What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Coix Lacryma-Jobi Ma-Yuen Seed Extract
Skin ConditioningBetaine
Humectant
Cholesteryl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate
Skin ConditioningHydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingAcrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingPolyglyceryl-10 Eicosanedioate/Tetradecanedioate
Skin ConditioningPEG-150
HumectantSodium Hydroxide
BufferingSorbitan Isostearate
Emulsifying
Isohexadecane
EmollientStearic Acid
Cleansing
Sucrose Stearate
EmollientSorbitan Sesquioleate
Emulsifying
Sodium Palmoyl Glutamate
CleansingBehenyl Alcohol
Emollient
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Methyl Gluceth-10
EmulsifyingMethylparaben
Preservative
Water, Glycerin, Paraffinum Liquidum, Butylene Glycol, Coix Lacryma-Jobi Ma-Yuen Seed Extract, Betaine, Cholesteryl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Polyglyceryl-10 Eicosanedioate/Tetradecanedioate, PEG-150, Sodium Hydroxide, Sorbitan Isostearate, Isohexadecane, Stearic Acid, Sucrose Stearate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Sodium Palmoyl Glutamate, Behenyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 60, Methyl Gluceth-10, Methylparaben
Water
Skin ConditioningParaffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Behenyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Squalane
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate
CleansingCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingMethylparaben
Preservative
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Methylpropanediol
SolventSodium Lactate
Buffering
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Serine
Masking
Urea
Buffering
Sorbitol
Humectant
Butylparaben
Masking
Ethylparaben
Preservative
Parfum
Masking
Propylparaben
Preservative
Sodium Chloride
MaskingChamomilla Recutita Extract
Skin Conditioning
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Water, Paraffinum Liquidum, Glycerin, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Behenyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Squalane, Stearic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Carbomer, Methylparaben, Pentylene Glycol, Methylpropanediol, Sodium Lactate, Lactic Acid, Serine, Urea, Sorbitol, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Parfum, Propylparaben, Sodium Chloride, Chamomilla Recutita Extract, Allantoin
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Behenyl Alcohol is a type of fatty alcohol (these are different from the drying, solvent alcohols).
Fatty Alcohols have hydrating properties and are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product. They are usually derived from natural fats and oils; behenyl alcohol is derived from the fats of vegetable oils.
Emollients help keep your skin soft and hydrated by creating a film that traps moisture in.
In 2000, Behenyl Alcohol was approved by the US as medicine to reduce the duration of cold sores.
Learn more about Behenyl 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 GlycerinMethylparaben is a preservative and is a paraben. It is used to prevent the growth of fungus, mold, and other harmful bacteria. Parabens are chemicals used as preservatives in both cosmetics and food.
Methylparaben can be synthetically created. It can also be found naturally in some fruits, such as blueberries.
Oftentimes, Methylparaben is combined with other parabens to help increase the shelf life.
The safety of Methylparaben is currently being studied. While ongoing studies are looking into the safety of parabens, the results have been very mixed. Some studies have not found Methylparaben to be harmful.
Learn more about MethylparabenParaffinum Liquidum is a highly-refined cosmetic-grade mineral oil. It is also known as liquid paraffin.
Despite its controversial reputation, the science is pretty clear: it's one of the most well-studied and effective moisturizing ingredients out there.
As an occlusive, it forms a protective layer on the skin that locks in moisture and prevents transepidermal water loss (TEWL). This makes it especially great for compromised skin barriers.
The "it clogs your pores" myth has been around for decades; a study found that industrial-grade mineral oil may be comedogenic but cosmetic-grade mineral oil is not (these two are very, very different).
A 2017 review concluded that cosmetic use of mineral oils and waxes does not present a risk to consumers due to absorption.
Mineral oil got a bad rap from the old rabbit ear studies. When tested on actual human skin, cosmetic-grade mineral oil showed no comedogenic activity. The rating of 0 is a correction of outdated science.
Mineral oil is an inert substance with no fatty acids so there's nothing to feed Malassezia. This ingredient is fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Paraffinum LiquidumStearic 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
