What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Cetyl Ethylhexanoate
EmollientChlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Isononyl Isononanoate
EmollientLavandula Hybrida Oil
Emollient
Oenothera Biennis Oil
Emollient
Oryza Sativa Bran Oil
Emollient
Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Polyglyceryl-10 Dioleate
Emulsifying
Polyglyceryl-10 Oleate
Skin Conditioning
Polyglyceryl-2 Oleate
Emulsifying
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Caprylyl Glycol, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Chlorphenesin, Isononyl Isononanoate, Lavandula Hybrida Oil, Oenothera Biennis Oil, Oryza Sativa Bran Oil, Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate, Phenoxyethanol, Polyglyceryl-10 Dioleate, Polyglyceryl-10 Oleate, Polyglyceryl-2 Oleate, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (aka MCT Oil) is a lightweight emollient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It is considered a skin-softener by helping to prevent moisture loss.
Though it behaves like an oil, it is not technically one due to its chemical composition. One perk of this ingredient is that it is very stable, resistant to oxidation, and unlikely to go rancid.
In practice, that translates to a long shelf life and a consistently elegant skin feel.
While there is an assumption Caprylic Triglyceride can clog pores due to it being derived from coconut oil, there is no research supporting this. Just patch test if you have concerns.
Fractionated coconut oil and MCT Oil are both listed as Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride according to INCI. This is because INCI names are based on the ingredient’s final chemical composition and not its marketing name or source.
This ingredient is treated as the gold standard fungal acne safe oil. Even though it is coconut derived, the problematic lauric acid is stripped out.
This leaves just caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) acid. These chain lengths actually trend antifungal; a 2020 study found caprylic acid was enough to disrupt Malassezia furfur cell membrane, with a caprylic acid derivative damaging membrane structures at concentrations as low as 0.2%.
Learn more about Caprylic/Capric TriglycerideOenothera Biennis Oil (aka Evening Primrose Oil) is a non-fragrant oil from the evening primrose. Like other botanical oils, it is an emollient that helps hydrate and nourish skin.
It has an interesting fatty acid profile: linoleic (70-74%) and γ-linolenic (8-10%), with some amounts ofoleic palmitic, and stearic acids.
The gamma-linoleic acid (GLA) is the headliner here; it's relatively rare in plant oils and acts as a precursor for anti-inflammatory signaling molecules in the skin.
There's a mixed body of clinical research with this ingredient as well, mostly on eczema/atopic dermatitis skin.
Some controlled trials showed improvement in inflammation, dryness, scaling, and overall severity. Other studies and large meta-analysis failed to show a significant effect; the honest takeaway here is "promising but inconsistent" rather than "miracle oil".
On the safety front, this ingredient is found to be safe as used in cosmetics and even has a history of safe food use.
Since this oil is contains oleic acid and palmitic acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast feeds on fatty acids with carbon chain lengths between C11-C24. Oleic Acid sits at C18 and Palmitic acid sits at C16.
In vitro studies have shown that oleic acid and palmitic acid are some of the fatty acids that induce rapid Malassezia growth in lab settings.
Learn more about Oenothera Biennis Oil
