What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycolic Acid
Buffering
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Ammonium Hydroxide
BufferingHydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingCholesterol
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Petrolatum
Emollient
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
PEG-40 Stearate
Emulsifying
Isopropyl Palmitate
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Sorbitan Stearate
Emulsifying
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
Absorbent
Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine
EmulsifyingIsostearic Acid
Cleansing
Tetrasodium EDTA
Water, Glycolic Acid, Propylene Glycol, Ammonium Hydroxide, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Cholesterol, Dimethicone, Petrolatum, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, PEG-40 Stearate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Cetyl Alcohol, Sorbitan Stearate, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Isostearic Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA
Water
Skin ConditioningPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Myristyl Myristate
Emollient
PEG-8 Distearate
Emulsifying
PEG-40 Stearate
Emulsifying
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Sorbitan Stearate
Emulsifying
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingTriethanolamine
BufferingDiazolidinyl Urea
Preservative
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingMethylparaben
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
Tetrasodium EDTA
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.
Its main roles are:
Though it has "alcohol" in the name, it is not related to denatured alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.
Learn more about Cetyl AlcoholGlyceryl 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 StearateHydroxyethylcellulose is used to improve the texture of products. It is created from a chemical reaction involving ethylene oxide and alkali-cellulose. Cellulose is a sugar found in plant cell walls and help give plants structure.
This ingredient helps stabilize products by preventing ingredients from separating. It can also help thicken the texture of a product.
This ingredient can also be found in pill medicines to help our bodies digest other ingredients.
Learn more about HydroxyethylcellulosePeg-100 Stearate is an emollient and emulsifier. As an emollient, it helps keep skin soft by trapping moisture in. On the other hand, emulsifiers help prevent oil and water from separating in a product.
PEGS are a hydrophilic polyether compound . There are 100 ethylene oxide monomers in Peg-100 Stearate. Peg-100 Stearate is polyethylene glycol ester of stearic acid.
Peg-40 Stearate is a waxy solid made up of polyethylene glycol and stearic acid. It is an emulsifier and cleanser. Emulsifiers help oils and water mix.
Stearic acid is a a fatty acid. Therefore, Peg-40 stearate may not be fungal-acne safe.
Propylene Glycol is a synthetic, colorless, odorless liquid that has been a staple in cosmetics for decades. It is a skin conditioning agent, humectant, and solvent.
As a humectant, it draw water to the skin to reduce flaking and restore suppleness. It's also a solvent that helps dissolve other actives and keeps formulas stable across temperature changes.
The CIR Expert Panel has confirmed this ingredient to be nontoxic and clinical studies show no sensitization at cosmetic use concentrations.
True allergic reactions are quite rare: a 15-year retrospective study of 6,751 patients found only 0.31% had a positive reaction (and less than half were considered clinically relevant).
It seemed that when sensitization does occur, it's most commonly linked to topical medication (like corticosteroids) and not cosmetics. Allergic contact dermatitis also appears largely limited to individuals with underlying skin conditions.
Overall, propylene glycol is a well-studied ingredient that most people can tolerate without issue.
Learn more about Propylene GlycolSorbitan Stearate comes from sorbitol and stearic acid. Sorbitol is a type of sugar and stearic acid is a fatty acid.
It is used as an emulsifier and helps ingredients stay together by creating water-in-oil emulsions.
This ingredient may not be Malassezia folliculitis, or fungal-acne safe.
Tetrasodium EDTA is the salt formed from neutralizing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid with sodium hydroxide. It is a chelating agent and used to prevent metal ions from binding to other ingredients. This helps keep the product and ingredients stable.
Tetrasodium EDTA comes as a white solid and is soluble in water.
Water. 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
