What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingStearic Acid
Cleansing
Lauryl Hydroxysultaine
CleansingGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Sodium Chloride
MaskingCoco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Ricinus Communis Seed Oil
Masking
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Salix Alba Bark Extract
Astringent
Menthol
Masking
Sodium Metaphosphate
BufferingTorreya Nucifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Limonene
Perfuming
Juniperus Communis Fruit Oil
Masking
Pinus Sylvestris Leaf Oil
Masking
Juniperus Virginiana Oil
Masking
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
Citrus Aurantifolia Oil
Cleansing
Dextrin
AbsorbentTheobroma Cacao Extract
Skin ConditioningLinalool
Perfuming
Citrus Limon Peel Oil
Masking
Artemisia Vulgaris Oil
Perfuming
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil
Masking
Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract
Astringent
Cupressus Sempervirens Leaf/Nut/Stem Oil
Emollient
Water, Glycerin, Myristic Acid, Lauric Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Lauryl Hydroxysultaine, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycol Distearate, Palmitic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Coco-Glucoside, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Decyl Glucoside, Salix Alba Bark Extract, Menthol, Sodium Metaphosphate, Torreya Nucifera Seed Oil, Limonene, Juniperus Communis Fruit Oil, Pinus Sylvestris Leaf Oil, Juniperus Virginiana Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Citrus Aurantifolia Oil, Dextrin, Theobroma Cacao Extract, Linalool, Citrus Limon Peel Oil, Artemisia Vulgaris Oil, Salicylic Acid, Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil, Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract, Cupressus Sempervirens Leaf/Nut/Stem Oil
Water
Skin ConditioningAllantoin
Skin Conditioning
Tetrasodium EDTA
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Emulsifying
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingGlycerin
Humectant
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningLauric Acid
Cleansing
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
PEG-75
HumectantGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate
Potassium Cocoate
Emulsifying
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Vaccinium Angustifolium Fruit Extract
Skin Protecting
Chamaecyparis Obtusa Water
MaskingHamamelis Virginiana Water
Astringent
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water
Masking
Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Water
Antimicrobial1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Water, Allantoin, Tetrasodium EDTA, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Lauric Acid, Myristic Acid, Stearic Acid, PEG-75, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Polysorbate 20, Tocopheryl Acetate, Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Potassium Cocoate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum, Vaccinium Angustifolium Fruit Extract, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Water, Hamamelis Virginiana Water, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water, Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Water, 1,2-Hexanediol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Glycerin (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 StearateLauric Acid is a saturated fatty acid naturally found in coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and even breast milk.
In cosmetics, it is an:
Lab studies have found that lauric acid is surprisingly good at killing acne-causing bacteria. However, these tests were done on bacteria in a petri dish and not on real skin, so we can't say for certain it works the same in a formulation on a real face.
The comedogenic rating of 4 comes from the 1972 rabbit ear model using undiluted ingredients. Comedogenicity is highly individual and one comedogenic ingredient cannot predict how a formula will behave on skin.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe and research has confirmed Malassezia can use it as a food source.
Learn more about Lauric AcidMyristic Acid is a saturated fatty acid. It is naturally found in milk fat. Other sources include palm oil, coconut oil, and butter fat.
Myristic Acid is an emulsifer and cleanser. As an emulsifer, it stabilizes a product by preventing ingredients from separating. Myristic Acid helps clean your skin by acting as a surfactant. It tends to gather oil and dirt on your skin to be easily rinsed away.
One study from 2021 found Myristic Acid to have anti-inflammatory properties.
Learn more about Myristic AcidPotassium hydroxide is commonly known as caustic potash. It is used to fix the pH of a product or as a cleaning agent in soap. In cleansers, it is used for the saponification of oils.
Sapnification is the process of creating fatty acid metal salts from triglycerides and a strong base. During this process, Potassium Hydroxide is used up and is not present in the final product.
Using high concentrations of Potassium Hydroxide have shown to irritate the skin.
Learn more about Potassium HydroxideChances 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 ChlorideStearic Acid is a fatty acid that is already found in your skin. It's one of the free fatty acids that works alongside ceramides and cholesterols to maintain your barrier.
In cosmetics, it is a multitasker:
Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.
Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Stearic AcidWater. 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
