What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningUrea
Buffering
Glycerin
Humectant
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Brassica Campestris Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Dicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientIsopropyl Palmitate
Emollient
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Glycine
Buffering
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Silica
Abrasive
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Sorbitan Oleate
Emulsifying
Sorbitan Tristearate
EmulsifyingGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
PEG-20 Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate
Emulsifying
Isohexadecane
EmollientSodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Lactate
Buffering
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Mannose
HumectantHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid
BufferingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPolysorbate 80
Emulsifying
Acrylamide/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingAcrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingTocopherol
Antioxidant
Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate
Antioxidant
Chlorhexidine Digluconate
Antimicrobial
Water, Urea, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Brassica Campestris Seed Oil, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Pentylene Glycol, Glycine, Cetearyl Alcohol, Silica, Stearic Acid, Allantoin, Sorbitan Oleate, Sorbitan Tristearate, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, PEG-20 Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate, Isohexadecane, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Lactate, Myristic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Mannose, Hydroxyacetophenone, Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Citric Acid, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Xanthan Gum, Polysorbate 80, Acrylamide/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Tocopherol, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Chlorhexidine Digluconate
Water
Skin ConditioningUrea
Buffering
Glycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Ethylhexyl Cocoate
Emollient
Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides
Emollient
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Distarch Phosphate
AbsorbentCeramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Arginine Hcl
Skin ConditioningSodium PCA
Humectant
Cholesterol
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Alanine
Masking
Carnitine
Cleansing
Glycine
Buffering
Sodium Chloride
MaskingDimethicone
Emollient
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingSorbitan Stearate
Emulsifying
Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate
Cleansing
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Water, Urea, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate, Ethylhexyl Cocoate, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Octyldodecanol, Sodium Lactate, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Distarch Phosphate, Ceramide NP, Lactic Acid, Arginine Hcl, Sodium PCA, Cholesterol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Alanine, Carnitine, Glycine, Sodium Chloride, Dimethicone, Carbomer, Sorbitan Stearate, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Phenoxyethanol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 GlycerinGlyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.
Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.
This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.
Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.
Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.
Learn more about Glyceryl StearateGlycine is the smallest amino acid and a key building block of collagen. It's part if your skin's Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF), or the water-loving molecules in your outermost layer of skin (stratum corneum) that keeps everything hydrated and happy.
A study from 2022 found that an amino acid complex featuring taurine, arginine, and glycine significantly reduced skin irritation, improved redness, and accelerated the skin repair process.
Sodium Lactate is the sodium salt of lactic acid, an AHA. It is a humectant and sometimes used to adjust the pH of a product.
This ingredient is part of our skin's NMF, or natural moisturizing factor. Our NMF is essential for the hydration of our top skin layers and plasticity of skin. NMF also influences our skin's natural acid mantle and pH, which protects our skin from harmful bacteria.
High percentages of Sodium Lactate can have an exfoliating effect.
Fun fact: Sodium Lactate is produced from fermented sugar.
Learn more about Sodium LactateUrea is also called carbamide and is the diamide of carbonic acid. In cosmetics, urea is used to hydrate the skin. It also provides exfoliation in higher concentrations.
As a humectant, urea helps draw moisture from the air and from deep within the skin. This helps hydrate your skin. Studies show urea is an effective moisturizer for dry skin conditions. 40% urea is typical in medications for treating eczema and other skin conditions.
Urea has the strongest exfoliation effect in concentrations higher than 10%. It is a keratolytic agent, meaning it breaks down the keratin protein in the top layer of skin. This helps remove dead skin cells and flaking skin.
In medicine, urea has been shown to help increase the potency of other ingredients, such as fungal treatments.
Humans and animals use urea to metabolize nitrogen-containing compounds. Urea is highly soluble in water. Once dissolved, it is neither acidic nor alkaline.
Urea is actually one of the more well-studied and well-supported ingredients out there if you have eczema.
Clinical trials have shown that urea creams in the 5 - 10% range can:
Higher concentrations (20 -30%) can also help with thickened, scaly patches but is also more likely to sting on active flares.
Skip urea if you have rosacea. The AAD (American Academy of Dermatology) lists it alongside alcohol, menthol, and fragrance as a potential irritant for rosacea-prone skin. Urea's keratolytic and penetration-enhancing properties can trigger stinging, burning, and redness.
As always, your skin is unique, so definitely check in with your dermatologist.
Learn more about UreaWater. 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
