What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract
Emollient
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Potassium Cetyl Phosphate
EmulsifyingButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingWater, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sodium Hyaluronate, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Tocopherol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxide
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract
Masking
Arbutin
Antioxidant
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Masking
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingCetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside
Antioxidant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningGallyl Glucoside
Antioxidant
Glycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
Bleaching
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
PEG-100 Stearate
Petrolatum
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Propyl Gallate
Antioxidant
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSqualane
Emollient
Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane
Antioxidant
Water
Skin ConditioningAllantoin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Arbutin, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Carbomer, Cetyl Alcohol, Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside, Ethylhexylglycerin, Gallyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, PEG-100 Stearate, Petrolatum, Phenoxyethanol, Propyl Gallate, Sodium Hydroxide, Squalane, Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane, Water
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 JuiceCarbomer is a high-molecular weight polymer of acrylic acid. It is used to form gels and thicken formulas.
Due to its large molecular size, carbomer has minimal skin penetration and is considered an inert ingredient.
A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.
Learn more about CarbomerEthylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:
The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.
Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.
Learn more about EthylhexylglycerinGlycerin (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 GlycerinGlyceryl 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 StearatePhenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.
Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.
"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.
Learn more about Sodium HydroxideWater. 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
