What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Sodium Coco-Sulfate
Cleansing
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Saccharide Isomerate
Humectant
Sodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningGuar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningPrunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Maris Sal
Skin ConditioningCitric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Citrate
BufferingPotassium Sorbate
Preservative
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Sodium Coco-Sulfate
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Lauryl Glucoside
CleansingSodium Chloride
MaskingPelargonium Graveolens Oil
Masking
Rosa Damascena Flower Extract
Masking
Ascorbyl Palmitate
Antioxidant
Beta-Sitosterol
Emulsion Stabilising
Coco-Caprylate
Emollient
Squalene
Emollient
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingGlyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate
Emollient
Lecithin
Emollient
Lysolecithin
EmulsifyingPolyglyceryl-4 Caprate
EmulsifyingTocopherol
Antioxidant
Parfum
Masking
Citronellol
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Coco-Glucoside, Sodium Coco-Sulfate, Glycerin, Lauryl Glucoside, Sodium Chloride, Pelargonium Graveolens Oil, Rosa Damascena Flower Extract, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Beta-Sitosterol, Coco-Caprylate, Squalene, Xanthan Gum, Glyceryl Oleate, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate, Lecithin, Lysolecithin, Polyglyceryl-4 Caprate, Tocopherol, Parfum, Citronellol, Geraniol
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract is an extract of the leaves of the aloe, Aloe barbadensis, Liliaceae.
Aloe is one of the most well-known natural soothing ingredients, and for good reason. It’s full of water and has a cooling, calming effect on the skin, especially when it’s sunburned, itchy, or irritated. Aloe also helps your skin stay hydrated and smooth by mimicking what healthy skin naturally produces. On top of that, it contains vitamins and nutrients that support skin recovery.Â
It doesn’t protect you from the sun, but it can help your skin bounce back after too much time in it.
Let’s get into the details:
Aloe contains antioxidant Vitamins A, C, and E, which help fight off free radicals (unstable molecules from things like pollution that can damage your skin).
It’s also rich in polysaccharides, which are natural sugars that help hydrate the skin by acting like the skin’s own moisturizing agents. These, along with other sugars like monosaccharides, help form a protective barrier that locks in moisture.
Aloe works as both a humectant and an emollient. That means it draws water into the skin (humectant) and helps trap it there (emollient), making it an effective natural moisturizer.
You’ll also find a mix of other skin-supporting ingredients in aloe, including folic acid, choline, calcium, amino acids, fatty acids, and even Vitamin B12.
Out of the 420+ species of aloe, Aloe barbadensis is the most widely used in skincare products thanks to its gentle yet effective properties.
There are over 420 species of aloe but Aloe Barbadensis is the most commonly used for topical products.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf ExtractCoco-Glucoside is a surfactant, or a cleansing ingredient. It is made from glucose and coconut oil.
Surfactants help gather dirt, oil, and other pollutants from your skin to be rinsed away.
This ingredient is considered gentle and non-comedogenic. However, it may still be irritating for some.
Learn more about Coco-GlucosideGlycerin (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 GlycerinSodium Coco-Sulfate (SCS) is an anionic cleanser made by sulfating coconut-derived fatty alcohols and neutralizing them into a sodium salt. It's a strong and bubbly cleanser and closely realted to SLS.
This ingredient works by grabbing onto oil, dirt, and grime so they can be rinsed away. It also helps add foam for a big-lather feel.
Like other members of the alkyl sulfate family, these surfactants can be drying or irritating. This is especially true if your skin barrier is already stressed, the product is very concentrated, or if you leave the ingredient on for too long.
One research paper comparing SCS vs SLS found SCS may score a bit more on the "milder" side for irritation measures, but it still interacts strongly with skin lipids which can cause barrier disruption.
SCS tends to be the best in rinse-off products.
Learn more about Sodium Coco-SulfateWater. 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
