What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Shea Butter Ethyl Esters
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter Extract
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract
Emollient
Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Coffea Arabica Husk Extract
Antioxidant
Butter Extract
Emollient
Santalum Album Wood Extract
Perfuming
Musa Sapientum Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningVaccinium Macrocarpon Fruit Extract
AstringentCucumis Melo Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningVanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Prunus Armeniaca Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningCocos Nucifera Oil, Shea Butter Ethyl Esters, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter Extract, Tocopherol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Coffea Arabica Husk Extract, Butter Extract, Santalum Album Wood Extract, Musa Sapientum Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Macrocarpon Fruit Extract, Cucumis Melo Fruit Extract, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Prunus Armeniaca Fruit Extract
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
This ingredient is also known as coconut oil. It is a plant-derived ingredient with skin conditioning properties.
The fatty acid profile of coconut oil is mostly lauric acid (~54%), followed by capric, caprylic, palmitic, and myristic acids. This profile allows it to penetrate easily into skin, moisturize, and improve dry skin.
A double-blind study confirmed that extra virgin coconut oil is as effective as mineral oil for treating very dry skin. Another study found it outperformed mineral oil for mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in children.
Another study from 2018 found that virgin coconut oil can soothe inflammation and boost key skin barrier proteins. Just know this evidence is still only from lab settings and not human trials.
It has also been shown to reduce Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that commonly overgrows in people with eczema.
Clinical testing shows very minimal skin irritation and no evidence of sensitization or phototoxicity.
Coconut oil gets flagged as a "fragrance" because it has a natural mild scent (not because it's a synthetic perfume). The European Cosmetic ingredient database also lists "perfuming" as a function of this ingredient.
Just so you know, the term "fragrance" is completely unregulated. Some brands still use botanical extracts or essential oils in their "fragrance-free" formulas, but regulatory databases technically classify these under "fragrance".
Coconut oil has a tiny and useless bit of natural SPF. Early lab studies clocked it around SPF 7-8 but a more recent study found the real number closer to SPF 1.2. It also offers no meaningful UVA protection (SPF only overs UVB rays).
The comedogenic rating of 4/5 means it has a high potential to clog pores; but it's worth noting that comedogenicity is highly individual and ratings cannot predict how an overall formula will behave on skin.
Since lauric acid is the dominant fatty acid, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast feeds on fatty acids with carbon chain lengths between 11-24, and lauric acid falls within these lengths (C12).
Learn more about Cocos Nucifera OilTocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.
Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.
Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.
You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.
There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.
Learn more about Tocopherol
