What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Dimethicone
Emollient
Alcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Isononyl Isononanoate
EmollientButylene Glycol
Humectant
Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate
Emulsion StabilisingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Hydrolyzed Soy Protein
Humectant
Parfum
Masking
Hydroxypropyl Tetrahydropyrantriol
Skin ConditioningPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Ruscus Aculeatus Root Extract
Astringent
Glycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Caffeine
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Hydrolyzed Rice Protein
Skin ConditioningLimonene
Perfuming
Biosaccharide Gum-1
Humectant
Disodium EDTA
Adenosine
Skin Conditioning
T-Butyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Hydroxypalmitoyl Sphinganine
Skin Conditioning
Cryptomeria Japonica Bud Extract
Skin ConditioningLinalool
Perfuming
Citral
Perfuming
Water, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Alcohol Denat., Isononyl Isononanoate, Butylene Glycol, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Phenoxyethanol, Pentylene Glycol, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Parfum, Hydroxypropyl Tetrahydropyrantriol, Propylene Glycol, Ruscus Aculeatus Root Extract, Glycine Soja Oil, Caffeine, Tocopherol, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Limonene, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Disodium EDTA, Adenosine, T-Butyl Alcohol, Hydroxypalmitoyl Sphinganine, Cryptomeria Japonica Bud Extract, Linalool, Citral
Water
Skin ConditioningPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Dicaprylyl Ether
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
PEG-100 Stearate
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Squalene
Emollient
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene
EmollientPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sorbitan Oleate
Emulsifying
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingTriethanolamine
BufferingBeeswax
Emulsion Stabilising
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Disodium EDTA
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Myristyl Alcohol
Emollient
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Elaeis Guineensis Kernel Oil
Emollient
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Water, Propylene Glycol, Dicaprylyl Ether, Glycerin, PEG-100 Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Squalene, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Phenoxyethanol, Sorbitan Oleate, Caprylyl Glycol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Triethanolamine, Beeswax, Tocopherol, Disodium EDTA, Stearic Acid, Myristyl Alcohol, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Elaeis Guineensis Kernel Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Disodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlycerin (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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Propylene Glycol is a synthetic, colorless, odorless liquid that has been a staple in cosmetics for decades. It is a skin conditioning agent, humectant, and solvent.
As a humectant, it draw water to the skin to reduce flaking and restore suppleness. It's also a solvent that helps dissolve other actives and keeps formulas stable across temperature changes.
The CIR Expert Panel has confirmed this ingredient to be nontoxic and clinical studies show no sensitization at cosmetic use concentrations.
True allergic reactions are quite rare: a 15-year retrospective study of 6,751 patients found only 0.31% had a positive reaction (and less than half were considered clinically relevant).
It seemed that when sensitization does occur, it's most commonly linked to topical medication (like corticosteroids) and not cosmetics. Allergic contact dermatitis also appears largely limited to individuals with underlying skin conditions.
Overall, propylene glycol is a well-studied ingredient that most people can tolerate without issue.
Learn more about Propylene GlycolTocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
Learn more about TocopherolWater. 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
