What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6
Emulsion StabilisingCoco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Glyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Safflower Oil/Palm Oil Aminopropanediol Esters
Skin Conditioning
Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate
Skin Conditioning
Triethyl Citrate
Masking
Polyglyceryl-6 Behenate
Emulsion Stabilising
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Behenic Acid
Cleansing
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cholesterol
Emollient
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Hydrogenated Vegetable Glycerides Citrate
EmollientCeramide Ns
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate
Cleansing
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerin, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Glycol Distearate, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Coco-Glucoside, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Benzoate, Glyceryl Oleate, Citric Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Benzoic Acid, Safflower Oil/Palm Oil Aminopropanediol Esters, Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate, Triethyl Citrate, Polyglyceryl-6 Behenate, Tocopherol, Behenic Acid, Ceramide NP, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cholesterol, Lactic Acid, Hydrogenated Vegetable Glycerides Citrate, Ceramide Ns, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide AP, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate
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 GlycolCeramide NP (formerly known as Ceramide 3) is one of the skin's naturally occurring lipids.
Since ceramides are the major lipid components of the skin, they are crucial for maintaining skin barrier and hydration. Ceramide NP most closely mirrors the dominant kind in human skin amongst ceramide subtypes.
This ceramide works by slotting into gaps within the stratum corneum's lipid matrix to limit trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and shield the skin against external irritants.
A study with 312 patients found that using a ceramide-containing routine for 4 weeks reduced the severity of atopic dermatitis by over 61%.
Another clinical study in subjects aged 60 and older found that a ceramide body wash and moisturizer improved skin dryness and itchy skin in 15 days.
Overall, ceramides are considered non-irritating and safety tests have found little to no observable adverse effects from using this ingredient.
Ceramide NP is usually sourced from plants (like soybean or rice bran), or produced synthetically.
Learn more about Ceramide NPGlycerin (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 GlycerinChances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideTocopherol 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
