Kiehl's Cucumber Herbal Conditioning Cleanser Versus La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser
What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Coco-Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingAcrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
PPG-5-Ceteth-20
EmulsifyingGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Coconut Acid
Cleansing
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
PEG-55 Propylene Glycol Oleate
Surfactant
Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Hydrogenated Coconut Acid
Emollient
Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract
Emollient
Polyquaternium-53
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Disodium EDTA
Lavandula Hybrida Oil
Emollient
Sodium Isethionate
CleansingPEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate
Emulsifying
Trideceth-6
EmulsifyingCitrus Medica Peel Oil
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingWater, Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Coco-Betaine, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Chloride, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Phenoxyethanol, PEG-100 Stearate, PPG-5-Ceteth-20, Glyceryl Stearate, Coconut Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, PEG-55 Propylene Glycol Oleate, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Salicylic Acid, Chlorphenesin, Hydrogenated Coconut Acid, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Polyquaternium-53, Coco-Glucoside, Disodium EDTA, Lavandula Hybrida Oil, Sodium Isethionate, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Trideceth-6, Citrus Medica Peel Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Benzoic Acid, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide
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 GlycolCoco-Betaine is the natural version of Cocamidopropyl Betaine. It is often derived from coconuts.
Coco-Betaine is a surfactant, meaning it helps remove dirt and oil from the skin.
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 GlycerinPropylene 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 GlycolChances 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 ChlorideWater. 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
