What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Alcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Dimethicone
Emollient
Isononyl Isononanoate
EmollientSilanetriol
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingTriethanolamine
BufferingDimethiconol
Emollient
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Silica Dimethyl Silylate
EmollientHyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Phyllostachys Bambusoides Extract
Skin ConditioningCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Tetrasodium EDTA
Citric Acid
Buffering
Biosaccharide Gum-1
Humectant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPanthenol
Skin Conditioning
Menthoxypropanediol
Masking
Ethylhexyl Palmitate
Emollient
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Hexylene Glycol
EmulsifyingTocopherol
Antioxidant
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sorbic Acid
Preservative
Methylparaben
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
CI 42090
Cosmetic ColorantLinalool
Perfuming
Limonene
Perfuming
Parfum
Masking
Water, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat., Dimethicone, Isononyl Isononanoate, Silanetriol, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Dimethiconol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sodium Hyaluronate, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Hyaluronic Acid, Phyllostachys Bambusoides Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Xanthan Gum, Panthenol, Menthoxypropanediol, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Butylene Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Tocopherol, Potassium Sorbate, Sorbic Acid, Methylparaben, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, CI 42090, Linalool, Limonene, Parfum
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate
Emollient
Cetearyl Olivate
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Sorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil
Emollient
Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
Emollient
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate Citrate
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Hamamelis Virginiana Water
Astringent
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingGlycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningHydroxyproline
Skin ConditioningProline
Skin Conditioning
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientTriethyl Citrate
Masking
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Cetearyl Olivate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Cetyl Alcohol, Sorbitan Olivate, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Stearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Hamamelis Virginiana Water, Tocopherol, Panthenol, Allantoin, Sodium PCA, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Glycine Soja Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hydroxyproline, Proline, Glyceryl Caprylate, Triethyl Citrate, Benzoic Acid, Phenoxyethanol
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.
Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.
It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceGlycerin (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 GlycerinPanthenol is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin. It is found naturally in our skin and hair.
There are two forms of panthenol: D and L.
D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.
Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):
Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.
This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.
Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.
This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.
Learn more about PanthenolPhenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt form of hyaluronic acid. It is a long sugar chain that is naturally found in your skin, joints, and connective tissue that maintains hydration and elasticity.
In skincare, it works as a humectant. It pulls water from the environment and deeper layers of skin and binds it to the surface.
Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.
You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium HyaluronateTocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
Learn more about TocopherolWater. 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
