What's inside
What's inside
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Betaine
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Emulsifying
PEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate
Cleansing
Polyquaternium-10
Undecylenamidopropyl Betaine
CleansingCoco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Sodium Chloride
MaskingTetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingWater, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Betaine, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, PEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate, Polyquaternium-10, Undecylenamidopropyl Betaine, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Sodium Chloride, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Phenoxyethanol, Benzoic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide
Water
Skin ConditioningPEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Emulsifying
Sodium Myristoyl Sarcosinate
CleansingPEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides
EmulsifyingGlycerin
Humectant
PEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate
Cleansing
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey
Coco-Betaine
Cleansing
Acrylates/Palmeth-25 Acrylate Copolymer
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glyceryl Distearate
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Glyceryl Dipalmitate
EmollientGlyceryl Palmitate
EmollientGlyceryl Dimyristate
EmollientGlyceryl Myristate
EmollientGlyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Palmitamidopropyltrimonium Chloride
Olea Europaea Oil Unsaponifiables
Skin Conditioning
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
PPG-3 Myristyl Ether
EmollientSilicone Quaternium-22
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingDisodium EDTA
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
CI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantCI 15985
Cosmetic ColorantImidazolidinyl Urea
Preservative
Piroctone Olamine
Preservative
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Water, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Sodium Myristoyl Sarcosinate, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Glycerin, PEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey, Coco-Betaine, Acrylates/Palmeth-25 Acrylate Copolymer, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium PCA, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Distearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Glyceryl Dipalmitate, Glyceryl Palmitate, Glyceryl Dimyristate, Glyceryl Myristate, Glyceryl Oleate, Palmitamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, Olea Europaea Oil Unsaponifiables, Propylene Glycol, PPG-3 Myristyl Ether, Silicone Quaternium-22, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, CI 19140, CI 15985, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Piroctone Olamine, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Coco-Glucoside is a surfactant, or a cleansing ingredient. It is made from glucose and coconut oil.
Surfactants help gather dirt, oil, and other pollutants from your skin to be rinsed away.
This ingredient is considered gentle and non-comedogenic. However, it may still be irritating for some.
Learn more about Coco-GlucosideGlycerin (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 Oleate is the monoester of glycerin and oleic acid. It is a skin-conditioning emollient that also helps form emulsions.
What makes glyceryl oleate special is its "re-fatting" effect.
When you wash your hair and skin with a surfactant-based cleanser, the surfactants grab onto everything. This includes your skin's natural lipids, or the fats that live in your skin barrier and sebum. Once you rinse these surfactants away, it leaves your skin feeling tight, dry, and clean (in a not-good way).
Re-fatting is essentially putting some of these lipids back. Glyceryl oleate deposits a thin layer of emollient lipids back on the skin or hair surface reduce some of the barrier damage.
Also, glyceryl oleate isn't a foreign molecule to your skin. It's chemically identical to something your skin already produces and manages naturally. This is why it tends to be well-tolerated with low risk of irritation.
Typical use levels range from 0.5-5%.
Glyceryl Oleate has a function of "perfuming" in the CosIng database. This just means that the ingredient has some scent character that can contribute to the product's overall smell.
The scent of this ingredient is described as "waxy".
As an ester of oleic acid, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe. This is because oleic acid falls into the carbon-chain length that Malassezia can use as a substrate.
Learn more about Glyceryl OleatePEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate isn't fungal acne safe.
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate is a synthetic, water-soluble surfactant and emulsifier.
It's a "superfatting" agent that helps replenish some of your skin's oils after they're stripped away by other surfactants.
This is why "gentle" and "moisturizing" cleansers feel less stripping than basic ones.
Typical concentrations range from 1-10% and it has a solid safety record. The CIR Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe at concentrations up to 10% in leave-on products.
Dermal application tests at 50% also did not produce irritation in two studies.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe and in vitro studies have shown Malassezia can metabolize it.
Learn more about PEG-7 Glyceryl CocoatePhenoxyethanol 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.
Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.
Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.
"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.
Learn more about Sodium 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
