What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf
Skin ConditioningLz1 Peptide
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Water
Skin ConditioningRosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil
Emollient
PEG-35 Castor Oil
Emulsifying
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Cera Alba
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Corylus Avellana Seed Oil
Emollient
Camphor
Masking
Sclerotium Gum
Emulsion StabilisingCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingFagus Sylvatica Bud Extract
TonicTocopheryl Acetate 0.2%
Antioxidant
Borneol
Masking
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingLavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
Pelargonium Graveolens Leaf Oil
Cupressus Sempervirens Oil
Masking
Thymus Vulgaris Flower/Leaf Oil
Masking
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Limonene
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Citronellol
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Coumarin
Perfuming
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf, Lz1 Peptide, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Tocopherol, Water, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, PEG-35 Castor Oil, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Cera Alba, Cetyl Alcohol, Corylus Avellana Seed Oil, Camphor, Sclerotium Gum, Carbomer, Fagus Sylvatica Bud Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate 0.2%, Borneol, Sodium Hydroxide, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Leaf Oil, Cupressus Sempervirens Oil, Thymus Vulgaris Flower/Leaf Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzoic Acid, Limonene, Linalool, Citronellol, Geraniol, Coumarin
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Benzoic Acid is used to preserve and adjust the pH of products.
The antimicrobial property of Benzoic Acid helps elongate a product's shelf life. Its main role is to reduce fungi growth and is not found to be effective at fighting bacteria. Therefore Benzoic Acid is always added along with other preservatives.
In its pure form, Benzoic Acid looks like a white crystalline solid. It has slight solubility in water.
The name of Benzoic Acid comes from gum benzoin, which used to be the sole source of deriving this ingredient. Benzoic Acid is the most simple aromatic carboxylic acid.
Benzoic Acid is naturally occuring in strawberries, mustard, cinnamon, and cloves. It has a slight scent but is not considered to be a fragrance.
Learn more about Benzoic AcidCarbomer is a high-molecular weight polymer of acrylic acid. It is used to form gels and thicken formulas.
Due to its large molecular size, carbomer has minimal skin penetration and is considered an inert ingredient.
A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.
Learn more about CarbomerGlycerin (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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol 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 HydroxideTocopherol 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 Water
