What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Urea
Buffering
Glycerin
Humectant
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Hydrolyzed Milk Protein
Skin ConditioningSodium Lactate
Buffering
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Polyquaternium-39
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Calcium Lactate
AstringentTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Parfum
Masking
Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer
Propanediol
Solvent
Laureth-2
CleansingLecithin
Emollient
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Tetrasodium EDTA
Limonene
Perfuming
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Butylphenyl Methylpropional
Perfuming
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Urea, Glycerin, Decyl Glucoside, Hydrolyzed Milk Protein, Sodium Lactate, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Polyquaternium-39, Lactic Acid, Niacinamide, Calcium Lactate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Parfum, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Propanediol, Laureth-2, Lecithin, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol, Linalool, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Hexyl Cinnamal
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Glycerin (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 GlycerinUrea 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
