What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningDisodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
CleansingLauryl Betaine
CleansingCoco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Acrylates Copolymer
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingSodium Chloride
MaskingPotassium Benzoate
Preservative
Tromethamine
BufferingMannitol
Humectant
Hexylene Glycol
EmulsifyingParfum
Masking
Microcrystalline Cellulose
AbsorbentSucrose
Humectant
Disodium EDTA
Zea Mays Starch
Absorbent
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingButylene Glycol
Humectant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningChamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Betula Alba Juice
AstringentHippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Passiflora Incarnata Flower Extract
Skin ConditioningCI 42090
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Lauryl Betaine, Coco-Glucoside, Acrylates Copolymer, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Benzoate, Tromethamine, Mannitol, Hexylene Glycol, Parfum, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Sucrose, Disodium EDTA, Zea Mays Starch, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Butylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Betula Alba Juice, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Tocopherol, Passiflora Incarnata Flower Extract, CI 42090
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Sorbitol
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingDisodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingDisodium Cocoyl Glutamate
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingCitric Acid
Buffering
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientDisodium EDTA
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
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 GlycolCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (tea extract) is one of the most well-researched plant extracts in skincare with an impressive resume.
Black tea, green tea, and oolong tea are all harvested from the Camellia Sinensis plant.
Studies show green tea extract and its catechins (like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)) help your skin cells product energy more efficiently and reducing the number of free-radicals that can damage your skin from the inside.
In lab-grown skin models, this translated to younger, healthier, and stronger skin.
There's also good sun protection data; researchers saw less DNA damage and redness on human skin when green tea was applied before UVB exposure. And the more they applied, the better the protection.
Needless to say, this ingredient shouldn't replace your sunscreen. But it is a great supportive ingredient that you can already find in many sunscreens and antioxidant serums.
A 2009 study found a 2% green tea lotion was effective for mild-to-moderate acne thanks to its anti-inflammatory and mild antimicrobial activity.
The quality of the extract matters a lot here:
Good extracts contain 50-90% catechins while lower quality ones are mostly there for marketing. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the quality or source of their ingredients.
Human Repeated Insult Patch Testing showed no irritation or sensitization at use concentrations (0.86% in leave-on products and up to 30% as leaf water).
Learn more about Camellia Sinensis Leaf ExtractCoco-Glucoside is a surfactant, or a cleansing ingredient. It is made from glucose and coconut oil.
Surfactants help gather dirt, oil, and other pollutants from your skin to be rinsed away.
This ingredient is considered gentle and non-comedogenic. However, it may still be irritating for some.
Learn more about Coco-GlucosideDisodium Cocoamphodiacetate is a surfactant and helps cleanse skin. It is created from the fatty acids of coconut oil.
Surfactants help rinse oil, dirt, and other pollutants easily from skin. It has a faint fruit-like scent.
Disodium 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 EDTAEthylhexylglycerin 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 EthylhexylglycerinChances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideTocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
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
