What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningOlea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil
Emollient
Borago Officinalis Seed Oil
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Squalane
Emollient
Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate
Antioxidant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Piroctone Olamine
Preservative
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingHyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Mel
EmollientAllantoin
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract
Emollient
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Acetum
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Parfum
Masking
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Humulus Lupulus Extract
AntimicrobialWater, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Glyceryl Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Persea Gratissima Oil, Lactic Acid, Niacinamide, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Squalane, Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, Panthenol, Piroctone Olamine, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Xanthan Gum, Hyaluronic Acid, Mel, Allantoin, Glycerin, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Acetum, Potassium Sorbate, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Parfum, Tocopherol, Humulus Lupulus Extract
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Sorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Propanediol
Solvent
Cetearyl Olivate
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Ethylhexyl Olivate
Skin Conditioning
Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil
Humectant
Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil
Emollient
Saccharide Isomerate
Humectant
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Glycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Glycerin
Humectant
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningSodium Benzoate
Masking
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Citrate
BufferingWater, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sorbitan Olivate, Propanediol, Cetearyl Olivate, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Ethylhexyl Olivate, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil, Saccharide Isomerate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycine Soja Oil, Tocopherol, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate
Reviews
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 JuiceThis 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 ButterCamellia 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 ExtractGlycerin (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 GlycerinTocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.
Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.
Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.
You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.
There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.
Learn more about TocopherolWater. 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
