What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Squalane
Emollient
Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Brassica Alcohol
Emollient
Hydrogenated Olive Oil Decyl Esters
Emulsion Stabilising
Silica
Abrasive
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Sorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Glycerin
Humectant
Tapioca Starch
Rosa Canina Seed Oil
Emollient
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Water
Skin ConditioningRhus Succedanea Fruit Cera
EmollientOlea Europaea Oil Unsaponifiables
Skin Conditioning
Rhus Verniciflua Peel Cera
EmollientHelianthus Annuus Seed Cera
Emollient
Shorea Robusta Resin
TonicLupinus Albus Seed Extract
Skin ConditioningRosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialBisabolol
Antioxidant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Zingiber Officinale Root Extract
Masking
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Squalane, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Brassica Alcohol, Hydrogenated Olive Oil Decyl Esters, Silica, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Sorbitan Olivate, Glycerin, Tapioca Starch, Rosa Canina Seed Oil, Panthenol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Water, Rhus Succedanea Fruit Cera, Olea Europaea Oil Unsaponifiables, Rhus Verniciflua Peel Cera, Helianthus Annuus Seed Cera, Shorea Robusta Resin, Lupinus Albus Seed Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Bisabolol, Tocopherol, Zingiber Officinale Root Extract, Benzyl Alcohol, Dehydroacetic Acid
Water
Skin ConditioningCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Jojoba Esters
Emollient
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Polyglyceryl-4 Diisostearate/Polyhydroxystearate/Sebacate
Emulsifying
Tapioca Starch Polymethylsilsesquioxane
Absorbent
Euphorbia Cerifera Cera
Astringent
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Lecithin
Emollient
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Lactic Acid
Buffering
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialWater, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Jojoba Esters, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Glycerin, Polyglyceryl-4 Diisostearate/Polyhydroxystearate/Sebacate, Tapioca Starch Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Euphorbia Cerifera Cera, Stearic Acid, Niacinamide, Lecithin, Panthenol, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Lactic Acid, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Dehydroacetic Acid, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Benzyl Alcohol is an aromatic alcohol with several roles: it's a preservative, solvent, and mild fragrance component with a floral scent.
This ingredient has been deemed safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 5%, and up to 10% in hair dyes. You'll typically see 0.5-2% in most rinse-off or leave-on products.
As a preservative, it works by disrupting the membrane of microbial proteins. This helps keep bacteria and fungi from growing in your products.
The sensitization picture is actually quite assuring as well:of nearly 71,000 patients patch tested with benzyl alcohol, only 0.21% showed a positive reaction with most of them being weakly positive.
This led researchers to conclude that benzyl alcohol cannot be regarded as a significant contact allergen.
It is worth noting this ingredient is classified as one of the EU's regulated fragrance allergens and restricted to 1% in finished products.
Labels must also declare it in concentrations above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.
At concentrations around 5%, localized redness and itching can appear as a direct irritant response and not as a true allergic reaction.
Learn more about Benzyl AlcoholDehydroacetic Acid is a synthetic preservative that keeps your products safe from microbes.
As an organic acid, it penetrates microbial cell walls and disrupts cellular metabolism. This makes it effective against bacteria, yeast, and mold.
It is effective at low concentrations (<0.6%). Clinical studies have found it to be non-irritating, non-sensitizing, and non-photosensitizing.
Learn more about Dehydroacetic AcidGlycerin (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 GlycerinHelianthus Annuus Seed Oil is a plant oil derived from the seeds of a sunflower.
It is rich in fatty acids, primarily linoleic acid and oleic acid. This gives it emollient and skin conditioning properties.
The reason this ingredient is so effective is because it forms a thin film on the skin that reduces transepidermal water loss (TEWL) while supplying linoleic acid to the stratum corneum to improve barrier strength.
The high linoleic acid content is particularly noteworthy for acne-prone skin.
Research suggests that acne-prone skin tends to be deficient in linoleic acid in sebum. Topical application may help replenish this to support a healthier follicular environment and less comedone-promoting sebum.
One randomized study found sunflower seed oil preserved skin barrier integrity in adult volunteers with and without atopic dermatitis (outperforming olive oil).
This ingredient is well-studied, gentle, and an effective emollient suitable for most skin types.
On fungal acne: This ingredient may not be Fungal acne (Malassezia folliculitis) safe. This is because it contains fatty acids with carbon chain lengths in the C11-C24 range.
Learn more about Helianthus Annuus Seed OilPanthenol is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin. It is found naturally in our skin and hair.
There are two forms of panthenol: D and L.
D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.
Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):
Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.
This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.
Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.
This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.
Learn more about PanthenolThis is a botanical extract from the rosemary plant (the same one you cook with). In skincare, it mostly works as a skin conditioning agent.
Its activity comes from a handful of polyphenols, carnosic acid, carnosol, and rosmarinic acid. Almost 90% of the antioxidant activity of this ingredient can be attributed to canosol and carnosic acid.
These compounds protect your skin two ways:
1) They fight off free radicals, or the unstable molecules from things like sun and pollution that age and damage skin.
2) They help calm inflammation by switching off the chemical signals that tell skin to get red and irritated.
Lab studies also suggest that rosmarinic acid may help protect collagen and slow sugar-related damage to it.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review has concluded rosemary-derived ingredients to be safe when formulated to be non-sensitizing.
Rosemary can occasionally cause allergic contact dermatitis (due to carnosol), so be sure to patch test if you have reactive or fragrance-sensitive skin.
Learn more about Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf ExtractWater. 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
