What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Behentrimonium Chloride
Preservative
Glycerin
Humectant
Amodimethicone
Cetyl Esters
Emollient
Potato Starch Modified
Isopropyl Alcohol
Solvent
Methylparaben
Preservative
Trideceth-6
EmulsifyingTocopherol
Antioxidant
Glycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Chlorhexidine Dihydrochloride
Antimicrobial
Cetrimonium Chloride
Antimicrobial
Alcohol
Antimicrobial
Safflower Glucoside
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Hydroxycitronellal
Perfuming
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingGentiana Lutea Root Extract
Skin ConditioningMoringa Oleifera Seed Extract
Skin Conditioning
Corallina Officinalis Extract
Skin Conditioning
Disodium Phosphate
BufferingCitric Acid
Buffering
BHT
Antioxidant
Sodium Citrate
BufferingParfum
Masking
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Amodimethicone, Cetyl Esters, Potato Starch Modified, Isopropyl Alcohol, Methylparaben, Trideceth-6, Tocopherol, Glycine Soja Oil, Chlorhexidine Dihydrochloride, Cetrimonium Chloride, Alcohol, Safflower Glucoside, Hexyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxide, Gentiana Lutea Root Extract, Moringa Oleifera Seed Extract, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Disodium Phosphate, Citric Acid, BHT, Sodium Citrate, Parfum
Water
Skin ConditioningButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Surfactant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Adansonia Digitata Oil
Emollient
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Opuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil
Emollient
Cetyl Esters
Emollient
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Skin ConditioningCetrimonium Chloride
Antimicrobial
Biotin
AntiseborrhoeicGuar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningCucurbita Pepo Seed Oil
Emollient
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Gaultheria Procumbens Leaf Oil
Masking
Mentha Piperita Oil
Masking
Mentha Viridis Leaf Oil
Astringent
Quaternium-80
Lavandula Spica Flower Oil
Masking
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Menthol
Masking
Urtica Dioica Extract
AstringentWater, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Adansonia Digitata Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil, Cetyl Esters, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Cetrimonium Chloride, Biotin, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Cucurbita Pepo Seed Oil, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Gaultheria Procumbens Leaf Oil, Mentha Piperita Oil, Mentha Viridis Leaf Oil, Quaternium-80, Lavandula Spica Flower Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Menthol, Urtica Dioica Extract
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cetearyl 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.
A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.
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 Esters is an emollient with an interesting backstory: it's a synthetic wax originally designed to be a copy of spermaceti, a waxy material that used to be harvested from whales.
This ingredient delivers the same "velvety" feel without anything animal-derived (usually made from coconut or palm-sourced fatty alcohols/acids).
Chemically, it's a blend of esters from 14-18 fatty acids and alcohols that is a solid at room temperature but melts on contact with skin. It helps soften and smooth the skin while improving the feel and spread of products.
Typical use concentrations range from 1-10% (most commonly 2-5%).
The CIR Expert Panel has concluded it's safe as used and has shown no skin irritation in available studies.
Because it's a blend of fatty acid esters in the chain-length range that Malassezia can feed on, it may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Cetyl EstersGlycerin (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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).
It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.
On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.
Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).
You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.
Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.
Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.
Learn more about PhenoxyethanolWater. 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
