What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laureth Sulfate
CleansingGlycerin
HumectantMyristic Acid
CleansingCocamidopropyl Betaine
CleansingLauric Acid
CleansingLauramide DEA
SurfactantPotassium Hydroxide
BufferingButylene Glycol
HumectantSalicylic Acid
MaskingGlyceryl Caprate
EmollientPolyglyceryl-2 Laurate
EmulsifyingPolyglyceryl-10 Laurate
Skin ConditioningPEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate
EmulsifyingLavandula Angustifolia Oil
MaskingAloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
EmollientCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialTetrasodium EDTA
Methylparaben
PreservativeLinalool
PerfumingWater, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerin, Myristic Acid, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Lauric Acid, Lauramide DEA, Potassium Hydroxide, Butylene Glycol, Salicylic Acid, Glyceryl Caprate, Polyglyceryl-2 Laurate, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Tetrasodium EDTA, Methylparaben, Linalool
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
CleansingSodium Methyl Oleoyl Taurate
CleansingPEG-75
HumectantAcrylates Copolymer
Glycerin
HumectantDisodium Cocoamphodipropionate
CleansingPEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
EmulsifyingDimethyl Sulfone
SolventPyridoxine Hcl
Skin ConditioningSalix Alba Bark Extract
AstringentForsythia Suspensa Fruit Extract
AntioxidantButylene Glycol
HumectantCentella Asiatica Extract
CleansingPolygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract
AntioxidantScutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract
AstringentCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialGlycyrrhiza Uralensis Root Extract
Skin ConditioningChamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
MaskingRosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialSodium Chloride
MaskingCopper Tripeptide-1
Skin ConditioningAllantoin
Skin ConditioningCitric Acid
BufferingPotassium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Benzoate
MaskingPhenoxyethanol
PreservativeDisodium EDTA
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Methyl Oleoyl Taurate, PEG-75, Acrylates Copolymer, Glycerin, Disodium Cocoamphodipropionate, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Dimethyl Sulfone, Pyridoxine Hcl, Salix Alba Bark Extract, Forsythia Suspensa Fruit Extract, Butylene Glycol, Centella Asiatica Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycyrrhiza Uralensis Root Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Sodium Chloride, Copper Tripeptide-1, Allantoin, Citric Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium EDTA
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (tea extract) is one of the most well-researched plant extracts in skincare with an impressive resume.
Black tea, green tea, and oolong tea are all harvested from the Camellia Sinensis plant.
Studies show green tea extract and its catechins (like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)) help your skin cells product energy more efficiently and reducing the number of free-radicals that can damage your skin from the inside.
In lab-grown skin models, this translated to younger, healthier, and stronger skin.
There's also good sun protection data; researchers saw less DNA damage and redness on human skin when green tea was applied before UVB exposure. And the more they applied, the better the protection.
Needless to say, this ingredient shouldn't replace your sunscreen. But it is a great supportive ingredient that you can already find in many sunscreens and antioxidant serums.
A 2009 study found a 2% green tea lotion was effective for mild-to-moderate acne thanks to its anti-inflammatory and mild antimicrobial activity.
The quality of the extract matters a lot here:
Good extracts contain 50-90% catechins while lower quality ones are mostly there for marketing. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the quality or source of their ingredients.
Human Repeated Insult Patch Testing showed no irritation or sensitization at use concentrations (0.86% in leave-on products and up to 30% as leaf water).
Learn more about Camellia Sinensis Leaf ExtractCocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineGlycerin (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 GlycerinPotassium hydroxide is commonly known as caustic potash. It is used to fix the pH of a product or as a cleaning agent in soap. In cleansers, it is used for the saponification of oils.
Sapnification is the process of creating fatty acid metal salts from triglycerides and a strong base. During this process, Potassium Hydroxide is used up and is not present in the final product.
Using high concentrations of Potassium Hydroxide have shown to irritate the skin.
Learn more about Potassium 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 Water