What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPersea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Pvp
Emulsion StabilisingAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed Oil
Antimicrobial
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Curcuma Longa Root Extract
Masking
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Cetrimonium Chloride
Antimicrobial
Polyquaternium-7
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningGlycereth-2 Cocoate
Emulsifying
Parfum
Masking
Anthocyanins
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Persea Gratissima Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Pvp, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Curcuma Longa Root Extract, Panthenol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Polyquaternium-7, Phenoxyethanol, Benzoic Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glycereth-2 Cocoate, Parfum, Anthocyanins
Water
Skin ConditioningButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Ceteareth-20
CleansingStearamidopropyl Dimethylamine
EmulsifyingStearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientCetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Mangifera Indica Seed Butter
Skin Conditioning
Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter
Emollient
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Citric Acid
Buffering
Glycerin
Humectant
Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil
Emollient
Garcinia Indica Seed Butter
Skin Conditioning
Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter
Skin Conditioning
Caprylhydroxamic Acid
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Ricinus Communis Seed Oil
Masking
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil
Emollient
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Rosa Canina Fruit Extract
Astringent
Water, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Glyceryl Stearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ceteareth-20, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Mangifera Indica Seed Butter, Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Citric Acid, Glycerin, Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil, Garcinia Indica Seed Butter, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract
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 Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.
Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.
It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceBehentrimonium Methosulfate is an ammonium salt. It is mainly used to prevent static in haircare products as a surfactant.
Surfactants have differing ends: one side is hydrophilic while the other end is hydrophobic.
Surfactants also help your cleansers remove pollutants more easily from the skin.
Learn more about Behentrimonium MethosulfateThis ingredient is also known as shea butter. It is a plant-derived extract from the nuts of the Africa shea tree and one of the most well-studied emollients.
Because it has a high concentration of fatty acids (primarily oleic, stearic, and linoleic) it is able to form a protective barrier on the skin's surface. This helps seal in moisture and prevents transepidermal water loss (TEWL).
In vitro research found an increase in skin hydration by 58% and a decrease in TEWL by 37.8% after 24 hours of applying this ingredient (pretty impressive for a single ingredient!).
Besides hydration, shea butter also contains triterpenes that have anti-inflammatory potential. In particule, lupeol cinnamate has shown the highest anti-inflammatory activity in vivo.
Shea butter also contains vitamins A and E which may contribute to antioxidant activity.
While Shea Butter has an SPF rating of about 3-4, it is not a sunscreen replacement.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe because its fatty acids fall within the C11-C24 range that the Malassezia yeast can metabolize.
Learn more about Butyrospermum Parkii ButterThis ingredient is a lightweight emollient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It is considered a skin-softener by helping the skin prevent moisture loss.
It helps thicken a product's formula and makes it easier to spread by dissolving clumping compounds.
Caprylic Triglyceride is made by combining glycerin with coconut oil, forming a clear liquid. Though it behaves like an oil, it is not technically one due to its chemical composition. 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. Be sure to 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.
Learn more about Caprylic/Capric TriglycerideCetearyl 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.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholCetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.
Its main roles are:
Though it has "alcohol" in the name, it is not related to denatured alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.
Learn more about Cetyl AlcoholThis ingredient is also known as Avocado oil. It's the cold-pressed oil from the flesh of the avocado fruit packed with fatty acids (mostly oleic acid).
The rich fatty acid profile allows it to function as a skin conditioning agent and emollient; it helps soften and smooth skin while reducing water loss.
Preclinical research has found that topical avocado oil increased collagen synthesis and reduced inflammation during wound healing, giving it some skin-repairing credibility.
The unsaponifiable fraction of the oil is also interesting: studies on avocado unsaponifiables showed that it helped skin produce more collagen and other structural compounds that support healing.
The CIR Expert Panel has found this ingredient to be non-irritating in formulations.
It's a great ingredient for dry or compromised skin. Just know it may not be fungal acne safe. This is because the oleic acid content falls within the range that Malassezia can use as a food source.
Learn more about Persea Gratissima OilWater. 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
