What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
Cleansing
Triethanolamine
BufferingVitis Vinifera Seed Extract
Antimicrobial
Carica Papaya Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningAnanas Sativus Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningLeontopodium Alpinum Meristem Cell Culture
Skin ConditioningPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder
Skin Conditioning
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingWater, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Triethanolamine, Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract, Carica Papaya Fruit Extract, Ananas Sativus Fruit Extract, Leontopodium Alpinum Meristem Cell Culture, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Xanthan Gum
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Emulsifying
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
Emulsifying
Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate
SurfactantAcetyl Octapeptide-3
Humectant
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Dimethylmethoxy Chromanol
Antioxidant
Thermus Thermophillus Ferment
Skin ConditioningNiacinamide
Smoothing
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Bark Oil
Masking
Myristica Fragrans Kernel Oil
Masking
Alcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Zeolite
AbsorbentPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Disodium EDTA
Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingIsohexadecane
EmollientPolysorbate 80
Emulsifying
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Glycerin, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Acetyl Octapeptide-3, Sodium Hyaluronate, Dimethylmethoxy Chromanol, Thermus Thermophillus Ferment, Niacinamide, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Bark Oil, Myristica Fragrans Kernel Oil, Alcohol Denat., Zeolite, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Isohexadecane, Polysorbate 80
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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol 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 PhenoxyethanolWater. 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
