What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Sodium Hydrolyzed Potato Starch Dodecenylsuccinate
Zea Mays Starch
Absorbent
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Poloxamer 188
EmulsifyingHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingPEG-100 Stearate
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningDisodium EDTA
Sodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Hydrolyzed Potato Starch Dodecenylsuccinate, Zea Mays Starch, Polysorbate 20, Poloxamer 188, Hydroxyacetophenone, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, PEG-100 Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Polyacrylate, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Hyaluronate
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolGlycerin (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 GlycerinPolysorbate 20 is a gentle, water-soluble emulsifier and mild surfactant. It stops oil and water from separating to keep your formulas blended and stable.
It also acts as a mild penetration enhancer by helping active ingredients absorb slightly better.
The common safety discussion around this ingredient involves a manufacturing byproduct called 1,4-dioxane.
Trace amounts can form during production but the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety has concluded that levels at/below 10 ppm in finished products are safe (commercial products consistently fall within acceptable margins).
True allergic reactions are uncommon and the CIR Expert Panel has confirmed this ingredient to be safe as used in cosmetics.
Because it is derived from lauric acid, it may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Polysorbate 20Water. 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
