What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningIsocetyl Stearate
Emollient
Squalane
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Dimethicone
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Zea Mays Starch
Absorbent
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Salvia Miltiorrhiza Root Extract
Skin ConditioningDimethiconol
Emollient
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSphingomonas Ferment Extract
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl Ester
Skin Conditioning
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingWater, Isocetyl Stearate, Squalane, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Zea Mays Starch, Pentylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Salvia Miltiorrhiza Root Extract, Dimethiconol, Sodium Hydroxide, Sphingomonas Ferment Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Citric Acid, Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl Ester, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Silica
Abrasive
Betaine
Humectant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Cetearyl Isononanoate
Emollient
Zea Mays Starch
Absorbent
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingGlyceryl Stearate Citrate
Emollient
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingPerlite
Absorbent
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Xanthan Gum
Emulsifying
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.
Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.
Because it is not a free-fatty acid or alcohol, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl 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 GlycerinSodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.
Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.
"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.
Learn more about Sodium HydroxideWater. 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 WaterZea Mays Starch is starch made from corn. You might know this as cornstarch . It is used to thicken a product. It can replace talc as an absorbent.
The pH of cornstarch is 5.92.
Cornstarch is a common food ingredient used to thicken soups or to make corn syrup.
Learn more about Zea Mays Starch
