What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Sodium Bicarbonate
Abrasive
Magnesium Oxide
AbsorbentGlycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Cetyl Esters
Emollient
Silica
Abrasive
Oleth-20
CleansingWater
Skin ConditioningLactobacillus/Pumpkin Fruit Ferment Filtrate
Skin ConditioningLactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract
Antioxidant
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate
EmulsifyingVitis Vinifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Hydroxycitronellal
Perfuming
Limonene
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Parfum
Masking
Butylene Glycol, Sodium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Oxide, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Cetyl Esters, Silica, Oleth-20, Water, Lactobacillus/Pumpkin Fruit Ferment Filtrate, Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Hydroxycitronellal, Limonene, Linalool, Parfum
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Sodium Bicarbonate
Abrasive
PEG-8
HumectantMagnesium Oxide
AbsorbentGlycerin
Humectant
Oleth-20
CleansingTrihydroxystearin
Skin Conditioning
Silica
Abrasive
PEG-100 Stearate
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Lactobacillus/Pumpkin Ferment Extract
Skin ConditioningLactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract
Antioxidant
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Lactobacillus Ferment
Skin Conditioning
Water
Skin ConditioningRetinyl Palmitate
Skin Conditioning
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Alaria Esculenta Extract
Skin ProtectingButylene Glycol, Sodium Bicarbonate, PEG-8, Magnesium Oxide, Glycerin, Oleth-20, Trihydroxystearin, Silica, PEG-100 Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Lactobacillus/Pumpkin Ferment Extract, Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Lactobacillus Ferment, Water, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Alaria Esculenta Extract
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 GlycolGlycerin (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 one is the fancy name for pomegranate enzyme. It is created by fermenting pomegranate (Punica Granatum) with Lactobacillus bacteria.
The fermentation step breaks down the fruit's bound polyphenols into smaller, more skin-available forms. Most notably, Punicalagin gets converted into Ellagic Acid.
What you end up with is a water-loving ingredient packed with plant antioxidants and a gentle skin-dissolving enzyme that works in two ways:
1) it fights daily damage from things like pollution and UV
2) it lightly loosens dead skin cells on the surface for a smoother, brighter look.
The antioxidant side is the better studied half. Pomegranate's natural compounds help neutralize unstable molecules that damage skin cells and lab studies on skin cells show they can also help calm inflammation.
Exfoliation from this ingredient is soft; it gently loosens dead skin cells on the surface. Even manufacturers admit it's not as strong as AHAs like glycolic acid.
A 2022 human trial on a fermented pomegranate serum reported improvements in moisture, brightness, elasticity, spots, and collagen density after 4-8 weeks.
This ingredient is recommended to be used at 1-3% by suppliers. Since the Lactobacillus is a fermenting organism rather than live culture in a final product, there's no known fungal acne concern.
Just be sure to patch test or avoid if you have known pomegranate allergies.
Learn more about Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment ExtractLeuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate is a natural preservative. It comes from fermenting radish roots with a bacteria called leuconostoc. The trade name for this ingredient is Leucidal.
Leuconostoc comes from lactic acid.
This ingredient has antimicrobial properties and helps prevent the growth of bacteria in a product.
Leuconostoc is used to make the traditional Korean side-dish, kimchi. It is also used to make sourdough bread (both incredibly yummy foods).
Learn more about Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment FiltrateWe don't have a description for Magnesium Oxide yet.
Oleth-20 comes from oleyl alcohol. It is an emulsifier that helps reduce surface tension of dirt and pollutants to be washed away.
The 20 stands for the average number of ethylene oxide units.
Silica, also known as silicon dioxide, is a naturally occurring mineral. It is used as a fine, spherical, and porous powder in cosmetics.
Though it has exfoliant properties, the function of silica varies depending on the product.
The unique structure of silica enhances the spreadability and adds smoothness, making it a great texture enhancer.
It is also used as an active carrier, emulsifier, and mattifier due to its ability to absorb excess oil.
In some products, tiny microneedles called spicules are made from silica or hydrolyzed sponge. When you rub them in, they lightly polish away dead skin layers and enhance the penetration of active ingredients.
Learn more about SilicaSodium Bicarbonate has a more famous name: Baking soda.
In cosmetics, it is used to adjust the acidity. Due to its white crystalline solid form, it can also be an abrasive (exfoliator).
This ingredient is water-soluble.
Learn more about Sodium BicarbonateWater. 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
