What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laureth Sulfate
CleansingGlycerin
HumectantDecyl Glucoside
CleansingCoco-Betaine
CleansingSalicylic Acid
MaskingSodium Chloride
MaskingNiacinamide
SmoothingZinc PCA
HumectantPEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate
EmulsifyingPEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides
EmulsifyingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingCapryloyl Salicylic Acid
ExfoliatingTetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Citric Acid
BufferingHexylene Glycol
EmulsifyingParfum
MaskingWater, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerin, Decyl Glucoside, Coco-Betaine, Salicylic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Niacinamide, Zinc PCA, PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Sodium Hydroxide, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Citric Acid, Hexylene Glycol, Parfum
Reviews
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 GlycerinWater. 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