What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Behenamidopropyl Dimethylamine
EmulsifyingGlycerin
Humectant
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Sodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningLactic Acid
Buffering
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Anisate
AntimicrobialSorbitan Caprylate
EmulsifyingCymbopogon Citratus Leaf Oil
Masking
Litsea Cubeba Fruit Oil
Masking
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil
Masking
Sodium Phytate
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Alcohol
Antimicrobial
Citral
Perfuming
Limonene
Perfuming
Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behenamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Glycerin, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Sodium Levulinate, Lactic Acid, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Sodium Anisate, Sorbitan Caprylate, Cymbopogon Citratus Leaf Oil, Litsea Cubeba Fruit Oil, Tocopherol, Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil, Sodium Phytate, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Alcohol, Citral, Limonene
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Stearalkonium Chloride
Preservative
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Honey
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningPotassium Sorbate
Preservative
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Colloidal Oatmeal
Absorbent
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningSodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningTocopherol
Antioxidant
Vaccinium Macrocarpon Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Swertia Japonica Extract
Skin ConditioningStearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Thiamine Hcl
MaskingLeuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Stearalkonium Chloride, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Honey, Citric Acid, Sodium Levulinate, Potassium Sorbate, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Colloidal Oatmeal, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Sodium Gluconate, Tocopherol, Vaccinium Macrocarpon Seed Oil, Swertia Japonica Extract, Stearyl Alcohol, Thiamine Hcl, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
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 ButterCetearyl 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 AlcoholGlycerin (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 GlycerinSodium levulinate is the a sodium salt of Levulinic Acid. Oncedissolved in an aqueous solution, the two ingredients become identical. It is usually derived from renewable plant sources like corn starch or sugarcane.
In skincare, it mostly acts as a skin conditioning agent that keeps skin soft and hydrated. It also acts as a preservative booster by inhibiting the growth of mold, yeast, and bacteria.
It's often paired with Sodium Anisate as the two create a broad-spectrum preservative system that is popular in "natural" formulations.
This ingredient is water-soluble.
The CIR Expert Panel for Cosmetic Ingredient Safety has concluded this ingredient to be non-irritated and there are no restrictions for use in EU cosmetics. The FDA also allows this ingredient to be used as a food-grade flavoring agent.
Learn more about Sodium LevulinateTocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
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
