What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSimmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Behenyl Alcohol
Emollient
Dicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientIsoamyl Laurate
Emollient
Rosa Damascena Flower Water
Masking
Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Sodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningAroma
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Lecithin
Emollient
Cellulose
Absorbent
Sodium Anisate
AntimicrobialPalmitic Acid
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Glycine Soja Sterols
Emollient
Linum Usitatissimum Seed Extract
Perfuming
Urtica Dioica Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPaeonia Lactiflora Root Extract
Skin ConditioningSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Sodium Phytate
Ascorbyl Palmitate
Antioxidant
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
CI 77491
Cosmetic ColorantCitronellol
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Benzyl Salicylate
Perfuming
Eugenol
Perfuming
Water, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate, Behenyl Alcohol, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Isoamyl Laurate, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Sodium PCA, Sodium Levulinate, Aroma, Cetearyl Alcohol, Lecithin, Cellulose, Sodium Anisate, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Lactic Acid, Glycine Soja Sterols, Linum Usitatissimum Seed Extract, Urtica Dioica Leaf Extract, Xanthan Gum, Paeonia Lactiflora Root Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Phytate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Tocopherol, CI 77491, Citronellol, Geraniol, Benzyl Salicylate, Eugenol
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Dicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientPentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
C14-22 Alcohols
Emulsion Stabilising
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Behenyl Alcohol
Emollient
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Water
MaskingSodium Stearoyl Glutamate
CleansingAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder
Skin Conditioning
Avena Sativa Flower/Leaf/Stem Juice
Skin ConditioningC12-20 Alkyl Glucoside
EmulsifyingCitric Acid
Buffering
Citrus Reticulata Peel Extract
Skin ConditioningGlyceryl Caprylate
EmollientSclerotium Gum
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Taraxacum Officinale Rhizome/Root Extract
Skin ConditioningTocopherol
Antioxidant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingWater, Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Pentylene Glycol, C14-22 Alcohols, Butylene Glycol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Behenyl Alcohol, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Water, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Avena Sativa Flower/Leaf/Stem Juice, C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside, Citric Acid, Citrus Reticulata Peel Extract, Glyceryl Caprylate, Sclerotium Gum, Sodium Benzoate, Taraxacum Officinale Rhizome/Root Extract, Tocopherol, Xanthan Gum
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Behenyl Alcohol is a type of fatty alcohol (these are different from the drying, solvent alcohols).
Fatty Alcohols have hydrating properties and are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product. They are usually derived from natural fats and oils; behenyl alcohol is derived from the fats of vegetable oils.
Emollients help keep your skin soft and hydrated by creating a film that traps moisture in.
In 2000, Behenyl Alcohol was approved by the US as medicine to reduce the duration of cold sores.
Learn more about Behenyl AlcoholDicaprylyl Carbonate comes from carbonic acid and caprylyl alcohol, a fatty alcohol. It is an emollient and gives skin a velvet feel. The sources of Dicaprylyl Carbonate may be synthetic or from animals.
As an emollient, Dicaprylyl Carbonate creates a film on the skin. This film traps moisture in, keeping your skin soft and hydrated.
Glycerin (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 GlycerinTocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
Learn more about TocopherolWater. 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 WaterXanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.
On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.
Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.
Learn more about Xanthan Gum
