What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningIsohexadecane
EmollientButylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Chloride
Masking1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Humectant
Bisabolol
Antioxidant
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Disodium EDTA
Ascorbic Acid
Antioxidant
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Hydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate
Skin Conditioning
Sucrose Stearate
EmollientWater
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Cucumis Sativus Fruit Water
Skin ConditioningPropanediol
Solvent
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Isopentyldiol
Humectant
Squalane
Emollient
Cetyl Phosphate
EmulsifyingSorbitan Oleate Decylglucoside Crosspolymer
CleansingLactobacillus/Rice Ferment Filtrate
Skin ConditioningLactobacillus Ferment Lysate
Skin Conditioning
Saccharomyces Lysate Extract
Humectant
Alteromonas Ferment Extract
Skin Conditioning
Prunus Lannesiana Flower Extract
Skin ConditioningAkebia Quinata Stem Extract
Skin ConditioningMyrica Cerifera Fruit Extract
HumectantCeramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Arginine
Masking
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingTetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
Antioxidant
Batyl Alcohol
EmollientHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Sodium Phytate
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Water, Glycerin, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Water, Propanediol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetyl Alcohol, Isopentyldiol, Squalane, Cetyl Phosphate, Sorbitan Oleate Decylglucoside Crosspolymer, Lactobacillus/Rice Ferment Filtrate, Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate, Saccharomyces Lysate Extract, Alteromonas Ferment Extract, Prunus Lannesiana Flower Extract, Akebia Quinata Stem Extract, Myrica Cerifera Fruit Extract, Ceramide NP, Arginine, Tocopherol, Carbomer, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Batyl Alcohol, Hydroxyacetophenone, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Phytate, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Benzoate
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.
It is a:
- Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
- Emollient, helping to soften skin
- Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
- Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives
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 GlycolCeramide 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 NPGlycerin (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 GlycerinHydroxyacetophenone is a small phenolic molecule that earns its place in a formulas as an antioxidant and preservative booster.
As a phenol, it is able to neutralize free radicals to protect both the product and the skin from oxidative stress.
Though it can't kill microbes on its own, it works as a good supporting agent when combined with other preservatives like Phenoxyethanol or 1,2-Hexanediol.
This ingredient naturally occurs as piceol in Norwegian spruce needles (~0.4-1.1% dry weight and in cloudberries). Though the cosmetic-grade material is synthesized for purity and consistency.
You'll usually see it used at low levels and suppliers recommend up to 1% added to a water phase.
Safety testing was done at concentrations like 0.05% in SPF products and 0.5% in a Human Repeated Insult Patch Test. The safety evidence is assuring; this ingredient is safe for cosmetics in current use and also holds safety status as a food flavoring as well.
An honest caveat: the "soothing" and "anti-inflammatory" claims come mostly from supplier marketing rather than published clinical trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review's own literature search found no useful efficacy studies on this ingredient.
So the antioxidant and preservative-boosting roles are the well supported ones while the calming benefit is plausible but thinly evidenced.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-irritation multitasker that quietly helps a formula stay fresh and stable.
Learn more about HydroxyacetophenoneWater. 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
