What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingGlyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
PEG-6
HumectantPEG-32
HumectantSodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Sodium Phosphate
BufferingParfum
Masking
Polyquaternium-7
Tetrasodium EDTA
ChelatingDipropylene Glycol
HumectantButylene Glycol
Humectant
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Acetyl Glucosamine
Skin Conditioning
Prunus Persica Leaf Extract
Emollient
Water, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Lauric Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Glyceryl Stearate Se, PEG-6, PEG-32, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Sodium Phosphate, Parfum, Polyquaternium-7, Tetrasodium EDTA, Dipropylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Benzoate, Acetyl Glucosamine, Prunus Persica Leaf Extract
Water
Skin ConditioningGlyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Glycerin
Humectant
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
PEG-60 Glyceryl Isostearate
Surfactant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
PEG-32
HumectantPEG-6
HumectantMyristic Acid
Cleansing
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
PPG-15-Buteth-20
Skin ConditioningCoconut Acid
Cleansing
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Kaolin
Abrasive
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
BHT
Antioxidant
Saccharum Officinarum Extract
MoisturisingLeuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningCitrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract
MaskingCitrus Limon Fruit Extract
Masking
Morinda Citrifolia Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningAcer Saccharum Extract
Skin ConditioningSalvia Hispanica Seed Extract
Emollient
Succinoglycan
Skin ConditioningCalcite
Skin ConditioningIllite
Abrasive
Silica
Abrasive
Montmorillonite
AbsorbentDisodium EDTA
ChelatingPotassium Hydroxide
BufferingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
CI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Glycerin, Glycol Distearate, PEG-60 Glyceryl Isostearate, Butylene Glycol, PEG-32, PEG-6, Myristic Acid, Cetyl Alcohol, PPG-15-Buteth-20, Coconut Acid, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Kaolin, Stearyl Alcohol, Tocopherol, BHT, Saccharum Officinarum Extract, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract, Citrus Limon Fruit Extract, Morinda Citrifolia Leaf Extract, Acer Saccharum Extract, Salvia Hispanica Seed Extract, Succinoglycan, Calcite, Illite, Silica, Montmorillonite, Disodium EDTA, Potassium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, CI 77891
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolGlycerin (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 GlycerinGlyceryl Stearate SE is a self-emulsifying (SE) form of Glyceryl Stearate. It comes with a small amount of soap (usually potassium or sodium stearate) that gives it the "SE" part.
That soap lets it pull oil and water together on its own which is why it shows up as an emulsifier, thickener, and emollient.
Industry survey data shows this ingredient is used around 1-5% but Glyceryl Stearate goes as high at 17% in a leave-on deodorant.
Safety-wise, it's pretty boring: it's been deemed safe for topical use in 1982 and again most recently in 2021 by the CIR. Human repeat insult patch tests come back non-irritating, non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
This ingredient does carry a comedogenic rating of 3 from the old rabbit-ear assay. Just remember testing finished products in humans showed that formulas built with "comedogenic" ingredients are not necessarily comedogenic themselves. It's worth patch testing if you're breakout prone, and always listen to your skin.
The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize the stearic acid in this ingredient, so it may not be fungal acne safe.
Allergy is rare: a 310-patient patch test study of common emulsifiers found this ingredient was not a meaningful reactor. Isolated case reports do exist so a true contact allergy is possible but uncommon.
Learn more about Glyceryl Stearate SeMyristic Acid, aka tetradecanoic acid, is a naturally occurring fatty acid found in coconut oil, milk fat, and palm oil.
In skincare, it is an:
Research indicates that this ingredient posts a low risk of irritation and sensitization.
Industry survey data collected for this ingredient puts real-world usage concentrations anywhere from 0.00002% to 20% (most of the high end sits in rinse-off products).
Myristic Acid is not a recognized contact allergen and there are no published case reports of allergic contact dermatitis to it. Human testing found it to be non-irritating at 100% and at 40-50% in mineral oil. There are complaints about high-Myristic-acid cleansers leaving a tight feeling behind, but that has more to do with soap chemistry and pH than an allergy.
This ingredient does have a comedogenic rating of 3, but this doesn't mean a formula with this ingredient will clog pores.
Human testing has proved that any finished product with this ingredient won't automatically make you break out; it really comes down to concentration, formula, and your skin. Some people still find it breaks them out. So if that's you, definitely trust your skin.
Since myristic acid is a C14 fatty acid, it falls within the range that Malassezia can metabolize (C11-24), and therefore may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Myristic AcidPEG-32 is a synthetic and water-soluble polymer with 32 repeating units. It has humectant, solvent, and emulsifying properties.
As a solvent and emulsifier, it helps dissolve and blend ingredients. It is also able to attract water as a humectant to help hydrate skin. According to a manufacturer, this ingredient is non-greasy, gentle, and mildly scented.
Japanese manufacturers will sometimes call this ingredient PEG 1540.
Learn more about PEG-32We don't have a description for PEG-6 yet.
Potassium Hydroxide (also known as potash) is a strong alkaline ingredient that does one job: it nudges a product's pH up so the whole formula lands in a skin-friendly range.
It's also the base that turns oils into liquid soap during the soap making process.
An expert safety panel reviewed it and found it safe when formulations are made to be non-irritating.
As a pH adjuster, it's typically used well under 1% though regulatory caps go much higher: 5% in nail cuticle removers and 2-4.5% in hair straighteners.
Though there is some concern for irritation from raw or high pH material, a well-balanced formula will be a non-issue for the vast majority of people.
Learn more about Potassium HydroxideSodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate is a gentle, coconut-derived cleansing surfactant. It's most commonly found in "sulfate-free" cleansers.
As a taurate, it belongs to a class of anionic surfactants prized for being efficient at cleansing without harshness, good performance in hard water, stability across a wide pH range, and easily biodegradable.
It is able to lift away oil and grime and make a nice lather without stripping your skin, so it's a good pick for sensitive skin.
Safety-wise, it has a good record. The CIR Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe in cosmetics and concentrations go up to 11% in leave-on products or 13% in rinse-off products.
Despite being derived from coconut oil, this ingredient is fungal acne safe. It's a water-soluble surfactant with no fatty oils or esters left intact on skin for the Malassezia yeast to feed.
Learn more about Sodium Methyl Cocoyl TaurateWater. 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
