What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Isopentyldiol
Humectant
Potassium Azeloyl Diglycinate
Skin Conditioning
Phaeodactylum Tricornutum Extract
HumectantBiosaccharide Gum-1
Humectant
Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate
Skin Conditioning
Trifolium Pratense Flower Extract
AstringentAcacia Senegal Gum
MaskingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingTetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Sodium Citrate
BufferingCitric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingPhenylpropanol
Masking
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Water, Pentylene Glycol, Glycerin, Isopentyldiol, Potassium Azeloyl Diglycinate, Phaeodactylum Tricornutum Extract, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Trifolium Pratense Flower Extract, Acacia Senegal Gum, Xanthan Gum, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenylpropanol, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Benzoic Acid
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 GlycerinSodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.
Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.
"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.
Learn more about Sodium HydroxideWater. 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
