What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Stearate
CleansingAlcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Glycerin
Humectant
Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate
Humectant
Diatomaceous Earth
Abrasive
Parfum
Masking
Silica
Abrasive
Polyglyceryl-4 Laurate/Succinate
Propanediol
Solvent
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingCitric Acid
Buffering
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientPhenethyl Alcohol
MaskingPolyglyceryl-5 Oleate
Emulsifying
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Cocoyl Glutamate
Cleansing
Sorbitan Oleate Decylglucoside Crosspolymer
CleansingTapioca Starch
Propylene Glycol, Water, Sodium Stearate, Alcohol Denat., Glycerin, Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate, Diatomaceous Earth, Parfum, Silica, Polyglyceryl-4 Laurate/Succinate, Propanediol, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Citric Acid, Glyceryl Caprylate, Phenethyl Alcohol, Polyglyceryl-5 Oleate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Sorbitan Oleate Decylglucoside Crosspolymer, Tapioca Starch
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 GlycerinParfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.
Also called "fragrance", this ingredient can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.
For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.
The term 'parfum' or '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 by INCI standards.
One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.
The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Learn more about ParfumPropanediol is an all-star ingredient. It softens, hydrates, and smooths the skin.
It’s often used to:
Propanediol is not likely to cause sensitivity and considered safe to use. It is derived from corn or petroleum with a clear color and no scent.
Learn more about PropanediolSodium Stearate is soap and usually the main thing holding a bar of soap together. In cosmetics, it does three jobs: it cleanses, thickens, and turns liquids into solid sticks.
Use levels vary hugely by product type; supplier guidance puts the typical range at 0.5-20%, with bar soaps at 5-20%, deodorant sticks at 4-8%, and under 1% when it's acting as a co-emulfisifier. Industry data has reported levels as high as 84% in some leave-on fragrance products.
Safety-wise, it's about as well-established as an ingredient gets. The FDA and European food-safety regulators treat this ingredient as safe in food.
Allergy risk is genuinely low too; stearates aren't on standard patch test series and published sensitization reports are scarce. The more realistic concern is irritation since high-percentage soaps can leave the skin tight and dry.
Learn more about Sodium StearateWater. 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
