What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Glycerin
Humectant
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingHippophae Rhamnoides Fruit/Seed Oil
Antimicrobial
Rosa Canina Fruit Oil
Emollient
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Squalane
Emollient
Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Polyquaternium-10
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Sorbitan Oleate Decylglucoside Crosspolymer
CleansingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract
Emollient
Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Gardenia Jasminoides Fruit Extract
Cosmetic ColorantEugenia Caryophyllus Flower Extract
AstringentPrunus Armeniaca Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningPrunus Persica Fruit Extract
Abrasive
Citric Acid
Buffering
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningTetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Glycerin, Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit/Seed Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Squalane, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Polyquaternium-10, Maltodextrin, Sorbitan Oleate Decylglucoside Crosspolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Gardenia Jasminoides Fruit Extract, Eugenia Caryophyllus Flower Extract, Prunus Armeniaca Fruit Extract, Prunus Persica Fruit Extract, Citric Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Lauryl Sulfate
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Parfum
Masking
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Ammonium Chloride
BufferingCitric Acid
Buffering
Glycerin
Humectant
Lauryl Lactate
EmollientMethyl Glucose Caprate/Caprylate/Oleate
EmollientPolyglyceryl-3 Laurate
EmulsifyingPropanediol
Solvent
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract
Emollient
Fucus Vesiculosus Extract
Emollient
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningMethylchloroisothiazolinone
Preservative
Methylisothiazolinone
Preservative
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Water, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Parfum, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycol Distearate, Ammonium Chloride, Citric Acid, Glycerin, Lauryl Lactate, Methyl Glucose Caprate/Caprylate/Oleate, Polyglyceryl-3 Laurate, Propanediol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Fucus Vesiculosus Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Phenoxyethanol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Citric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.
Like other AHAs, citric acid can exfoliate skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.
However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.
Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.
In skincare formulas, citric acid can:
While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.
Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Citric AcidCocamidopropyl 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 BetaineEthylhexylglycerin 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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).
It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.
On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.
Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).
You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.
Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.
Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.
Learn more about PhenoxyethanolWater. 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
