What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningVinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer
Glycerin
Humectant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Isohexadecane
EmollientIsopropyl Isostearate
Emollient
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4
Skin Conditioning
Dimethicone
Emollient
C13-14 Isoparaffin
Emollient
Dimethiconol
Emollient
Cetearyl Glucoside
Emulsifying
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Laureth-7
EmulsifyingStearic Acid
Cleansing
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Behenyl Alcohol
Emollient
Disodium EDTA
Polyacrylamide
PEG-100 Stearate
Titanium Dioxide
Cosmetic Colorant
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Methylparaben
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
Ethylparaben
Preservative
Iron Oxides
Water, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Isohexadecane, Isopropyl Isostearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Dimethicone, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Dimethiconol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cetearyl Alcohol, Laureth-7, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Cetyl Alcohol, Behenyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Polyacrylamide, PEG-100 Stearate, Titanium Dioxide, Benzyl Alcohol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Iron Oxides
Water
Skin ConditioningIsopropyl Palmitate
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Jojoba Esters
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Ceteareth-20
CleansingBenzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Hydrogenated Olive Oil
Skin Conditioning
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
Antioxidant
Phosphatidylcholine
EmulsifyingAcetyl Tetrapeptide-5
Humectant
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
Skin Conditioning
Echium Plantagineum Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Copper Tripeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Magnesium Aspartate
Skin ConditioningZinc Gluconate
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialCopper Gluconate
Skin Conditioning
N-Hydroxysuccinimide
Skin ConditioningChrysin
Skin ConditioningDisodium EDTA
Dimethicone
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Steareth-20
CleansingDimethicone Crosspolymer
Emulsion Stabilising
Silica
Abrasive
CI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77491
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Isopropyl Palmitate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Jojoba Esters, PEG-100 Stearate, Ceteareth-20, Benzyl Alcohol, Hydrogenated Olive Oil, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Phosphatidylcholine, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-5, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Echium Plantagineum Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Copper Tripeptide-1, Magnesium Aspartate, Zinc Gluconate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Copper Gluconate, N-Hydroxysuccinimide, Chrysin, Disodium EDTA, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Steareth-20, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Silica, CI 77891, CI 77491
Reviews
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 most commonly used as a preservative. It also has a subtle, sweet smell. Small amounts of Benzyl Alcohol is not irritating and safe to use in skincare products. Most Benzyl Alcohol is derived from fruits such as apricots.
Benzyl Alcohol has both antibacterial and antioxidant properties. These properties help lengthen the shelf life of products. Benzyl Alcohol is a solvent and helps dissolve other ingredients. It can also improve the texture and spreadability.
Alcohol comes in many different forms. Different types of alcohol will have different effects on skin. This ingredient is an astringent alcohol.
Using high concentrations of these alcohols are drying on the skin. They may strip away your skin's natural oils and even damage your skin barrier. Astringent alcohols may also irritate skin.
Other types of astringent alcohols include:
According to the National Rosacea Society based in the US, you should be mindful of products with these alcohols in the top half of ingredients.
Any type of sanitizing product will have high amounts of alcohol to help kill bacteria and viruses.
Learn more about Benzyl AlcoholCetearyl 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 AlcoholDimethicone is a type of synthetic silicone created from natural materials such as quartz. It is also known as polydimethylsiloxane.
What it does:
Dimethicone comes in different viscosities:
Depending on the viscosity, dimethicone has different properties.
Ingredients lists don't always show which type is used, so we recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the viscosity.
This ingredient is unlikely to cause irritation because it does not get absorbed into skin. However, people with silicone allergies should be careful about using this ingredient.
Note: Dimethicone may contribute to pilling. This is because it is not oil or water soluble, so pilling may occur when layered with products. When mixed with heavy oils in a formula, the outcome is also quite greasy.
Learn more about DimethiconeDisodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlycerin (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 GlycerinPeg-100 Stearate is an emollient and emulsifier. As an emollient, it helps keep skin soft by trapping moisture in. On the other hand, emulsifiers help prevent oil and water from separating in a product.
PEGS are a hydrophilic polyether compound . There are 100 ethylene oxide monomers in Peg-100 Stearate. Peg-100 Stearate is polyethylene glycol ester of stearic acid.
Water. 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
