What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Betaine
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Sodium Phytate
Disodium EDTA
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Arginine
Masking
Xylitylglucoside
Humectant
Anhydroxylitol
Humectant
Xylitol
Humectant
Glucose
Humectant
Fructose
Humectant
Glutamic Acid
Humectant
Alanine
Masking
Olea Europaea Leaf Extract
Perfuming
Panax Ginseng Extract
Antioxidant
Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract
Emollient
Citric Acid
Buffering
Dextrin
AbsorbentSucrose
Humectant
Urea
Buffering
Aspartic Acid
Masking
Hexyl Nicotinate
EmollientLactic Acid
Buffering
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Hexylene Glycol
EmulsifyingPotassium Sorbate
Preservative
Water, Pentylene Glycol, Betaine, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sodium PCA, Sodium Phytate, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Hyaluronate, Arginine, Xylitylglucoside, Anhydroxylitol, Xylitol, Glucose, Fructose, Glutamic Acid, Alanine, Olea Europaea Leaf Extract, Panax Ginseng Extract, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Citric Acid, Dextrin, Sucrose, Urea, Aspartic Acid, Hexyl Nicotinate, Lactic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Hexylene Glycol, Potassium Sorbate
Panax Ginseng Root Water
Masking
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Niacinamide
Smoothing
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Water
Skin ConditioningHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Glyceryl Glucoside
Humectant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPanthenol
Skin Conditioning
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Humectant
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Adenosine
Skin Conditioning
Panax Ginseng Callus Culture Extract
Skin ConditioningTheobroma Cacao Extract
Skin ConditioningDextrin
AbsorbentGlucose
Humectant
Panax Ginseng Root Extract
Emollient
Panax Ginseng Berry Extract
Skin Conditioning
Lactobacillus/Panax Ginseng Root Extract Ferment Filtrate
Skin ConditioningSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningDisodium EDTA
Panax Ginseng Root Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Propanediol, Niacinamide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Water, Hydroxyacetophenone, Glyceryl Glucoside, Xanthan Gum, Panthenol, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Allantoin, Adenosine, Panax Ginseng Callus Culture Extract, Theobroma Cacao Extract, Dextrin, Glucose, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Panax Ginseng Berry Extract, Lactobacillus/Panax Ginseng Root Extract Ferment Filtrate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium 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.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolDextrin is a starch-derived polysaccharide. It's made by partially breaking down corn, potato, or other plant starches.
Think of it as "half-processed" starch; it's less complex than the original but not fully broken down into sugar like maltodextrin.
In cosmetics, it mainly functions as a bulking agent, viscosity controller, binder, and absorbent. It helps thicken products, stabilize powders, and get certain textures a less "wet" feel.
This ingredient has a pretty solid safety profile; it's recognized as a safe food additive and its large molecular size means it doesn't meaningfully penetrate skin.
Human repeat insult patch tests using a rinse-off facial product containing 42.69% dextrin found no skin irritation or sensitization in 54 subjects.
Typical real-world usage is much lower: usually under 1% as a texture modifier and up to 40% in masks (rinse off products use less).
Learn more about DextrinDisodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlucose is a simple sugar (a monosaccharide). In skincare, it is mostly a humectant and skin conditioning agent.
Mechanistically, it has multiple hydroxyl groups that hydrogen-bond to water. This pulls moisture into the upper layers of skin to keep the surface soft and hydrated.
It's worth knowing sugars are already a natural component of the skin's NMF (natural moisturizing factor) so it's a molecule that your stratum corneum is well-acquainted with.
Just so you know, glucose is hydrophilic (water-loving) and the stratum corneum is a strong barrier to hydrophilic compounds. This just means penetration is slow and most of the action is happening on the surface.
Gram-to-gram, glucose is not as efficient as a humectant as glycerin. This is why you'll likely see glycose paired with stronger humectants for a bigger hydration payoff.
In skincare, glucose is typically derived from corn or other starch sources.
Learn more about GlucoseGlycerin (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 GlycerinSodium Hyaluronate is the salt form of hyaluronic acid. It is a long sugar chain that is naturally found in your skin, joints, and connective tissue that maintains hydration and elasticity.
In skincare, it works as a humectant. It pulls water from the environment and deeper layers of skin and binds it to the surface.
Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.
You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium HyaluronateWater. 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
