What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Saccharomyces/Rice Ferment Filtrate
Skin ConditioningWater
Skin ConditioningIsopropyl Myristate
EmollientGlycerin
HumectantNiacinamide
SmoothingMethylpropanediol
Solvent1,2-Hexanediol
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
HumectantSodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate
Emulsion StabilisingDipropylene Glycol
HumectantHydroxyacetophenone
AntioxidantHydrogenated Polydecene
EmollientAcrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingCaprylyl Glycol
EmollientGlyceryl Glucoside
HumectantTromethamine
BufferingTrideceth-10
CleansingDisodium EDTA
Heptasodium Hexacarboxymethyl Dipeptide-12
Skin ConditioningPentasodium Tetracarboxymethyl Acetylhydroxyprolyl Dipeptide-12
Skin ConditioningMelia Azadirachta Flower Extract
Skin ConditioningOcimum Sanctum Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningBetaine
HumectantMelia Azadirachta Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningPentasodium Tetracarboxymethyl Dipeptide-51
Skin ConditioningCurcuma Longa Root Extract
MaskingDipeptide-1
Skin ConditioningCorallina Officinalis Extract
Skin ConditioningDipotassium Glycyrrhizate
HumectantAnanas Sativus Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningPentylene Glycol
Skin ConditioningMadecassoside
AntioxidantSaccharomyces/Rice Ferment Filtrate, Water, Isopropyl Myristate, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Methylpropanediol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Dipropylene Glycol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Glyceryl Glucoside, Tromethamine, Trideceth-10, Disodium EDTA, Heptasodium Hexacarboxymethyl Dipeptide-12, Pentasodium Tetracarboxymethyl Acetylhydroxyprolyl Dipeptide-12, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract, Betaine, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Pentasodium Tetracarboxymethyl Dipeptide-51, Curcuma Longa Root Extract, Dipeptide-1, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Ananas Sativus Fruit Extract, Pentylene Glycol, Madecassoside
Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Water
AntimicrobialDipropylene Glycol
HumectantCalamine
AbsorbentButylene Glycol
HumectantGlycerin
HumectantNiacinamide
SmoothingHydrolyzed Sclerotium Gum
HumectantHydroxyacetophenone
AntioxidantCaprylyl Glycol
EmollientPentylene Glycol
Skin ConditioningSodium Citrate
Buffering1,2-Hexanediol
Skin ConditioningAdenosine
Skin ConditioningSodium Acetate
BufferingDipotassium Glycyrrhizate
HumectantMyristic Acid
Cleansing
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.
It is a:
- Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
- Emollient, helping to soften skin
- Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
- Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives
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 GlycolCaprylyl 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, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl GlycolDipotassium Glycyrrhizate comes from licorice root.
Extracts of licorice have demonstrated to have antibacterial, anti‐inflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant properties.
One component, glabridin, has extra potent antioxidant and soothing properties. It has also been found to block pigmentation from UVB rays in guinea pigs.
Licorice Root also contains a flavonoid. Flavonoids are a natural substance from in plants. Flavonoids also have antioxidant properties.
Another component, glycyrrhizin, has been found to have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial benefits. This may make licorice root extract effective at treating acne. However, more research is needed to support this.
Liquiritin is one of the flavone compounds found in licorice. It has been found to help lighten skin by preventing tyrosinase from reacting with tyrosine. When the two react, protein is converted to melanin. Melanin is the substance in your body that gives your features pigmentation.
Licorice root is native to Southern Europe and Asia. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to help with respiratory issues.
Learn more about Dipotassium GlycyrrhizateDipropylene Glycol is a synthetically created humectant, stabilizer, and solvent.
This ingredient helps:
Dipropylene glycol is technically an alcohol, but it belongs to the glycol family (often considered part of the ‘good’ alcohols). This means it is hydrating and gentle on skin unlike drying solvent alcohols like denatured alcohol.
As a masking agent, Dipropylene Glycol can be used to cover the smell of other ingredients. However, it does not have a scent.
Studies show Dipropylene Glycol is considered safe to use in skincare.
Learn more about Dipropylene GlycolGlycerin (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 GlycerinHydroxyacetophenone is a small phenolic molecule that earns its place in a formulas as an antioxidant and preservative booster.
As a phenol, it is able to neutralize free radicals to protect both the product and the skin from oxidative stress.
Though it can't kill microbes on its own, it works as a good supporting agent when combined with other preservatives like Phenoxyethanol or 1,2-Hexanediol.
This ingredient naturally occurs as piceol in Norwegian spruce needles (~0.4-1.1% dry weight and in cloudberries). Though the cosmetic-grade material is synthesized for purity and consistency.
You'll usually see it used at low levels and suppliers recommend up to 1% added to a water phase.
Safety testing was done at concentrations like 0.05% in SPF products and 0.5% in a Human Repeated Insult Patch Test. The safety evidence is assuring; this ingredient is safe for cosmetics in current use and also holds safety status as a food flavoring as well.
An honest caveat: the "soothing" and "anti-inflammatory" claims come mostly from supplier marketing rather than published clinical trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review's own literature search found no useful efficacy studies on this ingredient.
So the antioxidant and preservative-boosting roles are the well supported ones while the calming benefit is plausible but thinly evidenced.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-irritation multitasker that quietly helps a formula stay fresh and stable.
Learn more about HydroxyacetophenoneNiacinamide is a multitasking form of vitamin B3 that strengthens the skin barrier, reduces pores and dark spots, regulates oil, and improves signs of aging.
And the best part? It's gentle and well-tolerated by most skin types, including sensitive and reactive skin.
You might have heard of "niacin flush", or the reddening of skin that causes itchiness. Niacinamide has not been found to cause this.
In very rare cases, some individuals may not be able to tolerate niacinamide at all or experience an allergic reaction to it.
If you are experiencing flaking, irritation, and dryness with this ingredient, be sure to double check all your products as this ingredient can be found in all categories of skincare.
When incorporating niacinamide into your routine, look out for concentration amounts. Typically, 5% niacinamide provides benefits such as fading dark spots. However, if you have sensitive skin, it is better to begin with a smaller concentration.
When you apply niacinamide to your skin, your body converts it into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD is an essential coenzyme that is already found in your cells as "fuel" and powers countless biological processes.
In your skin, NAD helps repair cell damage, produce new healthy cells, support collagen production, strengthen the skin barrier, and fight environmental stressors (like UV and pollution).
Our natural NAD levels start to decline with age, leading to slower skin repair, visible aging, and a weaker skin barrier. By providing your skin niacinamide, you're recharging your skin's NAD levels. This leads to stronger, healthier, and younger looking skin.
Another name for vitamin B3 is nicotinamide. This vitamin is water-soluble and our bodies don't store it. We obtain Vitamin B3 from either food or skincare. Meat, fish, wheat, yeast, and leafy greens contain vitamin B3.
The type of niacinamide used in skincare is synthetically created.
Learn more about NiacinamidePentylene Glycol (1,2-pentanediol) is a multitasking little diol with three main roles in a formula:
Research on alkanediols (the family pentylene glycol belongs to) show they work by disrupting microbial cell membranes. This disruption helps the primary preservative system in a product work more effectively at lower doses.
On the safety side, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe as used in current cosmetic practices + concentrations.
Typical use levels in a formula run about 1-5%.
Learn more about Pentylene Glycol