What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Ethylhexyl Palmitate
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Dipalmitoyl Hydroxyproline
Skin Conditioning
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Lecithin
Emollient
Cocos Nucifera Water
Masking
Lactococcus Ferment Lysate
Skin Conditioning
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningWater, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Dipalmitoyl Hydroxyproline, Allantoin, Hyaluronic Acid, Lecithin, Cocos Nucifera Water, Lactococcus Ferment Lysate, Tocopherol, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract
Masking
Arbutin
Antioxidant
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Masking
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingCetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside
Antioxidant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningGallyl Glucoside
Antioxidant
Glycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
Bleaching
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
PEG-100 Stearate
Petrolatum
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Propyl Gallate
Antioxidant
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSqualane
Emollient
Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane
Antioxidant
Water
Skin ConditioningAllantoin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Arbutin, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Carbomer, Cetyl Alcohol, Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside, Ethylhexylglycerin, Gallyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, PEG-100 Stearate, Petrolatum, Phenoxyethanol, Propyl Gallate, Sodium Hydroxide, Squalane, Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane, Water
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Allantoin is a soothing ingredient known for its protective and moisturizing properties; it's basically a quiet workhorse ingredient you can find in a huge range of cosmetics.
Though it can be derived from the comfrey plant, allantoin is produced synthetically for cosmetic products to ensure purity.
Research shows it can encourage your skin cells to turn over and renew by stimulating keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation.
It also has mild keratolytic properties to help loosen and shed dead skin cells without being harsh.
Studies also suggest allantoin can help calm inflammation by dialing down some of the chemical signals your skin sends out when it is irritated.
This ingredient is typically used in the 0.1-0.5% range, and the FDA recognizes it as a skin protectant in OTC products up to 2%.
Overall, allantoin is a wonderful addition to most routines; it is stable across a wide pH range (~4-8), works well with other ingredients, and is considered non-sensitizing/non-irritating.
Fun fact: Allantoin is naturally occurring in comfrey root, beets, chamomile, and wheat sprouts. Our bodies even produce it as a byproduct of uric acid metabolism.
Learn more about AllantoinAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.
Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.
It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceCetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.
Its main roles are:
Though it has "alcohol" in the name, it is not related to denatured alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.
Learn more about Cetyl AlcoholEthylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:
The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.
Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.
Learn more about EthylhexylglycerinGlycerin (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 GlycerinGlyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.
Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.
This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.
Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.
Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.
Learn more about Glyceryl StearateHyaluronic acid (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan (basically a long sugar chain) that your skin already makes on its own. In your skin, HA lives in the extracellular matrix and acts as the body's moisture reservoir.
Topically, HA is a humectant that binds water and helps skin look more plump, smooth, and hydrated.
The only catch is that HA isn't a single thing; it actually comes in a wide range of molecular weights (~50 - 2,000+ kDA) and size matters.
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
This is why the best HA serums blend the two sizes together so you get the best of both worlds.
The majority of cosmetic HA is produced by bacterial fermentation, typically using Streptococcus or Bacillus strains. Typical use levels in skincare sit around 0.1-2%.
A clinical study using a 0.2% low-molecular weight HA gel showed improvement in facial seborrheic dermatitis with excellent tolerance.
These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:
Learn more about Hyaluronic AcidPhenoxyethanol 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.
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
