What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Water
Skin ConditioningPotassium Hydroxide
BufferingPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Lactobacillus/Rice Ferment
Skin Conditioning
Polyquaternium-7
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Titanium Dioxide
Cosmetic Colorant
Glyceryl Glucoside
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
BHT
Antioxidant
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingPEG-150 Distearate
Emulsifying
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Disodium EDTA
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Laureth-4
Emulsifying
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Rosa Canina Fruit Extract
Astringent
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Formic Acid
Preservative
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium Chloride, PEG-150 Distearate, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Disodium EDTA, Panthenol, Glycol Distearate, Laureth-4, Allantoin, Sodium PCA, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Formic Acid
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Decyl Glucoside is a plant-derived surfactant and emulsion stabilizer. It is created by reacting glucose with the fatty acids from plants.
Like all surfactants, it works by lowering the surface tension between water and oil. This makes it so that dirt, sebum, and makeup can be lifted off your skin and rinsed away. It also produces a dense and creamy foam.
Because it has a neutral charge, it is compatible with a wide range of ingredients and stays stable across a broad pH range/water hardiness conditions.
Patch testing has shown it to have the lowest irritation potential among common cleansing surfactants (like SLS).
Typical use levels range from 5-20% in rinse-off cleansers.
One thing worth knowing: The American Contact Dermatitis Society named the parent family, alkyl glucosides, "Allergen of the Year" in 2017. The prevalence of allergy is pretty low but be sure to patch test if you've reacted to "gentle" or sulfate-free cleansers before.
This ingredient is fungal acne safe because the fatty alcohol portion of this ingredient is not within the C11-24 chain length that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Decyl 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 GlycerinGlycol Distearate is an emulsifier and emollient that adds a "pearly" appearance to formulations.
That lustrous look you see in many shampoos is due to this ingredient: when cooled, it crystallizes into small platelets that reflect light to give products that rich, shimmering look.
This ingredient is considered safe at present practices of use and concentration and repeated insult patch test with 50% Glycol Distearate on 125 subjects found no evidence of skin irritation, hypersensitivity, or acute toxicity.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.1-10%.
Because it's an ester of stearic acid, it falls into the range that Malassezia likes to metabolize. This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Glycol DistearateSodium PCA is the sodium salt of pyroglutamic acid. It is naturally occurring in our skin's natural moisturizing factors where it works to maintain hydration.
The PCA stands for pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, a natural amino acid derivative.
This ingredient has skin conditioning, anti-inflammatory, and humectant properties. Humectants help hydrate your skin by drawing moisture from the air. This helps keep your skin moisturized.
Learn more about Sodium PCAWater. 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
