What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningIsopropyl Palmitate
Emollient
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialDiisopropyl Adipate
EmollientPropylene Glycol Dibenzoate
Skin ConditioningNiacinamide
Smoothing
Methylene Bis-Benzotriazolyl Tetramethylbutylphenol
UV Filter
Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine
Skin Conditioning
Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate
EmollientGlycerin
Humectant
PEG-100 Stearate
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Potassium Cetyl Phosphate
EmulsifyingCarthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
Absorbent
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Polyacrylic Acid
Emulsion StabilisingAminomethyl Propanol
BufferingMethylparaben
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol
Antimicrobial
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Water, Isopropyl Palmitate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Diisopropyl Adipate, Propylene Glycol Dibenzoate, Niacinamide, Methylene Bis-Benzotriazolyl Tetramethylbutylphenol, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate, Glycerin, PEG-100 Stearate, Butylene Glycol, Cetyl Alcohol, Paraffinum Liquidum, Glyceryl Stearate, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Decyl Glucoside, Polyacrylic Acid, Aminomethyl Propanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol, Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol is a preservative.
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 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 StearateMethylparaben is a preservative and is a paraben. It is used to prevent the growth of fungus, mold, and other harmful bacteria. Parabens are chemicals used as preservatives in both cosmetics and food.
Methylparaben can be synthetically created. It can also be found naturally in some fruits, such as blueberries.
Oftentimes, Methylparaben is combined with other parabens to help increase the shelf life.
The safety of Methylparaben is currently being studied. While ongoing studies are looking into the safety of parabens, the results have been very mixed. Some studies have not found Methylparaben to be harmful.
Learn more about MethylparabenParaffinum Liquidum is a highly-refined cosmetic-grade mineral oil. It is also known as liquid paraffin.
Despite its controversial reputation, the science is pretty clear: it's one of the most well-studied and effective moisturizing ingredients out there.
As an occlusive, it forms a protective layer on the skin that locks in moisture and prevents transepidermal water loss (TEWL). This makes it especially great for compromised skin barriers.
The "it clogs your pores" myth has been around for decades; a study found that industrial-grade mineral oil may be comedogenic but cosmetic-grade mineral oil is not (these two are very, very different).
A 2017 review concluded that cosmetic use of mineral oils and waxes does not present a risk to consumers due to absorption.
Mineral oil got a bad rap from the old rabbit ear studies. When tested on actual human skin, cosmetic-grade mineral oil showed no comedogenic activity. The rating of 0 is a correction of outdated science.
Mineral oil is an inert substance with no fatty acids so there's nothing to feed Malassezia. This ingredient is fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Paraffinum LiquidumWater. 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
