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 Isethionate
Cleansing
Sodium Isethionate
CleansingCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Coconut Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Cocoate
Emulsifying
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate
Surfactant
Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil
Antioxidant
Limonene
Perfuming
Phyllostachys Nigra Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningBambusa Vulgaris Water
Skin ConditioningRosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialLavandula Angustifolia Flower Extract
Cleansing
Mentha Piperita Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningMonarda Didyma Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningChamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Freesia Refracta Extract
Skin ConditioningMelaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Extract
Perfuming
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Chloride
MaskingDisodium EDTA
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningWater, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Coconut Acid, Potassium Cocoate, Butylene Glycol, Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil, Limonene, Phyllostachys Nigra Leaf Extract, Bambusa Vulgaris Water, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia Flower Extract, Mentha Piperita Leaf Extract, Monarda Didyma Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Freesia Refracta Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Extract, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolCocamidopropyl 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 GlycerinChances 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
