What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Extract
Skin Conditioning
Water
Skin ConditioningAroma
Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone
Skin Conditioning
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Centella Asiatica Extract
Cleansing
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Citric Acid
Buffering
Cyclohexasiloxane
Emollient
Cyclopentasiloxane
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer
Dipropylene Glycol
HumectantGlycerin
Humectant
Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
Bleaching
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Methylpropanediol
SolventPEG-10 Dimethicone
Skin Conditioning
Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid 3%
UV Absorber
Polysilicone-15 3.5%
UV Filter
Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract
Antioxidant
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Rosa Damascena Flower Water
Masking
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialScutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract
Astringent
Silanetriol
Sodium Citrate
BufferingTocopherol
Antioxidant
Triethanolamine
Buffering1,2-Hexanediol, Aloe Barbadensis Extract, Water, Aroma, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Citric Acid, Cyclohexasiloxane, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Hydroxyacetophenone, Methylpropanediol, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid 3%, Polysilicone-15 3.5%, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract, Propylene Glycol, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Silanetriol, Sodium Citrate, Tocopherol, Triethanolamine
Water
Skin ConditioningC12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialDiethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate
UV Filter
Ethylhexyl Triazone
UV Absorber
Propanediol
Solvent
Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine
Skin Conditioning
Lecithin
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Gossypium Herbaceum Seed Extract
Skin ConditioningPunica Granatum Seed Extract
Skin ConditioningCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingGlycerin
Humectant
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Phytic Acid
Trehalose
Humectant
Fructooligosaccharides
Humectant
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingWater, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate, Ethylhexyl Triazone, Propanediol, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Lecithin, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Gossypium Herbaceum Seed Extract, Punica Granatum Seed Extract, Carbomer, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Phytic Acid, Trehalose, Fructooligosaccharides, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Hydroxide
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 GlycerinHydroxyacetophenone is a small phenolic molecule that earns its place in a formulas as an antioxidant and preservative booster.
As a phenol, it is able to neutralize free radicals to protect both the product and the skin from oxidative stress.
Though it can't kill microbes on its own, it works as a good supporting agent when combined with other preservatives like Phenoxyethanol or 1,2-Hexanediol.
This ingredient naturally occurs as piceol in Norwegian spruce needles (~0.4-1.1% dry weight and in cloudberries). Though the cosmetic-grade material is synthesized for purity and consistency.
You'll usually see it used at low levels and suppliers recommend up to 1% added to a water phase.
Safety testing was done at concentrations like 0.05% in SPF products and 0.5% in a Human Repeated Insult Patch Test. The safety evidence is assuring; this ingredient is safe for cosmetics in current use and also holds safety status as a food flavoring as well.
An honest caveat: the "soothing" and "anti-inflammatory" claims come mostly from supplier marketing rather than published clinical trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review's own literature search found no useful efficacy studies on this ingredient.
So the antioxidant and preservative-boosting roles are the well supported ones while the calming benefit is plausible but thinly evidenced.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-irritation multitasker that quietly helps a formula stay fresh and stable.
Learn more about HydroxyacetophenoneWater. 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
