What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingLauric Acid
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Sodium Chloride
MaskingAcrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingCellulose Gum
Emulsion StabilisingPolyquaternium-7
Arachidic Acid
Cleansing
Disodium EDTA
PEG-90m
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Silica
Abrasive
Dipropylene Glycol
HumectantMilk Extract
Skin ConditioningEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningMilk Protein Extract
Water, Glycerin, Palmitic Acid, Myristic Acid, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Lauric Acid, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum, Sodium Chloride, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Cellulose Gum, Polyquaternium-7, Arachidic Acid, Disodium EDTA, PEG-90m, Sodium Benzoate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Butylene Glycol, Silica, Dipropylene Glycol, Milk Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Milk Protein Extract
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroamphoacetate
CleansingSodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Cleansing
Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Acrylates Copolymer
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids
CleansingTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningMaltooligosyl Glucoside
Skin ConditioningHydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate
HumectantSodium Chloride
MaskingTin Oxide
Abrasive
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingHydroxypropyl Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Propanediol
Solvent
Citric Acid
Buffering
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Coconut Acid
Cleansing
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Polyester-11
Skin ConditioningPEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate
Emulsifying
PPG-2 Hydroxyethyl Cocamide
Emulsifying
Sodium Cocoamphoacetate
CleansingDisodium EDTA
Tetrasodium EDTA
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Mica
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Acrylates Copolymer, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids, Tocopheryl Acetate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Maltooligosyl Glucoside, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Sodium Chloride, Tin Oxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Hydroxypropyl Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Caprylyl Glycol, Propanediol, Citric Acid, Lauric Acid, Coconut Acid, Polysorbate 20, Polyester-11, PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, PPG-2 Hydroxyethyl Cocamide, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Disodium EDTA, Tetrasodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Mica, CI 77891
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (tea extract) is one of the most well-researched plant extracts in skincare with an impressive resume.
Black tea, green tea, and oolong tea are all harvested from the Camellia Sinensis plant.
Studies show green tea extract and its catechins (like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)) help your skin cells product energy more efficiently and reducing the number of free-radicals that can damage your skin from the inside.
In lab-grown skin models, this translated to younger, healthier, and stronger skin.
There's also good sun protection data; researchers saw less DNA damage and redness on human skin when green tea was applied before UVB exposure. And the more they applied, the better the protection.
Needless to say, this ingredient shouldn't replace your sunscreen. But it is a great supportive ingredient that you can already find in many sunscreens and antioxidant serums.
A 2009 study found a 2% green tea lotion was effective for mild-to-moderate acne thanks to its anti-inflammatory and mild antimicrobial activity.
The quality of the extract matters a lot here:
Good extracts contain 50-90% catechins while lower quality ones are mostly there for marketing. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the quality or source of their ingredients.
Human Repeated Insult Patch Testing showed no irritation or sensitization at use concentrations (0.86% in leave-on products and up to 30% as leaf water).
Learn more about Camellia Sinensis Leaf ExtractCocamidopropyl 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 BetaineDisodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAEthylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:
The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.
Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.
Learn more about EthylhexylglycerinGlycerin (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 GlycerinLauric Acid is a saturated fatty acid naturally found in coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and even breast milk.
In cosmetics, it is an:
Lab studies have found that lauric acid is surprisingly good at killing acne-causing bacteria. However, these tests were done on bacteria in a petri dish and not on real skin, so we can't say for certain it works the same in a formulation on a real face.
The comedogenic rating of 4 comes from the 1972 rabbit ear model using undiluted ingredients. Comedogenicity is highly individual and one comedogenic ingredient cannot predict how a formula will behave on skin.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe and research has confirmed Malassezia can use it as a food source.
Learn more about Lauric AcidPhenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Chances 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
