What's inside
What's inside
Benefits
No benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Lauryl Glucoside
CleansingDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate
Cleansing
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningHydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientPiroctone Olamine
Preservative
Hydrolyzed Milk Protein
Skin ConditioningWater, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Lauryl Glucoside, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate, Glycol Distearate, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Glyceryl Stearate, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Piroctone Olamine, Hydrolyzed Milk Protein
Water
Skin ConditioningDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Sodium Coco-Sulfate
Cleansing
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Oil
Masking
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Ceteth-20
CleansingDisodium EDTA
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Methylparaben
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
Water, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium Coco-Sulfate, Glycol Distearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Glyceryl Stearate, Ceteth-20, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetearyl 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 AlcoholCocamidopropyl 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 BetaineCoco-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-GlucosideDecyl Glucoside is a plant-derived surfactant and emulsion stabilizer. It is created by reacting glucose with the fatty acids from plants.
Like all surfactants, it works by lowering the surface tension between water and oil. This makes it so that dirt, sebum, and makeup can be lifted off your skin and rinsed away. It also produces a dense and creamy foam.
Because it has a neutral charge, it is compatible with a wide range of ingredients and stays stable across a broad pH range/water hardiness conditions.
Patch testing has shown it to have the lowest irritation potential among common cleansing surfactants (like SLS).
Typical use levels range from 5-20% in rinse-off cleansers.
One thing worth knowing: The American Contact Dermatitis Society named the parent family, alkyl glucosides, "Allergen of the Year" in 2017. The prevalence of allergy is pretty low but be sure to patch test if you've reacted to "gentle" or sulfate-free cleansers before.
This ingredient is fungal acne safe because the fatty alcohol portion of this ingredient is not within the C11-24 chain length that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Decyl GlucosideGlyceryl Oleate is the ester of glycerin and oleic acid. This ingredient is mainly an emollient and emulsifier.
Emollients soften and hydrate the skin by creating a thin film on top to trap in moisture. As an emulsifier, glyceryl oleate helps stabilize formulations by preventing ingredients such as oil and water from separating. According to a manufacturer, this ingredient helps helps thicken water-in-oil formulations, shower gels, and hair shampoos.
In some products, this ingredient may be used as a fragrance / perfuming ingredient. The scent of this ingredient is described to be "waxy".
Glyceryl oleate is created from oils rich in oleic acid, such as peanut oil and olive oil.
This ingredient may not be malassezia folliculitis safe.
Learn more about Glyceryl OleateGlyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.
Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.
This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.
Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.
Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.
Learn more about Glyceryl StearateGlycol Distearate serves as a pearlizing or opacifying agent in cosmetic products.
It's often included in cleansers and haircare products to give them a lustrous or shimmering appearance.
It is derived from stearic acid, a natural fatty acid commonly found in vegetable oils and animal fats.
Glycol Distearate isn't fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Glycol DistearateWater. 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
