What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Behenamidopropyl Dimethylamine
EmulsifyingGlycerin
Humectant
Shea Butter Ethyl Esters
Emollient
Distearoylethyl Dimonium Chloride
Gluconolactone
Skin Conditioning
Avena Sativa Kernel Extract
Abrasive
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder
Skin Conditioning
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Skin ConditioningHydrolyzed Wheat Starch
Skin ConditioningPanthenol
Skin Conditioning
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientHelianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Menthol
Masking
Sodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningLactic Acid
Buffering
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behenamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Glycerin, Shea Butter Ethyl Esters, Distearoylethyl Dimonium Chloride, Gluconolactone, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Hydrolyzed Wheat Starch, Panthenol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Menthol, Sodium Gluconate, Lactic Acid, Sodium Benzoate
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Stearalkonium Chloride
Preservative
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Honey
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningPotassium Sorbate
Preservative
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil
Masking
Colloidal Oatmeal
Absorbent
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningSodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningTocopherol
Antioxidant
Vaccinium Macrocarpon Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Swertia Japonica Extract
Skin ConditioningStearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Thiamine Hcl
MaskingLeuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Stearalkonium Chloride, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Honey, Citric Acid, Sodium Levulinate, Potassium Sorbate, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Colloidal Oatmeal, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Sodium Gluconate, Tocopherol, Vaccinium Macrocarpon Seed Oil, Swertia Japonica Extract, Stearyl Alcohol, Thiamine Hcl, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Behentrimonium Methosulfate is an ammonium salt. It is mainly used to prevent static in haircare products as a surfactant.
Surfactants have differing ends: one side is hydrophilic while the other end is hydrophobic.
Surfactants also help your cleansers remove pollutants more easily from the skin.
Learn more about Behentrimonium MethosulfateCetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholGlycerin (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 GlycerinThis is the synthetic salt of gluconic acid, a form of PHA and mild exfoliant.
It is mainly used to stabilize oil and butter formulations from going bad. Sodium gluconate is a humectant, pH regulator, and chelating agent.
Chelating agents help neutralize unwanted metals from affecting the formulation.
Sodium gluconate is water-soluble.
Learn more about Sodium GluconateTocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.
Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.
Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.
You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.
There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.
Learn more about TocopherolWater. 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
