This mild gel cleanser is mild enough to cleanse without leaving skin feeling tight or stripped.
What's inside
What's inside
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSorbitol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
PEG-8
HumectantHexylene Glycol
EmulsifyingPotassium Laurate
EmulsifyingPotassium Myristate
EmulsifyingPEG-32
HumectantPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Methylparaben
Preservative
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Triethanolamine
BufferingParfum
Masking
Disodium EDTA
ChelatingLimonene
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Butylphenyl Methylpropional
Perfuming
Benzyl Salicylate
Perfuming
Ananas Sativus Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningCarica Papaya Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningWater, Sorbitol, Glycerin, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, PEG-8, Hexylene Glycol, Potassium Laurate, Potassium Myristate, PEG-32, Propylene Glycol, Methylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Triethanolamine, Parfum, Disodium EDTA, Limonene, Linalool, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Salicylate, Ananas Sativus Fruit Extract, Carica Papaya Fruit Extract
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Coco-Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Acrylates Copolymer
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Chloride
MaskingPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid
BufferingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingDisodium EDTA
ChelatingCitrus Aurantium Dulcis Oil
Masking
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil
Masking
Limonene
Perfuming
Aloe Barbadensis Extract
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Chamomilla Recutita Extract
Skin Conditioning
Citric Acid
Buffering
Water, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Coco-Betaine, Glycerin, Acrylates Copolymer, Pentylene Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil, Limonene, Aloe Barbadensis Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Extract, Citric Acid
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Disodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlycerin (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 GlycerinLimonene is the compound that gives citrus peel its smell.
In skincare, it shows up as a standalone fragrance ingredient or as a natural compound of citrus and other essential oils.
You'll typically see this ingredient used in very small amounts; anything above 0.001% in a leave-on product or 0.01% in a rinse-off has to be named on the label in the EU. The citrus oils that carry it sit around 0.5-1% in a finished formula.
Fresh limonene is a weak allergen; the real issue is that it slowly reacts with air and then breaks down from oxidation to create hydroperoxides (which are strong sensitizers). This is why suppliers are required to keep the peroxide value below 20 mmol.
Positive reactions in people being investigated for eczema vary:
It's worth skipping if you have a known fragrance allergy or a compromised barrier, but the risk is low for most people.
Older or long-opened products are also more likely to bother you than fresh ones due to oxidation.
Learn more about LimonenePhenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).
It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.
On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.
Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).
You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.
Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.
Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.
Learn more about PhenoxyethanolPropylene Glycol is a synthetic, colorless, odorless liquid that has been a staple in cosmetics for decades. It is a skin conditioning agent, humectant, and solvent.
As a humectant, it draw water to the skin to reduce flaking and restore suppleness. It's also a solvent that helps dissolve other actives and keeps formulas stable across temperature changes.
The CIR Expert Panel has confirmed this ingredient to be nontoxic and clinical studies show no sensitization at cosmetic use concentrations.
True allergic reactions are quite rare: a 15-year retrospective study of 6,751 patients found only 0.31% had a positive reaction (and less than half were considered clinically relevant).
It seemed that when sensitization does occur, it's most commonly linked to topical medication (like corticosteroids) and not cosmetics. Allergic contact dermatitis also appears largely limited to individuals with underlying skin conditions.
Overall, propylene glycol is a well-studied ingredient that most people can tolerate without issue.
Learn more about Propylene GlycolSodium Cocoyl Glycinate is a cleansing agent. It can be naturally derived or synthetically-created.
As a surfactant, it helps clean your skin by gathering dirt, oil, and other pollutants to be rinsed away more easily.
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
