What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Distearoylethyl Dimonium Chloride
Behenoyl Pg-Trimonium Chloride
Cetearyl Glucoside
Emulsifying
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Skin ConditioningBehenamidopropyl Dimethylamine
EmulsifyingInulin
Skin Conditioning
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Hexylene Glycol
EmulsifyingParfum
Masking
Sodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningCitric Acid
Buffering
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Water, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Distearoylethyl Dimonium Chloride, Behenoyl Pg-Trimonium Chloride, Cetearyl Glucoside, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Behenamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Inulin, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Tocopherol, Hexylene Glycol, Parfum, Sodium Gluconate, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Surfactant
Stearalkonium Chloride
Preservative
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Honey
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningPotassium Sorbate
Preservative
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Colloidal Oatmeal
Absorbent
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningSodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningTocopherol
Antioxidant
Vaccinium Macrocarpon Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Swertia Japonica Extract
Skin ConditioningStearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Thiamine Hcl
MaskingLeuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Stearalkonium Chloride, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Honey, Citric Acid, Sodium Levulinate, Potassium Sorbate, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Colloidal Oatmeal, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Sodium Gluconate, Tocopherol, Vaccinium Macrocarpon Seed Oil, Swertia Japonica Extract, Stearyl Alcohol, Thiamine Hcl, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholCitric 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 GlycerinThis ingredient is the oil from the apricot.
Apricot Kernel Oil is an emollient and helps soften skin. This is due to its fatty acid components. Some of these fatty acids include linoleic and oleic acid.
This ingredient also has antioxidant properties from Vitamins A, C, and E. Antioxidants help fight free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells. Besides being antioxidants, these vitamins provide plenty of skin benefits as well.
Learn more about Prunus Armeniaca Kernel OilThis is the synthetic salt of gluconic acid, a form of PHA and mild exfoliant.
It is mainly used to stabilize oil and butter formulations from going bad. Sodium gluconate is a humectant, pH regulator, and chelating agent.
Chelating agents help neutralize unwanted metals from affecting the formulation.
Sodium gluconate is water-soluble.
Learn more about Sodium GluconateTocopherol 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
