What's inside
What's inside
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Stearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Cetrimonium Chloride
Antimicrobial
Parfum
Masking
Triheptanoin
Skin ConditioningC13-16 Isoparaffin
Solvent
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Sarcosine
Skin Conditioning
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Citronellol
Perfuming
Limonene
Perfuming
Actinidia Chinensis Fruit Extract
EmollientPrunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
CI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantRosa Canina Flower Extract
AstringentCI 42090
Cosmetic ColorantPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Benzyl Alcohol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Parfum, Triheptanoin, C13-16 Isoparaffin, Sodium PCA, Dehydroacetic Acid, Sarcosine, Hexyl Cinnamal, Citronellol, Limonene, Actinidia Chinensis Fruit Extract, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, CI 19140, Rosa Canina Flower Extract, CI 42090, Phenoxyethanol
Water
Skin ConditioningBehentrimonium Methosulfate
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Glycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cetrimonium Chloride
Antimicrobial
Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil
Emollient
Cetyl Esters
Emollient
Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil
Emollient
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
Silk Amino Acids
HumectantParfum
Masking
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Quaternium-80
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingMentha Piperita Oil
Masking
Citric Acid
Buffering
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
Water, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Glycine Soja Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Cetyl Esters, Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Silk Amino Acids, Parfum, Glyceryl Stearate, Quaternium-80, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Mentha Piperita Oil, Citric Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Behentrimonium Methosulfate is an ammonium salt. It is mainly used to prevent static in haircare products as a surfactant.
Surfactants have differing ends: one side is hydrophilic while the other end is hydrophobic.
Surfactants also help your cleansers remove pollutants more easily from the skin.
Learn more about Behentrimonium MethosulfateBenzyl Alcohol is most commonly used as a preservative. It also has a subtle, sweet smell. Small amounts of Benzyl Alcohol is not irritating and safe to use in skincare products. Most Benzyl Alcohol is derived from fruits such as apricots.
Benzyl Alcohol has both antibacterial and antioxidant properties. These properties help lengthen the shelf life of products. Benzyl Alcohol is a solvent and helps dissolve other ingredients. It can also improve the texture and spreadability.
Alcohol comes in many different forms. Different types of alcohol will have different effects on skin. This ingredient is an astringent alcohol.
Using high concentrations of these alcohols are drying on the skin. They may strip away your skin's natural oils and even damage your skin barrier. Astringent alcohols may also irritate skin.
Other types of astringent alcohols include:
According to the National Rosacea Society based in the US, you should be mindful of products with these alcohols in the top half of ingredients.
Any type of sanitizing product will have high amounts of alcohol to help kill bacteria and viruses.
Learn more about Benzyl AlcoholCetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholThis ingredient is a preservative, antimicrobial, and emulsifier. It is often used in cosmetics for its ability to cleanse, condition, and reduce static.
Cetrimonium chloride is a quaternary ammonium salt, meaning it has a water-soluble structure.
Cetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.
Its main roles are:
Though it has "alcohol" in the name, it is not related to denatured alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.
Learn more about Cetyl AlcoholDehydroacetic Acid is fungicide and bactericide. It is used as a preservative in cosmetics. Preservatives help elongate the shelf life of a product.
Dehydroacetic Acid is not soluble in water.
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 GlycerinParfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.
Also called "fragrance", this ingredient can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.
For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.
The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.
For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.
One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.
The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Learn more about ParfumWater. 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
