What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPentylene Glycol
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
HumectantBetaine
HumectantC15-19 Alkane
SolventPanthenol
Skin ConditioningSqualane
EmollientAmmonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer
Butylene Glycol
HumectantGlyceryl Caprylate
EmollientCentella Asiatica Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningAllantoin
Skin ConditioningCeramide NP
Skin ConditioningSodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningHydrolyzed Jojoba Esters
Skin ConditioningSodium Hyaluronate
HumectantSodium Citrate
BufferingCitric Acid
BufferingJojoba Esters
EmollientPhragmites Karka Extract
Skin ConditioningPoria Cocos Extract
Skin ConditioningSodium Benzoate
MaskingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPalmitoyl Tripeptide-8
Skin ConditioningDextran
Water, Pentylene Glycol, Glycerin, Betaine, C15-19 Alkane, Panthenol, Squalane, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer, Butylene Glycol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract, Allantoin, Ceramide NP, Sodium Gluconate, Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Jojoba Esters, Phragmites Karka Extract, Poria Cocos Extract, Sodium Benzoate, Xanthan Gum, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-8, Dextran
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
HumectantPentylene Glycol
Skin ConditioningCoco-Caprylate/Caprate
EmollientButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin ConditioningSclerotium Gum
Emulsion StabilisingEthylhexyl Stearate
EmollientSodium PCA
HumectantSqualane
EmollientGlyceryl Stearate Citrate
EmollientDisodium Acetyl Glucosamine Phosphate
Skin ConditioningPalmitoyl Tripeptide-38
Skin ConditioningAcetyl Hexapeptide-8
HumectantSodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
HumectantDipotassium Glycyrrhizate
HumectantGlyceryl Caprylate
EmollientCaprylyl Glycol
EmollientHydrolyzed Jojoba Esters
Skin ConditioningJojoba Esters
EmollientEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningHydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin
MaskingPolyglyceryl-4 Diisostearate/Polyhydroxystearate/Sebacate
EmulsifyingSodium Isostearate
CleansingSodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningWater, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Sclerotium Gum, Ethylhexyl Stearate, Sodium PCA, Squalane, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Disodium Acetyl Glucosamine Phosphate, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Caprylyl Glycol, Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters, Jojoba Esters, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin, Polyglyceryl-4 Diisostearate/Polyhydroxystearate/Sebacate, Sodium Isostearate, Sodium Gluconate
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 Caprylate comes from glycerin and caprylic acid. It is an emollient, co-emulsifier, and preservative booster.
Its short C8 fatty acid chain makes it behave differently from its longer-chain emollient cousins like Glyceryl Stearate. It feels more lightweight, fast-absorbing, and silky instead of rich and waxy.
As a co-emulsifier, its "head" and "tail" sit at the oil-water interface. But overall, the short C8 tail and not being water soluble means it doesn't really have the muscle to emulsify a formula on its own. That's why you'll often see it paired with a primary emulsifier like Cetearyl Glucoside.
Interestingly, Glyceryl Caprylate acts as a preservative booster. This is because its fatty-acid backbone disrupts microbial lipid membranes. It shows excellent activity against bacteria and yeast but is weaker against mold.
Typical concentrations range from 0.5-1% and this ingredient is generally non-irritating.
Because this ingredient has a C8 fatty acid chain, it is outside the range that the Malassezia yeast metabolizes (making it fungal acne safe).
Learn more about Glyceryl CaprylateThis ingredient is created by cleaving jojoba oil to remove all fatty acids, fatty alcohols, and wax esters.
Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters has emollient, stabilizing, and hair-conditioning properties.
Jojoba Esters is a wax created from Jojoba oil. It is an emollient and film-forming ingredient. In bead form, it is an exfoliator.
This ingredient has high oxidative stability, meaning it doesn't break down when exposed to oxygen.
Its similarity to our skin's natural oils makes it a great emollient. Emollients help soften and soothe our skin by creating a barrier on top. This barrier helps trap moisture in, keeping skin hydrated.
It is created using either the hydrogenation or transesterification processes on jojoba oil.
Learn more about Jojoba EstersPentylene glycol is typically used within a product to thicken it. It also adds a smooth, soft, and moisturizing feel to the product. It is naturally found in plants such as sugar beets.
The hydrophilic trait of Pentylene Glycol makes it a humectant. As a humectant, Pentylene Glycol helps draw moisture from the air to your skin. This can help keep your skin hydrated.
This property also makes Pentylene Glycol a great texture enhancer. It can also help thicken or stabilize a product.
Pentylene Glycol also acts as a mild preservative and helps to keep a product microbe-free.
Some people may experience mild eye and skin irritation from Pentylene Glycol. We always recommend speaking with a professional about using this ingredient in your routine.
Pentylene Glycol has a low molecular weight and is part of the 1,2-glycol family.
Learn more about Pentylene GlycolThis 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 GluconateSqualane is the hydrogenated and shelf-stable form of squalene (a lipid that naturally occurs in human sebum).
It is an emollient and skin conditioning agent that is able to integrate seamlessly into the skin's lipid barrier without clogging pores.
This is due to how structurally similar it is to what your skin already produces.
Though it is mostly an emollient that helps soften and hydrate skin, it also has some humectant and occlusive action. Humectants help the skin retain moisture while occlusives seal it in, making squalane a triple-threat moisturizer.
Research shows it has antioxidant capabilities that help protect against stressors like UV exposure, specifically UVA induced oxidative stress. This study also found that it supports collagen biosynthesis in human dermal fibroblasts.
No clinical study has reported significant adverse effects and irritation reactions are very rare from this ingredient (even at 100% concentration).
Overall, it's a fantastic ingredient for hydration and is suitable for all skin types.
This depends on the source. Squalane can be derived from both plants and animals. Most squalane used in skincare comes from plants.
Please note: the source of squalane is only known if disclosed by the brand. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have any questions about their squalane.
Read more about squalene with an "e".
Though squalane is often called an oil, it’s technically not one. It is a hydrocarbon, meaning it is only made of carbon and hydrogen. True oils are triglycerides and made of fatty acids and glycerol.
The term “oil-free” isn’t regulated so companies can define it however they want. Some exclude all oils, while others just avoid mineral oil or comedogenic oils.
Squalane has a comedogenic rating of 1 from the original 1972 study that tested raw ingredients under occlusion on rabbit ears. This system is not standardized or peer-reviewed, and using the raw ingredients is very different from how diluted cosmetic formulations are used on human skin.
A comedogenic rating of 1 means it is "unlikely to clog pores" according to the original rating system.
The overall formula of a product matters more than the individual ingredients on whether or not it will cause clogged pores.
Learn more about SqualaneWater. 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