What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Glycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Glycol Stearate
Emollient
Triethanolamine
BufferingGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Parfum
Masking
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingDisodium EDTA
BHT
Antioxidant
Stearamide Amp
Astrocaryum Vulgare Kernel Oil
Skin Conditioning
Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Water, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Glycine Soja Oil, Glycol Stearate, Triethanolamine, Glyceryl Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Cetyl Alcohol, Parfum, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Carbomer, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Stearamide Amp, Astrocaryum Vulgare Kernel Oil, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Benzyl Alcohol, Hexyl Cinnamal
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Dimethicone
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glycol Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Petrolatum
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingTriethanolamine
BufferingHelianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Triolein
Skin Conditioning
Disodium EDTA
Stearamide Amp
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingCI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Stearic Acid, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycol Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Petrolatum, Glyceryl Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Cetyl Alcohol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Triethanolamine, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Triolein, Disodium EDTA, Stearamide Amp, Carbomer, CI 77891
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Caprylyl 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 or alcohol, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl GlycolCarbomer is a high-molecular weight polymer of acrylic acid. It is used to form gels and thicken formulas.
Due to its large molecular size, carbomer has minimal skin penetration and is considered an inert ingredient.
A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.
Learn more about CarbomerCetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.
Its main roles are:
Though it has "alcohol" in the name, it is not related to denatured alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.
Learn more about Cetyl AlcoholDisodium 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 GlycerinGlyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.
Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.
This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.
Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.
Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.
Learn more about Glyceryl StearateGlycol Stearate comes from stearic acid and ethylene glycol.
It is a creamy wax used to stabilize ingredients as an emulsifier. Glycol stearate also contains emollient properties. Emollients sit on top of the skin to prevent moisture from escaping.
This ingredient may not be Malassezia folliculitis, or fungal-acne safe.
Learn more about Glycol StearatePhenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
We don't have a description for Stearamide Amp yet.
Stearic Acid is a fatty acid that is already found in your skin. It's one of the free fatty acids that works alongside ceramides and cholesterols to maintain your barrier.
In cosmetics, it is a multitasker:
Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.
Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Stearic AcidTriethanolamine (TEA) is an emulsifier and pH adjuster. It is created using ethylene oxide and ammonia. This gives Triethanolamine a nitrogen core and a similar scent to ammonia.
As an emulsifier, it prevents ingredients from separating and enhances texture by adding volume to a product.
PH adjusters are common in cosmetic products. The pH of a product can affect the effectiveness of other ingredients. A product with a high pH may also irritate the skin.
If you are looking for the tea leaf ingredient, click here.
Learn more about TriethanolamineWater. 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
