What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
No benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Alcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Butyloctyl Salicylate
Skin Conditioning
Homosalate
Skin Conditioning
Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate
UV Filter
Octocrylene
UV Absorber
Alcohol Denat., Butyloctyl Salicylate, Homosalate, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate, Octocrylene, PPG-15 Stearyl Ether, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Diethylhexyl Butamido Triazone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate
Alcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialButylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate
EmollientDibutyl Adipate
EmollientButyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane
UV Absorber
Ethylhexyl Salicylate
UV Absorber
Ethylhexyl Triazone
UV Absorber
Glycerin
Humectant
Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer
Dicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientBis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine
Skin Conditioning
Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate
UV Filter
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Water
Skin ConditioningLimonene
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone
Perfuming
Citronellol
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Ethyl Benzoate
Perfuming
Methyl Benzoate
Perfuming
Parfum
Masking
Alcohol Denat., Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Dibutyl Adipate, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Ethylhexyl Triazone, Glycerin, Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate, Tocopherol, Water, Limonene, Linalool, Benzyl Alcohol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Citronellol, Geraniol, Ethyl Benzoate, Methyl Benzoate, Parfum
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
We don't have a description for Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer yet.
Alcohol Denat. is an alcohol with a denaturant property. It is created by mixing ethanol with other additives.
The "denat" part just means "denatured"; common denaturants include Denatonium Benzoate, t-butyl alcohol, and Diethyl Phthalate. This step makes the alcohol undrinkable (and lets brand skip taxes related to beverage alcohol).
This ingredient gets a bad rep because it is irritating and drying due to its astringent property. Astringents draw out natural oils in tissue to constrict pores and dry out your skin.
However, alcohol denat. is not all that bad.
Due to its low molecular weight, alcohol denat. tends to evaporate quickly. One study on pig skin found half of applied alcohol evaporated in 10 seconds and less than 3% stayed on skin.
This also helps other ingredients become better absorbed upon application.
Studies are conflicted about whether this ingredient causes skin dehydration. One study from 2005 found adding emollients to propanol-based sanitizer decreased skin dryness and irritation. Another study found irritation only occurs if your skin is already damaged.
Small amounts of alcohol are generally tolerated by oily skin or people who live in humid environments.
The rule of thumb is this ingredient will probably not affect your skin much if it is near the end of an ingredients list.
One thing to note:
People with ALDH2 (aldehyde dehydrogenase 2) deficiency may experience skin irritation from continued alcohol use. About 8% of the world's population have this deficiency.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has determined denatured alcohols to be safe for use in concentrations between 0.05% and 12% (depending on which denaturant is used).
Also...
This ingredient has antimicrobial and solvent properties.
The antimicrobial property helps preserve products and increase their shelf life. As a solvent, it helps dissolve other ingredients.
Look for formulas that contain glycerin, hyaluronic acid, or panthenol if you want to offset any drying effect.
This ingredient will trip away your skin's natural oils/lipids that help it lock in moisture. This can worsen dryness, trigger eczema flare-ups, and aggravate rosacea.
Be sure to patch test any product with this ingredient if you have dry or sensitive skin, eczema, or rosacea.
Learn more about Alcohol Denat.Also known as Avobenzone, this ingredient is an oil-soluble used to absorb the full spectrum of UVA rays (peak 357 nm).
It's one of the most effective UVA filters available but has a major caveat of photostability: avobenzone is susceptible to photodegradation.
This means it can lose efficacy when exposed to sunlight without the help of a stabilizing agent.
Studies show antioxidants (like vitamin E or vitamin C) and some UV filters (like octocrylene and Tinosorb S) can meaningfully improve its stability in a formulation.
The maximum allowable concentration according to regulation is 3% in the US + Canada, and 5% in the EU, Australia, China, Korea, and ASEAN countries.
It has a well-support safety profile: a comprehensive 2025 review found minimal toxicity with no evidence of carcinogenicity.
Overall, avobenzone is a safe and regulated ingredient used in sunscreen for over 40 years.
Learn more about Butyl MethoxydibenzoylmethaneDiethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate (DHHB) is a chemical UV-A absorber. It is formulated for high UVA protection (320-400 nm).
DHHB is well-liked for:
DHHB has been approved by the EU, Japan, Taiwan, and South America for use up to 10%. Unfortunately, it has not been approved for use in the US or Canada due to slow regulatory processes.
This ingredient is soluble in oils, fats, and lipids.
Learn more about Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl BenzoateEthylhexyl Salicylate (also called Octisalate or Octyl Salicylate) is an oil-soluble organic UV filter that's been used in sunscreen since the 1950's.
It absorbs UVB light in the 280-320 nm range with a peak absorbance around 306 nm.
You'll often see it paired with other UV filters to boost overall SPF because octisalate is a fairly week filter on its own.
The reason you'll see it so often is because it can help solubilize and stabilize the trickier filters like oxybenzone and avobenzone.
Unlike these filters, octisalate has pretty good photostability and doesn't create skin-damaging free radicals when exposed to sunlight.
The fatty-alcohol part of the molecule also gives it a light, emollient feel so it doubles as a nice texture enhancer.
Usage levels vary around the world:
Safety-wise, this ingredient has a pretty reassuring track record. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) found very low skin penetration in human skin tests and negative results for irritation, phototoxicity, and photoallergy.
The real-world allergy risk is pretty low too; a 2012 European study of 1,031 people recorded only 2 reactions to it (a rate of 0.19%).
You might have seen scary headlines about sunscreen getting into your blood.
In 2019, the FDA found that several chemical filters can absorb through the skin and show up in the bloodstream at small but measurable levels.
Here's the important part: these tiny levels are just a cutoff the FDA uses to decide which ingredients need more testing and doesn't mean anything harmful was found.
The researchers were clear that the results are no reason to stop wearing sunscreen.
Learn more about Ethylhexyl Salicylate
