What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningMyristic Acid
Cleansing
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingGlycerin
Humectant
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Sodium Lauramido Diacetate
CleansingSodium/Mea-PEG-3 Cocamide Sulfate
Cleansing
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract
MaskingOlea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Sorbitan Stearate
Emulsifying
Lauramide DEA
SurfactantWater
Skin ConditioningMyristic Acid
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingSorbitol
Humectant
Dipropylene Glycol
HumectantLauric Acid
Cleansing
PEG-60 Glyceryl Isostearate
Surfactant
PEG-6
HumectantPEG-32
HumectantGlycol Distearate
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Parfum
Masking
Disodium EDTA
Limonene
Perfuming
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
Absorbent
Serine
Masking
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Water, Myristic Acid, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Sorbitol, Dipropylene Glycol, Lauric Acid, PEG-60 Glyceryl Isostearate, PEG-6, PEG-32, Glycol Distearate, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Parfum, Disodium EDTA, Limonene, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Serine, Tocopherol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Glycerin (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 GlycerinGlycol Distearate is an emulsifier and emollient that adds a "pearly" appearance to formulations.
That lustrous look you see in many shampoos is due to this ingredient: when cooled, it crystallizes into small platelets that reflect light to give products that rich, shimmering look.
This ingredient is considered safe at present practices of use and concentration and repeated insult patch test with 50% Glycol Distearate on 125 subjects found no evidence of skin irritation, hypersensitivity, or acute toxicity.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.1-10%.
Because it's an ester of stearic acid, it falls into the range that Malassezia likes to metabolize. This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Glycol DistearateLauric 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 AcidMyristic Acid, aka tetradecanoic acid, is a naturally occurring fatty acid found in coconut oil and palm oil.
In skincare, it is an:
Research indicates that this ingredient posts a low risk of irritation and sensitization.
Since myristic acid is a C14 fatty acid, it falls within the range that Malassezia can metabolize, and therefore not fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Myristic AcidPotassium hydroxide is commonly known as caustic potash. It is used to fix the pH of a product or as a cleaning agent in soap. In cleansers, it is used for the saponification of oils.
Sapnification is the process of creating fatty acid metal salts from triglycerides and a strong base. During this process, Potassium Hydroxide is used up and is not present in the final product.
Using high concentrations of Potassium Hydroxide have shown to irritate the skin.
Learn more about Potassium HydroxideStearic Acid is a fatty acid that is already found in your skin. It's one of the free fatty acids that works alongside ceramides and cholesterols to maintain your barrier.
In cosmetics, it is a multitasker:
Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.
Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Stearic AcidWater. 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
