What's inside
What's inside
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningDistearyldimonium Chloride
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine Lactate
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Glycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Steareth-20
CleansingMethylparaben
Preservative
Sodium Chloride
MaskingPEG-150 Stearate
Hydrolyzed Collagen
Emollient
Propylparaben
Preservative
Lanolin
Emollient
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
CI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantBenzyl Benzoate
Antimicrobial
Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone
Perfuming
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Limonene
Perfuming
Citronellol
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Benzyl Salicylate
Perfuming
Water, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Stearyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine Lactate, Cetyl Alcohol, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum, Glycine Soja Oil, Polysorbate 60, Steareth-20, Methylparaben, Sodium Chloride, PEG-150 Stearate, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Propylparaben, Lanolin, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, CI 19140, Benzyl Benzoate, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Limonene, Citronellol, Geraniol, Benzyl Salicylate
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Cleansing
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Lanolin Oil
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cholesterol
Emollient
Phenyl Trimethicone
Skin Conditioning
Dimethicone PEG-7 Cocoate
Emollient
Tridecyl Stearate
Emollient
Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate
EmollientTridecyl Trimellitate
EmollientC12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialTriticum Vulgare Germ Oil
Emollient
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Dicetyldimonium Chloride
EmulsifyingWater, Glycerin, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Lanolin Oil, Dimethicone, Cetyl Alcohol, Cholesterol, Phenyl Trimethicone, Dimethicone PEG-7 Cocoate, Tridecyl Stearate, Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Tridecyl Trimellitate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil, Panthenol, Dicetyldimonium Chloride
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.
Its main roles are:
Though it has "alcohol" in the name, it is not related to denatured alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.
Learn more about Cetyl AlcoholGlycerin (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 GlycerinThis ingredient is also known as olive oil. It has been used in skincare for centuries and science largely backs up its reputation as a nourishing emollient.
The main components of olive oil are oleic acid (55-83%), linoleic acid (3.5-20%), and palmitic acid (7-20%). Oleic acid promotes skin regeneration and helps regulate inflammatory responses.
Squalene is also naturally present in olive oil and exhibits moisturizing and antioxidant properties.
The polyphenols in olive oil also show anti-aging promise; one clinical study found a measurable improvement in skin appearance after 30 days of topical serum use.
Just be aware that applying olive oil directly to skin can weaken the barrier and cause redness. One study with volunteers found even people without sensitive skin experienced a significant reduction in stratum corneum integrity and induced mild erythema.
It's best to use this ingredient as part of a carefully crafted formula (instead of putting it on skin directly from the bottle).
Because it has a 2-3 on the comedogenic scale, it is a moderate risk for acne-prone skin. However, the overall formulation of a product matters more than a few ingredients with comedogenic ratings.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe because of the oleic and palmitic acid content. These fall within the C11-24 fatty acid range that the Malassezia yeast can metabolize to grow.
Overall, olive oil is a well-studied and nourishing skincare ingredient.
Learn more about Olea Europaea Fruit OilWater. 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
