What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSqualane
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glycine Max Seed Extract
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
Humectant
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingMilk Ferment
Skin ConditioningCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingAlcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate
Absorbent
Glycerin
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Cyclohexasiloxane
Emollient
Beeswax
Emulsion Stabilising
Methylparaben
Preservative
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Cyclopentasiloxane
Emollient
Water, Squalane, Stearic Acid, Stearyl Alcohol, Glycine Max Seed Extract, Butylene Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Xanthan Gum, Milk Ferment, Carbomer, Sodium Hydroxide, Alcohol Denat., Palmitic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Glycerin, Citric Acid, Cyclohexasiloxane, Beeswax, Methylparaben, Glyceryl Stearate, Cyclopentasiloxane
Water
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
Humectant
Hydroxyethyl Urea
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Squalane
Emollient
Triethylhexanoin
MaskingAmmonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer
Dimethicone
Emollient
PPG-17-Buteth-17
Skin ConditioningTriethyl Citrate
Masking
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Methylparaben
Preservative
Disodium Succinate
MaskingSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Agar
MaskingDisodium EDTA
Succinic Acid
BufferingSodium Acetylated Hyaluronate
Humectant
Arginine
Masking
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Hydrolyzed Collagen
Emollient
Dextrin
AbsorbentGlucosyl Ceramide
Skin Conditioning
Aphanothece Sacrum Exopolysaccharides
AbsorbentHydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate
Ammonium Acrylates Copolymer
Water, Butylene Glycol, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Squalane, Triethylhexanoin, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer, Dimethicone, PPG-17-Buteth-17, Triethyl Citrate, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Disodium Succinate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Agar, Disodium EDTA, Succinic Acid, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Arginine, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Dextrin, Glucosyl Ceramide, Aphanothece Sacrum Exopolysaccharides, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate, Ammonium Acrylates Copolymer
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 GlycolGlycerin (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 MethylparabenSqualane is the hydrogenated and shelf-stable form of squalene (a lipid that naturally occurs in human sebum).
It is an emollient and skin conditioning agent that is able to integrate seamlessly into the skin's lipid barrier without clogging pores.
This is due to how structurally similar it is to what your skin already produces.
Though it is mostly an emollient that helps soften and hydrate skin, it also has some humectant and occlusive action. Humectants help the skin retain moisture while occlusives seal it in, making squalane a triple-threat moisturizer.
Research shows it has antioxidant capabilities that help protect against stressors like UV exposure, specifically UVA induced oxidative stress. This study also found that it supports collagen biosynthesis in human dermal fibroblasts.
No clinical study has reported significant adverse effects and irritation reactions are very rare from this ingredient (even at 100% concentration).
Overall, it's a fantastic ingredient for hydration and is suitable for all skin types.
This depends on the source. Squalane can be derived from both plants and animals. Most squalane used in skincare comes from plants.
Please note: the source of squalane is only known if disclosed by the brand. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have any questions about their squalane.
Read more about squalene with an "e".
Though squalane is often called an oil, it’s technically not one. It is a hydrocarbon, meaning it is only made of carbon and hydrogen. True oils are triglycerides and made of fatty acids and glycerol.
The term “oil-free” isn’t regulated so companies can define it however they want. Some exclude all oils, while others just avoid mineral oil or comedogenic oils.
Squalane has a comedogenic rating of 1 from the original 1972 study that tested raw ingredients under occlusion on rabbit ears. This system is not standardized or peer-reviewed, and using the raw ingredients is very different from how diluted cosmetic formulations are used on human skin.
A comedogenic rating of 1 means it is "unlikely to clog pores" according to the original rating system.
The overall formula of a product matters more than the individual ingredients on whether or not it will cause clogged pores.
Learn more about SqualaneWater. 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
