mild exfoliant.
It is mainly used to stabilize oil and butter formulations from going bad. Sodium gluconate is a humectant, pH regulator, and chelating agent.
Chelating agents help neutralize unwanted metals from affecting the formulation.
Sodium gluconate is water-soluble.
Learn more about Sodium GluconateSodium Lactate is the sodium salt of lactic acid, an AHA. It is a humectant and sometimes used to adjust the pH of a product.
This ingredient is part of our skin's NMF, or natural moisturizing factor. Our NMF is essential for the hydration of our top skin layers and plasticity of skin. NMF also influences our skin's natural acid mantle and pH, which protects our skin from harmful bacteria.
High percentages of Sodium Lactate can have an exfoliating effect.
Fun fact: Sodium Lactate is produced from fermented sugar.
Learn more about Sodium LactateSodium PCA (the salt of PCA) is one of the most well-established humectants in skincare.
Why is it so special? Your skin already makes it naturally; it's a natural component of your skin's Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF), or the mix of water-binding compounds inside your skin cells that keeps things soft and hydrated.
As a cosmetic ingredient, it grabs water and holds it in the upper layers of skin to smooth roughness and ease dehydration.
There's some clinical support for the NMF approach with a study showing that a cream built to mimic the skin's NMF significantly boosted hydration.
Safety-wise, this ingredient non-irritating, non-comedogenic, and non-phototoxic in testing, with minimal skin absorption.
It also works really well with other hydrators like glycerin or hyaluronic acid, and typical usage is somewhere between 0.2-4%.
Learn more about Sodium PCAWater. 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
