What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate
Emollient
Trioctyldodecyl Citrate
EmollientStearic Acid
Cleansing
Coconut Alkanes
Emollient
Arachidyl Alcohol
Emollient
Caprylyl Methicone
Skin Conditioning
Dimethicone
Emollient
Caffeine
Skin Conditioning
Panax Ginseng Root Extract
Emollient
Squalane
Emollient
Acetyl Hexapeptide-8
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Behenyl Alcohol
Emollient
Arachidyl Glucoside
EmulsifyingSodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate
Emulsion StabilisingPEG-12 Dimethicone/PPG-20 Crosspolymer
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningAminopropyl Ascorbyl Phosphate
Antioxidant
Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Glucose
Humectant
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Mica
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77491
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Glycerin, Propanediol, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Trioctyldodecyl Citrate, Stearic Acid, Coconut Alkanes, Arachidyl Alcohol, Caprylyl Methicone, Dimethicone, Caffeine, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Squalane, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Tocopherol, Behenyl Alcohol, Arachidyl Glucoside, Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, PEG-12 Dimethicone/PPG-20 Crosspolymer, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Aminopropyl Ascorbyl Phosphate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Glucose, Caprylyl Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, Mica, CI 77891, CI 77491
Water
Skin ConditioningC15-19 Alkane
SolventGlycerin
Humectant
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate
Antioxidant
Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides
Emollient
Squalane
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Mica
Cosmetic ColorantPolyglyceryl-6 Palmitate/Succinate
Emulsifying
Alumina
Abrasive
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingTitanium Dioxide
Cosmetic Colorant
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Hesperidin Methyl Chalcone
Antioxidant
Steareth-20
CleansingCitric Acid
Buffering
Althaea Officinalis Root Extract
Skin Conditioning
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sodium Citrate
BufferingDipeptide-2
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
Skin Conditioning
Water, C15-19 Alkane, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Squalane, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Mica, Polyglyceryl-6 Palmitate/Succinate, Alumina, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Benzoate, Carbomer, Titanium Dioxide, Potassium Sorbate, Hesperidin Methyl Chalcone, Steareth-20, Citric Acid, Althaea Officinalis Root Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Citrate, Dipeptide-2, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
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 GlycerinMica is a naturally occurring mineral used to add shimmer and color in cosmetics. It can also help improve the texture of a product or give it an opaque, white/silver color.
Serecite is the name for very fine but ragged grains of mica.
This ingredient is often coated with metal oxides like titanium dioxide. Trace amounts of heavy metals may be found in mica, but these metals are not harmful in our personal products.
Mica has been used since prehistoric times throughout the world. Ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek, Roman, Aztec, and Chinese civilizations have used mica.
Learn more about MicaPotassium Sorbate is a preservative used to prevent yeast and mold in products. It is commonly found in both cosmetic and food products.
This ingredient comes from potassium salt derived from sorbic acid. Sorbic acid is a natural antibiotic and effective against fungus.
Both potassium sorbate and sorbic acid can be found in baked goods, cheeses, dried meats, dried fruit, ice cream, pickles, wine, yogurt, and more.
You'll often find this ingredient used with other preservatives.
Learn more about Potassium SorbateSqualane is the hydrogenated and shelf-stable form of squalene (a lipid that naturally occurs in human sebum).
It is an emollient and skin conditioning agent that is able to integrate seamlessly into the skin's lipid barrier without clogging pores.
This is due to how structurally similar it is to what your skin already produces.
Though it is mostly an emollient that helps soften and hydrate skin, it also has some humectant and occlusive action. Humectants help the skin retain moisture while occlusives seal it in, making squalane a triple-threat moisturizer.
Research shows it has antioxidant capabilities that help protect against stressors like UV exposure, specifically UVA induced oxidative stress. This study also found that it supports collagen biosynthesis in human dermal fibroblasts.
No clinical study has reported significant adverse effects and irritation reactions are very rare from this ingredient (even at 100% concentration).
Overall, it's a fantastic ingredient for hydration and is suitable for all skin types.
This depends on the source. Squalane can be derived from both plants and animals. Most squalane used in skincare comes from plants.
Please note: the source of squalane is only known if disclosed by the brand. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have any questions about their squalane.
Read more about squalene with an "e".
Though squalane is often called an oil, it’s technically not one. It is a hydrocarbon, meaning it is only made of carbon and hydrogen. True oils are triglycerides and made of fatty acids and glycerol.
The term “oil-free” isn’t regulated so companies can define it however they want. Some exclude all oils, while others just avoid mineral oil or comedogenic oils.
Squalane has a comedogenic rating of 1 from the original 1972 study that tested raw ingredients under occlusion on rabbit ears. This system is not standardized or peer-reviewed, and using the raw ingredients is very different from how diluted cosmetic formulations are used on human skin.
A comedogenic rating of 1 means it is "unlikely to clog pores" according to the original rating system.
The overall formula of a product matters more than the individual ingredients on whether or not it will cause clogged pores.
Learn more about SqualaneWater. 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
