What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Acrylates Copolymer
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
Emulsifying
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingParfum
Masking
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingO-Cymen-5-Ol
Antimicrobial
Disodium EDTA
Water, Glycerin, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Myristic Acid, Glycol Distearate, Acrylates Copolymer, Lauric Acid, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Phenoxyethanol, Salicylic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Chlorphenesin, Sodium Hydroxide, Parfum, Hydroxyethylcellulose, O-Cymen-5-Ol, Disodium EDTA
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Chloride
MaskingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Glycerin
Humectant
DMDM Hydantoin
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids
CleansingDisodium EDTA
Polyquaternium-7
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingButylene Glycol
Humectant
Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate
Preservative
Squalene
Emollient
Fomes Officinalis Extract
Skin ProtectingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningAvena Sativa Kernel Extract
Abrasive
Trehalose
Humectant
Urea
Buffering
Lecithin
Emollient
Salix Alba Bark Extract
Astringent
Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
Bleaching
Opuntia Ficus-Indica Stem Extract
Skin Conditioning
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Serine
Masking
Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract
Antioxidant
Algin
Masking
Ascorbyl Palmitate
Antioxidant
Bakuchiol
Antimicrobial
Behenic Acid
Cleansing
Caprooyl Phytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Caprooyl Sphingosine
Skin ConditioningCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide Eos
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide Ns
Skin Conditioning
Ceteareth-25
CleansingCetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cholesterol
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Disodium Phosphate
BufferingGlyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Glyceryl Polyacrylate
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Magnolia Grandiflora Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningPEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Emulsifying
Potassium Phosphate
BufferingPotassium Sorbate
Preservative
Pullulan
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Glycerin, DMDM Hydantoin, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids, Disodium EDTA, Polyquaternium-7, Potassium Hydroxide, Butylene Glycol, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Squalene, Fomes Officinalis Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract, Trehalose, Urea, Lecithin, Salix Alba Bark Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Stem Extract, Pentylene Glycol, Serine, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract, Algin, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Bakuchiol, Behenic Acid, Caprooyl Phytosphingosine, Caprooyl Sphingosine, Caprylyl Glycol, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide Eos, Ceramide NP, Ceramide Ns, Ceteareth-25, Cetyl Alcohol, Cholesterol, Citric Acid, Disodium Phosphate, Glyceryl Oleate, Glyceryl Polyacrylate, Glyceryl Stearate, Magnolia Grandiflora Leaf Extract, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Potassium Phosphate, Potassium Sorbate, Pullulan, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.
Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.
Because it is not a free-fatty acid, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl GlycolCocamidopropyl 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 BetaineDisodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlycerin (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
