What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingLauric Acid
Cleansing
Sorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Cocamide Mea
Emulsifying
Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Sodium Chloride
MaskingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Disodium EDTA
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningAllantoin
Skin Conditioning
PEG-90m
Emulsion Stabilising1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate
Humectant
Capric Acid
Cleansing
Silica
Abrasive
Ascorbic Acid
Antioxidant
BHT
Antioxidant
Water, Glycerin, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Lauric Acid, Sorbitan Olivate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamide Mea, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Propanediol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Sodium Chloride, Caprylyl Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Allantoin, PEG-90m, 1,2-Hexanediol, Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, Capric Acid, Silica, Ascorbic Acid, BHT
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Cleansing
Sorbitol
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Acrylates Copolymer
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Cholesterol
Emollient
Phytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
EmulsifyingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingPentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Fructose
Humectant
Urea
Buffering
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingMaltose
MaskingSodium PCA
Humectant
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Lactate
Buffering
Trehalose
Humectant
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Glucose
Humectant
Lactose
HumectantHydroxypropyl Methylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingJojoba Esters
Emollient
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Ascorbyl Palmitate
Antioxidant
Ultramarines
Parfum
Masking
Gluconolactone
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Disodium EDTA
Water, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sorbitol, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Acrylates Copolymer, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ceramide AP, Cholesterol, Phytosphingosine, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Pentylene Glycol, Glycerin, Fructose, Urea, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Maltose, Sodium PCA, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Lactate, Trehalose, Allantoin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glucose, Lactose, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Jojoba Esters, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Ultramarines, Parfum, Gluconolactone, Sodium Benzoate, 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.
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
Allantoin is a soothing ingredient known for its protective and moisturizing properties; it's basically a quiet workhorse ingredient you can find in a huge range of cosmetics.
Though it can be derived from the comfrey plant, allantoin is produced synthetically for cosmetic products to ensure purity.
Research shows it can encourage your skin cells to turn over and renew by stimulating keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation.
It also has mild keratolytic properties to help loosen and shed dead skin cells without being harsh.
Studies also suggest allantoin can help calm inflammation by dialing down some of the chemical signals your skin sends out when it is irritated.
This ingredient is typically used in the 0.1-0.5% range, and the FDA recognizes it as a skin protectant in OTC products up to 2%.
Overall, allantoin is a wonderful addition to most routines; it is stable across a wide pH range (~4-8), works well with other ingredients, and is considered non-sensitizing/non-irritating.
Fun fact: Allantoin is naturally occurring in comfrey root, beets, chamomile, and wheat sprouts. Our bodies even produce it as a byproduct of uric acid metabolism.
Learn more about AllantoinCocamidopropyl 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 BetaineDisodium 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 GlycerinChances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideSodium Hyaluronate is the salt form of hyaluronic acid. It is a long sugar chain that is naturally found in your skin, joints, and connective tissue that maintains hydration and elasticity.
In skincare, it works as a humectant. It pulls water from the environment and deeper layers of skin and binds it to the surface.
Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.
You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium HyaluronateWater. 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
