What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningIsopropyl Palmitate
Emollient
Cetearyl Isononanoate
Emollient
Dimethicone
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Alcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Cocoglycerides
Emollient
Distarch Phosphate
AbsorbentButylene Glycol
Humectant
Methylpropanediol
SolventTapioca Starch
Isobutylamido Thiazolyl Resorcinol
Bleaching
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate
Antioxidant
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate
CleansingSodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingTrisodium EDTA
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Sulfate
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Parfum
Masking
CI 15985
Cosmetic ColorantCI 47005
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Isopropyl Palmitate, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat., Cocoglycerides, Distarch Phosphate, Butylene Glycol, Methylpropanediol, Tapioca Starch, Isobutylamido Thiazolyl Resorcinol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Sodium Polyacrylate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Trisodium EDTA, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Sulfate, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Parfum, CI 15985, CI 47005
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Benzyl Alcohol is an aromatic alcohol with several roles: it's a preservative, solvent, and mild fragrance component with a floral scent.
This ingredient has been deemed safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 5%, and up to 10% in hair dyes. You'll typically see 0.5-2% in most rinse-off or leave-on products.
As a preservative, it works by disrupting the membrane of microbial proteins. This helps keep bacteria and fungi from growing in your products.
The sensitization picture is actually quite assuring as well:of nearly 71,000 patients patch tested with benzyl alcohol, only 0.21% showed a positive reaction with most of them being weakly positive.
This led researchers to conclude that benzyl alcohol cannot be regarded as a significant contact allergen.
It is worth noting this ingredient is classified as one of the EU's regulated fragrance allergens and restricted to 1% in finished products.
Labels must also declare it in concentrations above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.
At concentrations around 5%, localized redness and itching can appear as a direct irritant response and not as a true allergic reaction.
Learn more about Benzyl AlcoholGlycerin (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 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.
Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt form of hyaluronic acid. It is a long sugar chain that is naturally found in your skin, joints, and connective tissue that maintains hydration and elasticity.
In skincare, it works as a humectant. It pulls water from the environment and deeper layers of skin and binds it to the surface.
Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.
You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium HyaluronateWater. 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
