What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Alcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Ethylhexyl Palmitate
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Myristyl Myristate
Emollient
Niacinamide
Smoothing
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Glycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Sodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Glycine
Buffering
PEG-100
HumectantWater
Skin ConditioningTheobroma Cacao Extract
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
Emollient
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Glycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil
Emollient
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil
Emollient
Rosa Canina Fruit Oil
Emollient
Ascorbyl Palmitate
Antioxidant
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Sodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Ethyl Lauroyl Arginate Hcl
Skin ConditioningLecithin
Emollient
Tetrasodium EDTA
Zea Mays Oil
Emulsifying
CI 40800
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Theobroma Cacao Extract, Glycerin, Tocopherol, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycine Soja Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Ascorbyl Palmitate, PEG-100 Stearate, Sodium Polyacrylate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethyl Lauroyl Arginate Hcl, Lecithin, Tetrasodium EDTA, Zea Mays Oil, CI 40800
Alternatives
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.
A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.
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 Soja Oil is a plant-derived oil from soybean seeds. Like other oils, it is rich in essential fatty acids (mostly linoleic and oleic) that support skin hydration and barrier function.
The fatty acids are able to integrate into the lipid matrix of the stratum corneum to help soften skin and reduce water loss.
On top of that, soybean oil is rich in vitamins like vitamin E, a potent antioxidant.
Research on soybean's active components also point to anti-inflammatory, collagen-stimulating, antioxidant activity, and protection against UV-induced oxidative damage.
Most of this research applies to the broader soybean plant and not just the oil fraction alone.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe due to the oleic acid content.
Learn more about Glycine Soja OilPeg-100 Stearate is an emollient and emulsifier. As an emollient, it helps keep skin soft by trapping moisture in. On the other hand, emulsifiers help prevent oil and water from separating in a product.
PEGS are a hydrophilic polyether compound . There are 100 ethylene oxide monomers in Peg-100 Stearate. Peg-100 Stearate is polyethylene glycol ester of stearic acid.
Sodium Polyacrylate is the sodium salt of polyacrylic acid. It is used as an absorber, emollient, and stabilizer.
This ingredient is a super-absorbent polymer - meaning it can absorb 100 to 1000 times its mass in water. As an emollient, Sodium Polyacrylate helps soften and soothe skin. Emollients work by creating a barrier to trap moisture in. This helps keep your skin hydrated.
Water. 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
