What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
PEG-150 Distearate
Emulsifying
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Curcuma Longa Root Extract
Masking
Cucumis Sativus Extract
Skin Conditioning
Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract
Skin ConditioningGlycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
Bleaching
Withania Somnifera Root Extract
Skin Conditioning
PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides
EmulsifyingCeramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Phytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate
Skin Conditioning
Citric Acid
Buffering
Polyquaternium-10
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Sodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningWater, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Glycerin, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, PEG-150 Distearate, Niacinamide, Curcuma Longa Root Extract, Cucumis Sativus Extract, Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Withania Somnifera Root Extract, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Ceramide NP, Phytosphingosine, Propylene Glycol, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Citric Acid, Polyquaternium-10, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Gluconate
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycolic Acid
Buffering
Glycerin
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
Bleaching
Betaine
Humectant
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide Ns
Skin Conditioning
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Gluconate
Skin Conditioning
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Ceramide AP is is a skin-identical lipid that mimics what your skin already makes naturally. Ceramides help maintain epidermal integrity and barrier function.
You'll often see this ingredient paired with other ceramides (like ceramide NP), cholesterol, or fatty acids because this combination best mimics the natural lipid mix your skin already has.
The skin's ability to produce ceramides gets disrupted in skin conditions like eczema. This in turn weakens the skin barrier and applying ceramides topically has been shown to replenish what's been lost to restore barrier function.
Most of the studies with Ceramide AP test it as part of a multi-ceramide complex; studies reinforce ceramide AP's role in rebalancing ceramides in skin and improving skin hydration.
Learn more about Ceramide APCeramide NP (formerly known as Ceramide 3) is one of the skin's naturally occurring lipids.
Since ceramides are the major lipid components of the skin, they are crucial for maintaining skin barrier and hydration. Ceramide NP most closely mirrors the dominant kind in human skin amongst ceramide subtypes.
This ceramide works by slotting into gaps within the stratum corneum's lipid matrix to limit trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and shield the skin against external irritants.
A study with 312 patients found that using a ceramide-containing routine for 4 weeks reduced the severity of atopic dermatitis by over 61%.
Another clinical study in subjects aged 60 and older found that a ceramide body wash and moisturizer improved skin dryness and itchy skin in 15 days.
Overall, ceramides are considered non-irritating and safety tests have found little to no observable adverse effects from using this ingredient.
Ceramide NP is usually sourced from plants (like soybean or rice bran), or produced synthetically.
Learn more about Ceramide NPGlycerin (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 GlycerinGlycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract is an extract of the roots of Licorice. It has been found to have several benefits such as skin hydrating, conditioning, and soothing.
One component, glabridin, has extra potent antioxidant and soothing properties. It has also been found to block pigmentation from UVB rays in guinea pigs.
Licorice Root also contains a flavonoid. Flavonoids are a natural substance from in plants. Flavonoids also have antioxidant properties.
Another component, glycyrrhizin, has been found to have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial benefits. This may make licorice root extract effective at treating acne. However, more research is needed to support this.
Liquiritin is one of the flavone compounds found in licorice. It has been found to help lighten skin by preventing tyrosinase from reacting with tyrosine. When the two react, protein is converted to melanin. Melanin is the substance in your body that gives your features pigmentation.
Learn more about Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root ExtractPropylene Glycol is a synthetic, colorless, odorless liquid that has been a staple in cosmetics for decades. It is a skin conditioning agent, humectant, and solvent.
As a humectant, it draw water to the skin to reduce flaking and restore suppleness. It's also a solvent that helps dissolve other actives and keeps formulas stable across temperature changes.
The CIR Expert Panel has confirmed this ingredient to be nontoxic and clinical studies show no sensitization at cosmetic use concentrations.
True allergic reactions are quite rare: a 15-year retrospective study of 6,751 patients found only 0.31% had a positive reaction (and less than half were considered clinically relevant).
It seemed that when sensitization does occur, it's most commonly linked to topical medication (like corticosteroids) and not cosmetics. Allergic contact dermatitis also appears largely limited to individuals with underlying skin conditions.
Overall, propylene glycol is a well-studied ingredient that most people can tolerate without issue.
Learn more about Propylene GlycolThis is the synthetic salt of gluconic acid, a form of PHA and mild exfoliant.
It is mainly used to stabilize oil and butter formulations from going bad. Sodium gluconate is a humectant, pH regulator, and chelating agent.
Chelating agents help neutralize unwanted metals from affecting the formulation.
Sodium gluconate is water-soluble.
Learn more about Sodium GluconateWater. 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
