What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPropanediol
Solvent
Dipropylene Glycol
HumectantNiacinamide
Smoothing
Glycerin
Humectant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Trehalose
Humectant
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Arginine
Masking
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingPolyglyceryl-10 Laurate
Skin Conditioning
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningPolyglyceryl-4 Laurate
Emulsifying
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingDisodium EDTA
Octyldodeceth-16
EmulsifyingJuniperus Virginiana Oil
Masking
Madecassoside
Antioxidant
Pyrus Communis Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningSimmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Rosa Damascena Flower Water
Masking
Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil
Masking
Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer
HumectantIris Florentina Root Extract
MaskingCucumis Melo Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningArtemisia Vulgaris Oil
Perfuming
Hedera Helix Leaf/Stem Extract
AntimicrobialRosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Sea Water
HumectantSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Centella Asiatica Extract
Cleansing
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
Humectant
Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans
HumectantHydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Cyperus Rotundus Root Extract
Skin ConditioningBenzyl Glycol
SolventHydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Water, Propanediol, Dipropylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Glycerin, 1,2-Hexanediol, Trehalose, Hydroxyacetophenone, Arginine, Carbomer, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polyglyceryl-4 Laurate, Xanthan Gum, Disodium EDTA, Octyldodeceth-16, Juniperus Virginiana Oil, Madecassoside, Pyrus Communis Fruit Extract, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Iris Florentina Root Extract, Cucumis Melo Fruit Extract, Artemisia Vulgaris Oil, Hedera Helix Leaf/Stem Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Butylene Glycol, Sea Water, Sodium Hyaluronate, Centella Asiatica Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Cyperus Rotundus Root Extract, Benzyl Glycol, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Hyaluronic Acid, Panthenol, Ceramide NP
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.
It is a:
- Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
- Emollient, helping to soften skin
- Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
- Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives
Glycerin (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 GlycerinHydroxyacetophenone is a small phenolic molecule that earns its place in a formulas as an antioxidant and preservative booster.
As a phenol, it is able to neutralize free radicals to protect both the product and the skin from oxidative stress.
Though it can't kill microbes on its own, it works as a good supporting agent when combined with other preservatives like Phenoxyethanol or 1,2-Hexanediol.
This ingredient naturally occurs as piceol in Norwegian spruce needles (~0.4-1.1% dry weight and in cloudberries). Though the cosmetic-grade material is synthesized for purity and consistency.
You'll usually see it used at low levels and suppliers recommend up to 1% added to a water phase.
Safety testing was done at concentrations like 0.05% in SPF products and 0.5% in a Human Repeated Insult Patch Test. The safety evidence is assuring; this ingredient is safe for cosmetics in current use and also holds safety status as a food flavoring as well.
An honest caveat: the "soothing" and "anti-inflammatory" claims come mostly from supplier marketing rather than published clinical trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review's own literature search found no useful efficacy studies on this ingredient.
So the antioxidant and preservative-boosting roles are the well supported ones while the calming benefit is plausible but thinly evidenced.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-irritation multitasker that quietly helps a formula stay fresh and stable.
Learn more about HydroxyacetophenoneWater. 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
