What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingSorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Vincetoxicum Atratum Extract
Skin ConditioningCeramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate
Antioxidant
Arginine
Masking
Alanine
Masking
Tyrosine
MaskingHistidine
Humectant
Leucine
Skin ConditioningMethionine
Skin ConditioningBetaine
Humectant
Trehalose
Humectant
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Lauramidopropyl Betaine
CleansingSodium Chloride
MaskingPolyquaternium-10
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningWater, Glycerin, Myristic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Lauric Acid, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Sorbitan Olivate, Glyceryl Stearate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Panthenol, Vincetoxicum Atratum Extract, Ceramide NP, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Arginine, Alanine, Tyrosine, Histidine, Leucine, Methionine, Betaine, Trehalose, Allantoin, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Lauramidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Polyquaternium-10, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate
Surfactant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Sorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Potassium Cocoate
Emulsifying
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Polyquaternium-67
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientDisodium EDTA
Sodium Acetate
BufferingSodium Chloride
MaskingPanthenol
Skin Conditioning
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Madecassoside
Antioxidant
Water, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Glycerin, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Decyl Glucoside, Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Sorbitan Olivate, Glycol Distearate, Potassium Cocoate, Caprylyl Glycol, Citric Acid, Polyquaternium-67, Glyceryl Caprylate, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Acetate, Sodium Chloride, Panthenol, Pentylene Glycol, Madecassoside
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.
Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.
Because it is not a free-fatty acid or alcohol, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl GlycolGlycerin (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 StearatePanthenol 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 PanthenolChances 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 Methyl Cocoyl Taurate is a gentle, coconut-derived cleansing surfactant. It's most commonly found in "sulfate-free" cleansers.
As a taurate, it belongs to a class of anionic surfactants prized for being efficient at cleansing without harshness, good performance in hard water, stability across a wide pH range, and easily biodegradable.
It is able to lift away oil and grime and make a nice lather without stripping your skin, so it's a good pick for sensitive skin.
Safety-wise, it has a good record. The CIR Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe in cosmetics and concentrations go up to 11% in leave-on products or 13% in rinse-off products.
Despite being derived from coconut oil, this ingredient is fungal acne safe. It's a water-soluble surfactant with no fatty oils or esters left intact on skin for the Malassezia yeast to feed.
Learn more about Sodium Methyl Cocoyl TaurateSorbitan Olivate is created from the fatty acids in olive oil and sorbitol.
This ingredient is an oil in water emulsifier. It helps stabilize a product by preventing oils and waters from separating. Sorbitan Olivate also helps hydrate the skin.
This ingredient is also known as part of Olivem 1000, with Cetearyl Olivate being the other part.
According to a manufacturer, this ingredient helps preserve the natural microbiome of skin. Having a healthy microbiome helps keep our skin healthy and protects against harmful bacteria.
Please note, having a healthy microbiome is different from fungal acne; a healthy microbiome includes small amounts of yeast that normally live on your skin without causing problems.
Fungal acne happens when one type of yeast (Malassezia) grows out of control. This is usually because it's feeding on certain oils or fatty acids. Due to the olive oil base, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Sorbitan OlivateWater. 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
