What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate
Surfactant
Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate
SurfactantGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Lauryl Hydroxysultaine
CleansingGlycol Distearate
Emollient
Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Polyquaternium-10
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientTetrasodium EDTA
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningArginine
Masking
Aspartic Acid
Masking
Glutamic Acid
Humectant
Phytosterols
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Water, Glycerin, Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Glyceryl Stearate, Citric Acid, Lauryl Hydroxysultaine, Glycol Distearate, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Coco-Glucoside, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Polyquaternium-10, Glyceryl Caprylate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Glutamic Acid, Phytosterols, Ceramide NP, Tocopherol
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Propanediol
Solvent
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate
Surfactant
Acrylates Copolymer
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Potassium Cocoate
Emulsifying
Sorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientCentella Asiatica Extract
Cleansing
Disodium EDTA
Water, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Glycerin, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Propanediol, Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Acrylates Copolymer, Cetearyl Alcohol, Potassium Cocoate, Sorbitan Olivate, Salicylic Acid, Glycol Distearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Citric Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Centella Asiatica Extract, 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.
Citric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.
Like other AHAs, citric acid can exfoliate skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.
However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.
Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.
In skincare formulas, citric acid can:
While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.
Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Citric AcidGlycerin (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 Caprylate comes from glycerin and caprylic acid. It is an emollient, co-emulsifier, and preservative booster.
Its short C8 fatty acid chain makes it behave differently from its longer-chain emollient cousins like Glyceryl Stearate. It feels more lightweight, fast-absorbing, and silky instead of rich and waxy.
As a co-emulsifier, its "head" and "tail" sit at the oil-water interface. But overall, the short C8 tail and not being water soluble means it doesn't really have the muscle to emulsify a formula on its own. That's why you'll often see it paired with a primary emulsifier like Cetearyl Glucoside.
Interestingly, Glyceryl Caprylate acts as a preservative booster. This is because its fatty-acid backbone disrupts microbial lipid membranes. It shows excellent activity against bacteria and yeast but is weaker against mold.
Typical concentrations range from 0.5-1% and this ingredient is generally non-irritating.
Because this ingredient has a C8 fatty acid chain, it is outside the range that the Malassezia yeast metabolizes (making it fungal acne safe).
Learn more about Glyceryl CaprylateGlyceryl 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 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 DistearateHydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate is a modified starch used to help thicken a product.
It is also used in foods.
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate is an amino acid-based surfactant and cleaning agent. This ingredient can be derived from animals or plants. It may also be synthetically created from fatty acids of the coconut and glycine.
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate is a gentle surfactant. Surfactants help gather the dirt, oil, and other pollutants from your skin to be rinsed away. It is a mild cleanser and naturally produces foam.
Water. 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
