What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningIsododecane
EmollientC15-19 Alkane
SolventIsopropyl Palmitate
Emollient
Ethylhexyl Cocoate
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Dicaprylyl Ether
Emollient
Biotin
AntiseborrhoeicCentaurea Cyanus Flower Extract
Astringent
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingSodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingTrisodium EDTA
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Benzethonium Chloride
Antimicrobial
CI 60725
Cosmetic ColorantCI 61565
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Isododecane, C15-19 Alkane, Isopropyl Palmitate, Ethylhexyl Cocoate, Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Ether, Biotin, Centaurea Cyanus Flower Extract, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hydroxide, Trisodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Benzethonium Chloride, CI 60725, CI 61565
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Benzethonium Chloride is a preservative.
Glycerin (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.
Chances 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 ChlorideTrisodium EDTA is one of those quietly essential helper ingredients that most people have never heard of. You'll most likely spot it near the end of ingredient lists in almost every category of skincare.
So what does it actually do?
Its main job is chelation; this is a fancy word to say it grabs onto metal ions and neutralizes them. This is because even purified water in cosmetics contains trace amounts of metals that can cause big problems in a formula.
These trace metals can break down actives faster, cause discoloration, promote rancidity in oils, and make preservatives less effective. Trisodium EDTA binds to these metals and takes them out of the equation so your products can stay stable and effective for longer.
There's also an added bonus: by neutralizing the metals ions that bacteria need to thrive, this ingredient also acts as a preservative booster.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review has concluded this ingredient to be safe as used in cosmetic formulations. It is not considered an irritant, sensitizer, and is barely absorbed through the skin.
Learn more about Trisodium EDTAWater. 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
