What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCarthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Petrolatum
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Lauryl Betaine
CleansingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingGuar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningTocopherol
Antioxidant
Methylparaben
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
Sodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate
EmulsifyingCeramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Phytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Cholesterol
Emollient
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingWater, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Petrolatum, Glycerin, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Betaine, Xanthan Gum, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Tocopherol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Sodium Polyacrylate, Citric Acid, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide AP, Ceramide NP, Phytosphingosine, Cholesterol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Carbomer
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
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Carthamus 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 GlycerinMethylparaben is a synthetic preservative and one of the most widely used in the world. It has a simple, but important job: prevent your products from going bad by stopping bacteria, yeast, and mold from growing.
Typical use levels are low, often 0.1-0.3%.
This is also one of the most heavily studied preservatives out there and major regulatory bodies have repeatedly given it the green light.
In 2023, the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) confirmed that this ingredient is safe up to 0.4% on its own, of up to 0.8% when mixed with other paraben esters.
Here's the science behind the noise behind parabens/hormones as well:
Methylparaben shows very weak estrogen-like activity in vitro tests (more than 1,000x weaker than your body's own estradiol). In vivo (live-organism) studies don't support a meaningful endocrine-disrupting effect either.
You get a stronger estrogenic effect from eating tofu, actually.
It's also a low sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon; they usually happen on damage or broken skin.
There is a caveat: France has proposed to formally re-examine its endocrine classification in 2025 so the regulatory conversation isn't fully closed as of yet.
But as it stands today, this ingredient is considered safe at permitted levels.
Learn more about MethylparabenPropylparaben is a preservative and one of the most widely used members of the paraben family (it's been used in cosmetics for over a century now).
Its only job is to keep your products from going bad.
It works by disrupting microbial cell membranes and enzymes, and is a broad-spectrum protector that works exceptionally well against molds, yeasts, and gram-positive bacteria.
You'll likely see it paired with methylparaben to cover the full range (including gram-negative bacteria).
This ingredient is effective at low concentrations (~0.2-0.5%) and stable across a wide pH range (4.5-7.5 pH). It's effectiveness drops off above pH 8 and it can lose potency when combined with non-ionic surfactants like polysorbate 80 due to micellization.
The regulatory bodies have concluded this ingredient to be safe as used in cosmetics. The EU has capped it at 0.14% and combined parabens are not to exceed 0.8%.
While parabens do cross the stratum corneum, only about 1% remains for absorption into the body. This is because most of it is metabolized within living skin.
Learn more about PropylparabenTocopherol 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
