This salicylic acid gel cleanser is formulated around Salicylic Acid to clear breakouts and unclog pores.
What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
CleansingGlycerin
HumectantSalicylic Acid
MaskingAcrylates Copolymer
Sodium Lauroyl Methylaminopropionate
CleansingCitric Acid
BufferingAllantoin
Skin ConditioningSodium Benzoate
MaskingPotassium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium PCA
HumectantPotassium Cocoyl Glycinate
SurfactantPanthenol
Skin ConditioningPotassium Cocoate
EmulsifyingMannitol
HumectantMicrocrystalline Cellulose
AbsorbentSucrose
HumectantZea Mays Starch
AbsorbentHydroxypropyl Methylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingMica
Cosmetic ColorantTitanium Dioxide
Cosmetic ColorantEctoin
Skin ConditioningWater, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Salicylic Acid, Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Lauroyl Methylaminopropionate, Citric Acid, Allantoin, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium PCA, Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Panthenol, Potassium Cocoate, Mannitol, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Sucrose, Zea Mays Starch, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Ectoin
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
HumectantStearic Acid
CleansingPotassium Hydroxide
BufferingMyristic Acid
CleansingLauric Acid
CleansingPalmitic Acid
EmollientHydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate
Ceteth-30
CleansingSodium Laureth-6 Carboxylate
CleansingPEG-6
HumectantBehenyl Alcohol
EmollientPEG/PPG-18/4 Copolymer
SolventHydroxypropyl Arginine Cetearyl Ether
SurfactantCeteareth-33
CleansingDMDM Hydantoin
Preservative
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 GlycerinPotassium Hydroxide (also known as potash) is a strong alkaline ingredient that does one job: it nudges a product's pH up so the whole formula lands in a skin-friendly range.
It's also the base that turns oils into liquid soap during the soap making process.
An expert safety panel reviewed it and found it safe when formulations are made to be non-irritating.
As a pH adjuster, it's typically used well under 1% though regulatory caps go much higher: 5% in nail cuticle removers and 2-4.5% in hair straighteners.
Though there is some concern for irritation from raw or high pH material, a well-balanced formula will be a non-issue for the vast majority of people.
Learn more about Potassium 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