What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin Conditioning3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
PEG-12 Dimethicone
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingAllantoin
Skin Conditioning
Propanediol
Solvent
Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans
HumectantHyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningLactic Acid
Buffering
Tetrasodium EDTA
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingWater, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Niacinamide, Pentylene Glycol, Panthenol, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Allantoin, Propanediol, Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans, Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Lactic Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Sodium Hydroxide
Reviews
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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol 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.
Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.
Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.
"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.
Learn more about Sodium HydroxideWater. 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
