What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
HumectantButylene Glycol
HumectantRice Ferment Lees
HumectantGlutamic Acid
HumectantArginine
MaskingLeucine
Skin ConditioningCeramide NP
Skin ConditioningCeramide AP
Skin ConditioningPlacental Extract
Arbutin
AntioxidantGlycyrrhetinic Acid
Skin ConditioningSoy Protein Phthalate
EmollientMaltitol
HumectantMethyl Gluceth-10
EmulsifyingPEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
EmulsifyingHydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingStyrene/Acrylates Copolymer
Citric Acid
BufferingSodium Citrate
BufferingPhenoxyethanol
PreservativeMethylparaben
PreservativeParfum
MaskingWater, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Rice Ferment Lees, Glutamic Acid, Arginine, Leucine, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Placental Extract, Arbutin, Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Soy Protein Phthalate, Maltitol, Methyl Gluceth-10, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Parfum
Water
Skin ConditioningPetrolatum
EmollientGlycerin
HumectantC12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialCetearyl Alcohol
EmollientDimethicone
EmollientSteareth-2
EmulsifyingCeteareth-20
CleansingGlyceryl Stearate
EmollientMethylparaben
PreservativePropylparaben
PreservativePolyacrylic Acid
Emulsion StabilisingDichlorobenzyl Alcohol
AntimicrobialTriethanolamine
BufferingNiacinamide
SmoothingSodium Lauroyl Lactylate
EmulsifyingPhytosphingosine
Skin ConditioningCeramide AP
Skin ConditioningCeramide NP
Skin ConditioningCeramide EOP
Skin ConditioningCholesterol
EmollientXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningWater, Petrolatum, Glycerin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Steareth-2, Ceteareth-20, Glyceryl Stearate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Polyacrylic Acid, Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol, Triethanolamine, Niacinamide, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Phytosphingosine, Ceramide AP, Ceramide NP, Ceramide EOP, Cholesterol, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Ethylhexylglycerin
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Ceramide AP is is a skin-identical lipid that mimics what your skin already makes naturally. Ceramides help maintain epidermal integrity and barrier function.
You'll often see this ingredient paired with other ceramides (like ceramide NP), cholesterol, or fatty acids because this combination best mimics the natural lipid mix your skin already has.
The skin's ability to produce ceramides gets disrupted in skin conditions like eczema. This in turn weakens the skin barrier and applying ceramides topically has been shown to replenish what's been lost to restore barrier function.
Most of the studies with Ceramide AP test it as part of a multi-ceramide complex; studies reinforce ceramide AP's role in rebalancing ceramides in skin and improving skin hydration.
Learn more about Ceramide APCeramide NP (formerly known as Ceramide 3) is one of the skin's naturally occurring lipids.
Since ceramides are the major lipid components of the skin, they are crucial for maintaining skin barrier and hydration. Ceramide NP most closely mirrors the dominant kind in human skin amongst ceramide subtypes.
This ceramide works by slotting into gaps within the stratum corneum's lipid matrix to limit trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and shield the skin against external irritants.
A study with 312 patients found that using a ceramide-containing routine for 4 weeks reduced the severity of atopic dermatitis by over 61%.
Another clinical study in subjects aged 60 and older found that a ceramide body wash and moisturizer improved skin dryness and itchy skin in 15 days.
Overall, ceramides are considered non-irritating and safety tests have found little to no observable adverse effects from using this ingredient.
Ceramide NP is usually sourced from plants (like soybean or rice bran), or produced synthetically.
Learn more about Ceramide NPGlycerin (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 GlycerinMethylparaben is a synthetic preservative and one of the most widely used in the world. It has a simple, but important job: prevent your products from going bad by stopping bacteria, yeast, and mold from growing.
Typical use levels are low, often 0.1-0.3%.
This is also one of the most heavily studied preservatives out there and major regulatory bodies have repeatedly given it the green light.
In 2023, the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) confirmed that this ingredient is safe up to 0.4% on its own, of up to 0.8% when mixed with other paraben esters.
Here's the science behind the noise behind parabens/hormones as well:
Methylparaben shows very weak estrogen-like activity in vitro tests (more than 1,000x weaker than your body's own estradiol). In vivo (live-organism) studies don't support a meaningful endocrine-disrupting effect either.
You get a stronger estrogenic effect from eating tofu, actually.
It's also a low sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon; they usually happen on damage or broken skin.
There is a caveat: France has proposed to formally re-examine its endocrine classification in 2025 so the regulatory conversation isn't fully closed as of yet.
But as it stands today, this ingredient is considered safe at permitted levels.
Learn more about MethylparabenWater. 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