What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningTea-Lauryl Sulfate
Cleansing
Acrylates Copolymer
Propanediol
Solvent
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
PPG-2 Hydroxyethyl Coco/Isostearamide
Surfactant
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingCopernicia Cerifera Wax
Sodium Chloride
MaskingLactose
HumectantDisodium EDTA
Cellulose
Absorbent
Citric Acid
Buffering
Magnesium Nitrate
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingNiacinamide
Smoothing
Glycerin
Humectant
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
Preservative
Magnesium Chloride
Talc
Abrasive
Methylisothiazolinone
Preservative
Resveratrol
Antioxidant
Caproic Acid
Cleansing
Dextran
Oligopeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
CI 73360
Cosmetic ColorantUltramarines
Water, Tea-Lauryl Sulfate, Acrylates Copolymer, Propanediol, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PPG-2 Hydroxyethyl Coco/Isostearamide, Potassium Hydroxide, Copernicia Cerifera Wax, Sodium Chloride, Lactose, Disodium EDTA, Cellulose, Citric Acid, Magnesium Nitrate, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Niacinamide, Glycerin, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Magnesium Chloride, Talc, Methylisothiazolinone, Resveratrol, Caproic Acid, Dextran, Oligopeptide-1, CI 73360, Ultramarines
Water
Skin ConditioningPEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate
Surfactant
Glycerin
Humectant
Gluconolactone
Skin Conditioning
Ammonium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Triethanolamine
BufferingDisodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingMandelic Acid
Antimicrobial
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil
Antioxidant
PEG-150 Distearate
Emulsifying
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Emulsifying
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Sodium Laureth-13 Carboxylate
CleansingSodium Chloride
MaskingPEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate
Emulsifying
PPG-2 Hydroxyethyl Cocamide
Emulsifying
Polyquaternium-10
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Benzalkonium Chloride
Antimicrobial
BHT
Antioxidant
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Water, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Glycerin, Gluconolactone, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Triethanolamine, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Mandelic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Panthenol, Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil, PEG-150 Distearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Laureth-13 Carboxylate, Sodium Chloride, PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, PPG-2 Hydroxyethyl Cocamide, Polyquaternium-10, Polysorbate 20, Benzalkonium Chloride, BHT, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineGlycerin (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 GlycerinChances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideWater. 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
