What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Adansonia Digitata Oil
Emollient
Behentrimonium Methosulfate
Surfactant
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Water, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Adansonia Digitata Oil, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylyl Glycol, Glycerin, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Citric Acid, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Tocopherol
Water
Skin ConditioningBehentrimonium Methosulfate
Surfactant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Adansonia Digitata Oil
Emollient
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Opuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Gaultheria Procumbens Leaf Oil
Masking
Mentha Piperita Oil
Masking
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningLavandula Spica Herb Oil
Perfuming
Urtica Dioica Extract
AstringentCucurbita Pepo
Skin Conditioning
Parfum
Masking
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Silk Amino Acids
HumectantWater, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Adansonia Digitata Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Gaultheria Procumbens Leaf Oil, Mentha Piperita Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Lavandula Spica Herb Oil, Urtica Dioica Extract, Cucurbita Pepo, Parfum, Tocopheryl Acetate, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Silk Amino Acids
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Baobab oil is an emollient. This ingredient is rich in fatty acids, mostly oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid.
Due to this fatty acid content, this ingredient may not be fungal-acne safe.
Fun fact: Our skin uses fatty acids, and especially linoleic acid, for creating ceramides.
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 MethosulfateThis ingredient is also known as shea butter. It is a plant-derived extract from the nuts of the Africa shea tree and one of the most well-studied emollients.
Because it has a high concentration of fatty acids (primarily oleic, stearic, and linoleic) it is able to form a protective barrier on the skin's surface. This helps seal in moisture and prevents transepidermal water loss (TEWL).
In vitro research found an increase in skin hydration by 58% and a decrease in TEWL by 37.8% after 24 hours of applying this ingredient (pretty impressive for a single ingredient!).
Besides hydration, shea butter also contains triterpenes that have anti-inflammatory potential. In particule, lupeol cinnamate has shown the highest anti-inflammatory activity in vivo.
Shea butter also contains vitamins A and E which may contribute to antioxidant activity.
While Shea Butter has an SPF rating of about 3-4, it is not a sunscreen replacement.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe because its fatty acids fall within the C11-C24 range that the Malassezia yeast can metabolize.
Learn more about Butyrospermum Parkii ButterCetearyl 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 AlcoholGlycerin (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 GlycerinThis ingredient is derived from guar gum. It is a skin conditioning agent that creates a thin, breathable film to reduce water loss during cleansing.
This leaves the skin feeling soft rather than stripped and also contributes to a creamier lather.
Due to the large molecule size, this ingredient is unlikely to penetrate skin.
Learn more about Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium ChlorideWater. 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
