What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Ricinus Communis Seed Oil
Masking
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate Citrate
Emollient
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter Extract
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder
Skin Conditioning
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Rosa Canina Seed Oil
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingSclerotium Gum
Emulsion StabilisingMaltodextrin
Absorbent
Sodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningWater, Pentylene Glycol, Glycerin, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Persea Gratissima Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Rosa Canina Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Xanthan Gum, Sclerotium Gum, Maltodextrin, Sodium Gluconate
Water
Skin ConditioningCamellia Oleifera Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Ricinus Communis Seed Oil
Masking
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Lactobacillus Ferment
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Cetearyl Glucoside
Emulsifying
Beta-Sitosterol
Emulsion Stabilising
Rosa Damascena Flower Oil
Masking
Squalene
Emollient
Pelargonium Graveolens Oil
Masking
Sodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningLavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Litsea Cubeba Fruit Oil
Masking
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate
CleansingCitronellol
Perfuming
Limonene
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Water, Camellia Oleifera Seed Oil, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Lactobacillus Ferment, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Tocopherol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Beta-Sitosterol, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Squalene, Pelargonium Graveolens Oil, Sodium Levulinate, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Lactic Acid, Litsea Cubeba Fruit Oil, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Citronellol, Limonene, Geraniol
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Cetearyl 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 GlycerinPrunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil comes from the sweet almond, a tree native to Iran. This oil has no fragrance and is non-volatile.
Almonds contain healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. It is a rich source of Vitamin E, a great antioxidant and skin conditioning ingredient. Sweet almond oil contains fatty acids such as linolenic acid and triglycerides.
The content of sweet almond oil makes it a great emollient; it can help soften and hydrate your skin. Emollients create a barrier over your skin to trap moisture in. Sweet almond oil has antioxidant properties.
Those with an almond allergy should be careful of this ingredient and speak with a professional about using it in your skincare.
This ingredient may not be fungal-acne safe.
Learn more about Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis OilRicinus Communis Seed Oil is the INCI name for castor oil.
Castor Oil helps moisturize the skin. It is rich in a fatty acid called ricinoleic acid. This fatty acid helps prevent moisture loss on the skin. This helps keep your skin soft and hydrated. Ricinoleic acid also has anti-inflammatory and pain reducing properties.
Besides hydrating the skin, castor oil is also used to hydrate hair. By keeping the hair shaft moisturized, breakage is decreased. More studies are needed to show castor oil's effective on stimulating hair growth.
Castor oil is created by cold-pressing castor seeds and then purifying the oil with heat. It was used in Ancient Egypt as fuel in lamps and to help treat eye irritation.
The term 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term. For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance.
Learn more about Ricinus Communis Seed OilTocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.
Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.
Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.
You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.
There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.
Learn more about TocopherolWater. 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
