What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Betaine
Humectant
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Lauryl Glucoside
CleansingGlyceryl Stearate Citrate
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Centella Asiatica Extract
Cleansing
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCitric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Benzoic Acid
Masking
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Water, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Betaine, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Glycerin, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Decyl Glucoside, Lauryl Glucoside, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Tocopherol, Centella Asiatica Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Benzoate, Benzyl Alcohol, Potassium Sorbate, Benzoic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate
CleansingCocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
Cleansing
Sodium Methyl Oleoyl Taurate
CleansingPropanediol
Solvent
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Glycolipids
Skin ConditioningLinoleic Acid
Cleansing
Linolenic Acid
Cleansing
Lauryl Glucoside
CleansingCucumis Melo Cantalupensis Fruit Extract
AstringentSclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil
Humectant
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Benzoate
Masking
Sodium Chloride
MaskingPolylysine
Water, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Coco-Glucoside, Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium Methyl Oleoyl Taurate, Propanediol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Glycolipids, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Lauryl Glucoside, Cucumis Melo Cantalupensis Fruit Extract, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Tocopherol, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Chloride, Polylysine
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract is an extract of the leaves of the aloe, Aloe barbadensis, Liliaceae.
Aloe is one of the most well-known natural soothing ingredients, and for good reason. It’s full of water and has a cooling, calming effect on the skin, especially when it’s sunburned, itchy, or irritated. Aloe also helps your skin stay hydrated and smooth by mimicking what healthy skin naturally produces. On top of that, it contains vitamins and nutrients that support skin recovery.Â
It doesn’t protect you from the sun, but it can help your skin bounce back after too much time in it.
Let’s get into the details:
Aloe contains antioxidant Vitamins A, C, and E, which help fight off free radicals (unstable molecules from things like pollution that can damage your skin).
It’s also rich in polysaccharides, which are natural sugars that help hydrate the skin by acting like the skin’s own moisturizing agents. These, along with other sugars like monosaccharides, help form a protective barrier that locks in moisture.
Aloe works as both a humectant and an emollient. That means it draws water into the skin (humectant) and helps trap it there (emollient), making it an effective natural moisturizer.
You’ll also find a mix of other skin-supporting ingredients in aloe, including folic acid, choline, calcium, amino acids, fatty acids, and even Vitamin B12.
Out of the 420+ species of aloe, Aloe barbadensis is the most widely used in skincare products thanks to its gentle yet effective properties.
There are over 420 species of aloe but Aloe Barbadensis is the most commonly used for topical products.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf ExtractCitric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.
Like other AHAs, citric acid can exfoliate skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.
However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.
Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.
In skincare formulas, citric acid can:
While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.
Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Citric AcidCocamidopropyl 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 BetaineGlycerin (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 GlycerinLauryl Glucoside sugar- and lipid-based cleansing agent. It is created from glucose and lauryl alcohol.
This ingredient is a surfactant, making it easier to rinse oil, dirt, and other pollutants away.
A British study found lauryl glucoside to cause skin sensitivity for some people. We recommend speaking with a professional if you have concerns.
Other names for this ingredient include "Lauryl Polyglucose", "Lauryl glycoside", and "D-Glucopyranoside".
Learn more about Lauryl GlucosideSodium Benzoate is a preservative. It's used in both cosmetic and food products to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria. It is typically produced synthetically.
Both the US FDA and EU Health Committee have approved the use of sodium benzoate. In the US, levels of 0.1% (of the total product) are allowed.
Sodium benzoate works as a preservative by inhibiting the growth of bacteria inside of cells. It prevents the cell from fermenting a type of sugar using an enzyme called phosphofructokinase.
It is the salt of benzoic acid. Foods containing sodium benzoate include soda, salad dressings, condiments, fruit juices, wines, and snack foods.
Studies for using ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate in cosmetics are lacking, especially in skincare routines with multiple steps.
We always recommend speaking with a professional, such as a dermatologist, if you have any concerns.
Learn more about Sodium BenzoateChances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideTocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
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.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
Learn more about TocopherolWater. 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
