What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Oligopeptide
Cleansing
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Vaccinium Angustifolium Fruit Extract
Skin Protecting
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Glycerin
Humectant
Polyquaternium-7
PEG-150 Distearate
Emulsifying
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Citric Acid
Buffering
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Limonene
Perfuming
Parfum
Masking
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ceramide NP, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Vaccinium Angustifolium Fruit Extract, Niacinamide, Tocopheryl Acetate, Glycerin, Polyquaternium-7, PEG-150 Distearate, Polysorbate 20, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Limonene, Parfum
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Emulsifying
Persea Gratissima Fruit Butter
Emollient
PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
Emulsifying
Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate
Acetyl Octapeptide-3
Humectant
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Dimethylmethoxy Chromanol
Antioxidant
Thermus Thermophillus Ferment
Skin ConditioningNiacinamide
Smoothing
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Bark Oil
Masking
Myristica Fragrans Kernel Oil
Masking
Alcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Zeolite
AbsorbentPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Disodium EDTA
Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingIsohexadecane
EmollientPolysorbate 80
Emulsifying
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Glycerin, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Persea Gratissima Fruit Butter, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Acetyl Octapeptide-3, Sodium Hyaluronate, Dimethylmethoxy Chromanol, Thermus Thermophillus Ferment, Niacinamide, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Bark Oil, Myristica Fragrans Kernel Oil, Alcohol Denat., Zeolite, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Isohexadecane, Polysorbate 80
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 JuiceCocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineGlycerin (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 GlycerinNiacinamide is a multitasking form of vitamin B3 that strengthens the skin barrier, reduces pores and dark spots, regulates oil, and improves signs of aging.
And the best part? It's gentle and well-tolerated by most skin types, including sensitive and reactive skin.
You might have heard of "niacin flush", or the reddening of skin that causes itchiness. Niacinamide has not been found to cause this.
In very rare cases, some individuals may not be able to tolerate niacinamide at all or experience an allergic reaction to it.
If you are experiencing flaking, irritation, and dryness with this ingredient, be sure to double check all your products as this ingredient can be found in all categories of skincare.
When incorporating niacinamide into your routine, look out for concentration amounts. Typically, 5% niacinamide provides benefits such as fading dark spots. However, if you have sensitive skin, it is better to begin with a smaller concentration.
When you apply niacinamide to your skin, your body converts it into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD is an essential coenzyme that is already found in your cells as "fuel" and powers countless biological processes.
In your skin, NAD helps repair cell damage, produce new healthy cells, support collagen production, strengthen the skin barrier, and fight environmental stressors (like UV and pollution).
Our natural NAD levels start to decline with age, leading to slower skin repair, visible aging, and a weaker skin barrier. By providing your skin niacinamide, you're recharging your skin's NAD levels. This leads to stronger, healthier, and younger looking skin.
Another name for vitamin B3 is nicotinamide. This vitamin is water-soluble and our bodies don't store it. We obtain Vitamin B3 from either food or skincare. Meat, fish, wheat, yeast, and leafy greens contain vitamin B3.
The type of niacinamide used in skincare is synthetically created.
Learn more about NiacinamidePhenoxyethanol 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 Hyaluronate is the salt form of hyaluronic acid. It is a long sugar chain that is naturally found in your skin, joints, and connective tissue that maintains hydration and elasticity.
In skincare, it works as a humectant. It pulls water from the environment and deeper layers of skin and binds it to the surface.
Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.
You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium HyaluronateWater. 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
