Simple Skincare Kind to Skin Moisturizing Facial Wash Versus Face Facts Ceramide Hydrating Gentle Cleanser
This mild cream cleanser is made to cleanse without leaving your skin tight or dry.
This mild gel cleanser is made to cleanse without leaving your skin tight or dry.
What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Cocoyl Alaninate
Surfactant
Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
Cleansing
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Laureth-4
Emulsifying
Capryloyl Glycine
CleansingUndecylenoyl Glycine
CleansingPanthenol
Skin Conditioning
Polyquaternium-39
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Water, Sodium Cocoyl Alaninate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Decyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Propanediol, Glycol Distearate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium Benzoate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Laureth-4, Capryloyl Glycine, Undecylenoyl Glycine, Panthenol, Polyquaternium-39, Tocopheryl Acetate
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroamphoacetate
CleansingSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide As
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids
CleansingCeramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide Ns
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Chloride
MaskingDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Propylene Glycol Laurate
Skin ConditioningPEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
Emulsifying
Citric Acid
Buffering
Glycosyl Trehalose
Emulsion StabilisingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Hydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate
HumectantPolyglyceryl-10 Stearate
Skin Conditioning
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Emulsifying
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Tetrasodium EDTA
Water, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide As, Ceramide AP, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids, Ceramide NP, Ceramide Ns, Sodium Chloride, Decyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol Laurate, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Citric Acid, Glycosyl Trehalose, Phenoxyethanol, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Hydroxyacetophenone, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate, Chlorphenesin, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tetrasodium EDTA
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineDecyl Glucoside is a plant-derived surfactant and emulsion stabilizer. It is created by reacting glucose with the fatty acids from plants.
Like all surfactants, it works by lowering the surface tension between water and oil. This makes it so that dirt, sebum, and makeup can be lifted off your skin and rinsed away. It also produces a dense and creamy foam.
Because it has a neutral charge, it is compatible with a wide range of ingredients and stays stable across a broad pH range/water hardiness conditions.
Patch testing has shown it to have the lowest irritation potential among common cleansing surfactants (like SLS).
Typical use levels range from 5-20% in rinse-off cleansers.
One thing worth knowing: The American Contact Dermatitis Society named the parent family, alkyl glucosides, "Allergen of the Year" in 2017. The prevalence of allergy is pretty low but be sure to patch test if you've reacted to "gentle" or sulfate-free cleansers before.
This ingredient is fungal acne safe because the fatty alcohol portion of this ingredient is not within the C11-24 chain length that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Decyl GlucosideGlycerin (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 GlycerinTocopheryl Acetate is a stable, shelf-friendly form of vitamin E.
Formulators love it because plain vitamin E oxidizes quickly once it hits air. This acetate version stays stable and resists going off, helping to extend a product's shelf life.
It's actually inactive on its own and works like a slow-release "storage" form; the enzymes in your skin called esterases gradually convert it into active vitamin E over time.
One in vivo study showed 5% of the acetate in the living layer of the epidermis converted to vitamin E after 5 days of application. This study also found the skin gained protection against UV damage even though the conversion was slow and small.
Once converted, vitamin E acts as a skin's main fat-soluble antioxidant that fights free radicals to protect skin from damage.
Topical vitamin E generally boosts the skin's photoprotection, and it reduced UV-damage in animal models.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
Overall, it has a pretty solid safety profile and has been found to be non-irritating and non-comedogenic. Allergic reactions may happen but stay rare due to how widely the ingredient gets used.
The concentration will vary depending on the formula; industry data shows 0.1% in baby lotions, 3% in lipsticks, and 5% in foot powders. You can also find this ingredient at 100% in a pure vitamin E oil.
Most leave-on skincare keeps it at the lower end, often between 0.5-1%.
Learn more about Tocopheryl AcetateWater. 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
