What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Titanium Dioxide
Cosmetic Colorant
Zinc Oxide
Cosmetic Colorant
Water
Skin ConditioningIsohexadecane
EmollientDicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientDimethicone
Emollient
Isopropyl Palmitate
Emollient
Isononyl Isononanoate
EmollientCetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone
Emulsifying
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialSodium Chloride
MaskingPolyhydroxystearic Acid
Emulsifying
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Triethoxycaprylylsilane
Sorbitan Sesquioleate
Emulsifying
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningDimethiconol
Emollient
Aluminum Hydroxide
EmollientDimethicone Crosspolymer
Emulsion Stabilising
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingIron Oxides
Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Water, Isohexadecane, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Dimethicone, Isopropyl Palmitate, Isononyl Isononanoate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Sodium Chloride, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Tocopheryl Acetate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Dimethiconol, Aluminum Hydroxide, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Stearic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Iron Oxides
Disiloxane
Skin Conditioning
Water
Skin ConditioningAlcohol
Antimicrobial
Cyclopentasiloxane
Emollient
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialDiethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate
UV Filter
Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone
Emulsifying
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Dicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingAluminum Hydroxide
EmollientPolyhydroxystearic Acid
Emulsifying
Aluminum Stearate
Cosmetic ColorantDipropylene Glycol
HumectantDisodium EDTA
Jasminum Officinale Oil
Masking
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Portulaca Oleracea Extract
Skin Conditioning
Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract
Masking
Bambusa Vulgaris Extract
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Disiloxane, Water, Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Phenoxyethanol, Stearic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Aluminum Hydroxide, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Aluminum Stearate, Dipropylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Jasminum Officinale Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Bambusa Vulgaris Extract, 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.
Aluminum Hydroxide is a form of aluminum. It can be naturally found in nature as the mineral gibbsite. In cosmetics, Aluminum Hydroxide is used as a colorant, pH adjuster, and absorbent.
As a colorant, Aluminum Hydroxide may add opacity, or reduce the transparency. Aluminum hydroxide is contains both basic and acidic properties.
According to manufacturers, this ingredient is an emollient and humectant. This means it helps hydrate the skin.
In medicine, this ingredient is used to help relieve heartburn and help heal ulcers.
There is currently no credible scientific evidence linking aluminum hydroxide in cosmetics to increased cancer risk.
Major health organizations allow the use of aluminum hydroxide in personal care products and have not flagged it as a carcinogenic risk at typical usage levels.
Learn more about Aluminum HydroxideC12-15 Alkyl Benzoate is a lightweight emollient made by combinig benzoic acid with fatty alcohols that are 12-15 carbons long.
In cosmetics, it plays several roles:
The Cosmetic Review Expert Panel has concluded the alkyl benzoate group to be safe as used in cosmetics; it wasn't found to be a skin irritant and unlikely to be absorbed due to its low water solubility.
This report recorded almost 1000 reported uses with concentrations up to 59% in leave-on products but your cosmetics will typically use 0.5-15% depending on the product.
It's often called a "SPF booster": this is because it keeps UV filters properly dissolved and evenly distributed to support a sunscreen's performance. It doesn't actually raise SPF on its own.
Overall, this ingredient is well tolerated.
This ingredient is fungal acne safe because it is an ester of benzoic acid.
Think of this ingredient as two parts stuck together: an oily part and an acid part. Malassezia only gets a meal when it can snip off a fatty acid to eat. With C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, the acid part is benzoic acid, which isn't a fatty acid and which the yeast can't use as food.
Benzoic acid is actually used as a preservative to stop yeast from growing.
The oily part is a blend of C12-15 fatty alcohols but fatty alcohols in this size range can support only a little Malassezia growth (mostly for one species of Malassezia as well).
In the ingredient, those alcohols stay locked inside the molecule. The yeast can only reach them by snipping the benzoate bond, and that type of bond is harder for it to cut than a normal fatty bond.
So not much gets released. And whatever does get snipped comes packaged with benzoic acid, which discourages yeast growth.
Learn more about C12-15 Alkyl BenzoateThis ingredient is a silicone-based emulsifer that helps the water and oil phases play nicely together.
It's pretty effective because one end of the molecule loves oil and the other one loves water.
Besides holding formulas together, it also leaves a silky and lightweight feel on skin without the greasiness. A manufacturer also claims it can help with the controlled release of active ingredients.
The CIR Expert Panel found this ingredient to not be sensitizing in concentrations up to 15% in human maximazation testing and dimethicone-based compounds were not comedogenic.
It has a high molecular weight well above 1,000 g/mol which means it limits meaningful skin penetration.
A 2019 study specifically tested this ingredient and found no observable Malassezia growth in its presence.
Learn more about Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 DimethiconeDicaprylyl Carbonate comes from carbonic acid and caprylyl alcohol, a fatty alcohol. It is an emollient and gives skin a velvet feel. The sources of Dicaprylyl Carbonate may be synthetic or from animals.
As an emollient, Dicaprylyl Carbonate creates a film on the skin. This film traps moisture in, keeping your skin soft and hydrated.
Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Polyhydroxystearic Acid is a vegetable-derived soft wax made from castor oil. It's an emulsion stabilizer, thickener, and film former.
You'll likely see it in sunscreens because it helps disperse pigments and UV-reflecting minerals like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide evenly.
Depending on the concentration, it can drastically change the texture of a product from pasty solid (like lipstick) to sprayable liquid.
The CIR Expert Panel for Cosmetic Ingredient Safety has concluded this ingredient to be safe in cosmetics. The highest reported use concentration is 14.2% in lipsticks.
Learn more about Polyhydroxystearic AcidChances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideStearic 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
