What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Potassium Cocoate
Emulsifying
Glycerin
Humectant
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Emulsifying
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate
Surfactant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
Masking
Centella Asiatica Extract
Cleansing
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
Humectant
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate
Humectant
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans
HumectantHydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide As
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide Ns
Skin Conditioning
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Lactobacillus/Leuconostoc/Blueberry Fruit Extract Ferment Filtrate
HumectantLactobacillus
Skin ConditioningLactobacillus/Leuconostoc/Coconut Fruit Extract Ferment Filtrate
Humectant
Lactobacillus/Leuconostoc/Orange Fruit Extract Ferment Filtrate
HumectantLactobacillus/Leuconostoc/Tomato Fruit Extract Ferment Filtrate
HumectantHydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Cholesterol
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingParfum
Masking
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Disodium EDTA
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
2,3-Butanediol
HumectantGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Potassium Cocoate, Glycerin, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Niacinamide, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Ceramide NP, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Hyaluronic Acid, Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Ceramide AP, Ceramide As, Ceramide Ns, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Ceramide EOP, Lactobacillus/Leuconostoc/Blueberry Fruit Extract Ferment Filtrate, Lactobacillus, Lactobacillus/Leuconostoc/Coconut Fruit Extract Ferment Filtrate, Lactobacillus/Leuconostoc/Orange Fruit Extract Ferment Filtrate, Lactobacillus/Leuconostoc/Tomato Fruit Extract Ferment Filtrate, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Cholesterol, Phenoxyethanol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Parfum, Sodium Benzoate, Disodium EDTA, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, 2,3-Butanediol, Glyceryl Stearate
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Glycylglycine
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
PEG-400
Emulsion StabilisingDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Zinc Lauroyl Aspartate
Tea-Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate
CleansingGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate
Citric Acid
Buffering
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
PEG-32
HumectantDisodium EDTA
Polyquaternium-7
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingPolyquaternium-52
Methylparaben
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
BHT
Antioxidant
Water, Glycerin, Glycylglycine, Butylene Glycol, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-400, Decyl Glucoside, Zinc Lauroyl Aspartate, Tea-Cocoyl Glycinate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Glyceryl Stearate, Hyaluronic Acid, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate, Citric Acid, Stearic Acid, Lauric Acid, PEG-32, Disodium EDTA, Polyquaternium-7, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Polyquaternium-52, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, BHT
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolCocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineDisodium 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 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 AcidWater. 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
