What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Dimethicone
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialCetearyl Olivate
Sorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Oryza Sativa Bran Water
Masking
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Bacillus/Folic Acid Ferment Filtrate Extract
Antioxidant
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide Complex
Squalane
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningSodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningWater, Glycerin, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Dimethicone, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Carbomer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Oryza Sativa Bran Water, Butylene Glycol, Bacillus/Folic Acid Ferment Filtrate Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Ceramide Complex, Squalane, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Gluconate
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Betaine
Humectant
Isodecyl Neopentanoate
EmollientNiacinamide
Smoothing
Salix Alba Bark Extract
Astringent
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract
Antioxidant
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate
Emulsion StabilisingSqualane
Emollient
Cyclodextrin
AbsorbentGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Sorbitol
Humectant
Sodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningWater, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Betaine, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Niacinamide, Salix Alba Bark Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Benzyl Alcohol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Caprylyl Glycol, Glycerin, Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Squalane, Cyclodextrin, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Sorbitol, Sodium Gluconate
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (tea extract) is one of the most well-researched plant extracts in skincare with an impressive resume.
Black tea, green tea, and oolong tea are all harvested from the Camellia Sinensis plant.
Studies show green tea extract and its catechins (like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)) help your skin cells product energy more efficiently and reducing the number of free-radicals that can damage your skin from the inside.
In lab-grown skin models, this translated to younger, healthier, and stronger skin.
There's also good sun protection data; researchers saw less DNA damage and redness on human skin when green tea was applied before UVB exposure. And the more they applied, the better the protection.
Needless to say, this ingredient shouldn't replace your sunscreen. But it is a great supportive ingredient that you can already find in many sunscreens and antioxidant serums.
A 2009 study found a 2% green tea lotion was effective for mild-to-moderate acne thanks to its anti-inflammatory and mild antimicrobial activity.
The quality of the extract matters a lot here:
Good extracts contain 50-90% catechins while lower quality ones are mostly there for marketing. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the quality or source of their ingredients.
Human Repeated Insult Patch Testing showed no irritation or sensitization at use concentrations (0.86% in leave-on products and up to 30% as leaf water).
Learn more about Camellia Sinensis Leaf ExtractGlycerin (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 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 GluconateSodium 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 HyaluronateSqualane is the hydrogenated and shelf-stable form of squalene (a lipid that naturally occurs in human sebum).
It is an emollient and skin conditioning agent that is able to integrate seamlessly into the skin's lipid barrier without clogging pores.
This is due to how structurally similar it is to what your skin already produces.
Though it is mostly an emollient that helps soften and hydrate skin, it also has some humectant and occlusive action. Humectants help the skin retain moisture while occlusives seal it in, making squalane a triple-threat moisturizer.
Research shows it has antioxidant capabilities that help protect against stressors like UV exposure, specifically UVA induced oxidative stress. This study also found that it supports collagen biosynthesis in human dermal fibroblasts.
No clinical study has reported significant adverse effects and irritation reactions are very rare from this ingredient (even at 100% concentration).
Overall, it's a fantastic ingredient for hydration and is suitable for all skin types.
This depends on the source. Squalane can be derived from both plants and animals. Most squalane used in skincare comes from plants.
Please note: the source of squalane is only known if disclosed by the brand. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have any questions about their squalane.
Read more about squalene with an "e".
Though squalane is often called an oil, it’s technically not one. It is a hydrocarbon, meaning it is only made of carbon and hydrogen. True oils are triglycerides and made of fatty acids and glycerol.
The term “oil-free” isn’t regulated so companies can define it however they want. Some exclude all oils, while others just avoid mineral oil or comedogenic oils.
Squalane has a comedogenic rating of 1 from the original 1972 study that tested raw ingredients under occlusion on rabbit ears. This system is not standardized or peer-reviewed, and using the raw ingredients is very different from how diluted cosmetic formulations are used on human skin.
A comedogenic rating of 1 means it is "unlikely to clog pores" according to the original rating system.
The overall formula of a product matters more than the individual ingredients on whether or not it will cause clogged pores.
Learn more about SqualaneWater. 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
