What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Behentrimonium Chloride
Preservative
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Cetyl Esters
Emollient
Sodium Citrate
BufferingIsopropyl Alcohol
Solvent
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Polyquaternium-10
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Hydroxypropyl Guar
Emulsion StabilisingTaurine
BufferingLimonene
Perfuming
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
2-Oleamido-1,3-Octadecanediol
Skin ConditioningBenzyl Salicylate
Perfuming
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Arginine
Masking
Aspartic Acid
Masking
PCA
Humectant
Glycine
Buffering
Valine
MaskingSerine
Masking
Alanine
Masking
Threonine
Isoleucine
Skin ConditioningProline
Skin Conditioning
Phenylalanine
Masking
Histidine
Humectant
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Behentrimonium Chloride, Stearyl Alcohol, Citric Acid, Cetyl Esters, Sodium Citrate, Isopropyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum, Polyquaternium-10, Polysorbate 20, Hydroxypropyl Guar, Taurine, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, 2-Oleamido-1,3-Octadecanediol, Benzyl Salicylate, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, PCA, Glycine, Valine, Serine, Alanine, Threonine, Isoleucine, Proline, Phenylalanine, Histidine
Water
Skin ConditioningCetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Cetrimonium Chloride
Antimicrobial
Bis-PCA Dimethicone
Behentrimonium Chloride
Preservative
Cetrimonium Methosulfate
AntimicrobialCocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Disodium PEG-12 Dimethicone Sulfosuccinate
Cleansing
Ethylhexyl Palmitate
Emollient
Parfum
Masking
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Punica Granatum Seed Oil
Emollient
Quaternium-91
Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine
EmulsifyingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Aminomethyl Propanol
BufferingPotassium Sorbate
Preservative
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Passiflora Edulis Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningTetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Bis-PCA Dimethicone, Behentrimonium Chloride, Cetrimonium Methosulfate, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Disodium PEG-12 Dimethicone Sulfosuccinate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Parfum, Lactic Acid, Persea Gratissima Oil, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Punica Granatum Seed Oil, Quaternium-91, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Sodium Benzoate, Aminomethyl Propanol, Potassium Sorbate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glycerin, Passiflora Edulis Fruit Extract, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Reviews
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 a preservative and often used for it's anti-static properties. You'll most likely see this ingredient in hair conditioners.
It does not cause irritation or sensitization in leave-on products at 1-5%.
Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholGlycerin (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 GlycerinParfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.
Also called "fragrance", this ingredient can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.
For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of âFRAGRANCEâ or âPARFUMâ according to EU and US regulations.
The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.
For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.
One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.
The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Learn more about ParfumWater. 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
