This barrier-repair moisturizer is formulated around Ceramide NP and Cholesterol to strengthen the skin barrier and hydrate skin.
What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCarthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Olivate
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Sorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Dimethicone
Emollient
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Lecithin
Emollient
Phospholipids
Skin Conditioning
Glycine Soja Sterols
Emollient
Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil
Emollient
Rosa Canina Fruit Oil
Emollient
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Laminaria Ochroleuca Extract
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Hydrolyzed Soy Protein
Humectant
Ulva Lactuca Extract
Skin ConditioningAscorbic Acid
Antioxidant
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientPotassium Cetyl Phosphate
EmulsifyingGlyceryl Undecylenate
Emollient
Sorbitol
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Water, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Cetearyl Alcohol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Glycerin, Cetearyl Olivate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Sorbitan Olivate, Dimethicone, Ceramide NP, Lecithin, Phospholipids, Glycine Soja Sterols, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Laminaria Ochroleuca Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Panthenol, Allantoin, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Ulva Lactuca Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Glyceryl Caprylate, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Glyceryl Undecylenate, Sorbitol, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol
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 OilCeramide NP (formerly known as Ceramide 3) is one of the skin's naturally occurring lipids.
Since ceramides are the major lipid components of the skin, they are crucial for maintaining skin barrier and hydration. Ceramide NP most closely mirrors the dominant kind in human skin amongst ceramide subtypes.
This ceramide works by slotting into gaps within the stratum corneum's lipid matrix to limit trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and shield the skin against external irritants.
A study with 312 patients found that using a ceramide-containing routine for 4 weeks reduced the severity of atopic dermatitis by over 61%.
Another clinical study in subjects aged 60 and older found that a ceramide body wash and moisturizer improved skin dryness and itchy skin in 15 days.
Overall, ceramides are considered non-irritating and safety tests have found little to no observable adverse effects from using this ingredient.
Ceramide NP is usually sourced from plants (like soybean or rice bran), or produced synthetically.
Learn more about Ceramide NPCetearyl 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.
A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholDimethicone is a type of synthetic silicone created from natural materials such as quartz. It is also known as polydimethylsiloxane.
What it does:
Dimethicone comes in different viscosities:
Depending on the viscosity, dimethicone has different properties.
Ingredients lists don't always show which type is used, so we recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the viscosity.
This ingredient is unlikely to cause irritation because it does not get absorbed into skin. However, people with silicone allergies should be careful about using this ingredient.
Note: Dimethicone may contribute to pilling. This is because it is not oil or water soluble, so pilling may occur when layered with products. When mixed with heavy oils in a formula, the outcome is also quite greasy.
Learn more about Dimethicone
