What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Cellulose Acetate
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Niacinamide
Smoothing
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Triethanolamine
BufferingAcrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Methylparaben
Preservative
Myristyl Alcohol
Emollient
Propylparaben
Preservative
Disodium EDTA
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Avena Sativa Kernel Extract
Abrasive
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
CI 74160
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Glycerin, Paraffinum Liquidum, PEG-100 Stearate, Cellulose Acetate, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Niacinamide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium PCA, Triethanolamine, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Panthenol, Methylparaben, Myristyl Alcohol, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA, Tocopherol, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract, Potassium Sorbate, CI 74160
Water
Skin ConditioningCarthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Oryza Sativa Powder
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Avena Sativa Kernel Flour
Abrasive
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCaprylhydroxamic Acid
Glycerin
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate
CleansingGlycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Beta-Glucan
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingWater, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Oryza Sativa Powder, Caprylyl Glycol, Panthenol, Avena Sativa Kernel Flour, Xanthan Gum, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Glycerin, Tocopherol, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Glycine Soja Oil, Beta-Glucan, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Citric Acid, 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.
Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.
Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.
Because it is not a free-fatty acid, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl GlycolCarthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil comes from the seeds of the safflower plant. It is a skin conditioning agent that helps soften skin and keep it hydrated.
This seed oil has an unusual fatty acid profile: it is one of the highest linoleic acid plant oils out there (~55-77%). It also has low amounts of oleic acid, and this high-linoleic/low-oleic ratio gets people excited.
Linoleic acid helps maintain skin barrier integrity and is a building block for the ceramides in your stratum corneum. Notably, people with acne tend to have lower linoleic acid in their skin lipids as well (and this gets worse as acne gets more severe).
Overall, it's a lightweight, fast-absorbing oil that has a long safety track record. Lab testing has found it to be non-irritating for skin or eyes.
The Malassezia yeast can metabolize the fatty acids in this oil to grow; therefore this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Carthamus Tinctorius Seed OilGlycerin (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 StearatePanthenol is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin. It is found naturally in our skin and hair.
There are two forms of panthenol: D and L.
D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.
Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):
Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.
This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.
Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.
This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.
Learn more about PanthenolTocopherol 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
