What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Kaolin
Abrasive
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant
Propanediol
Solvent
Coconut Acid
Cleansing
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Charcoal Powder
Abrasive
Sodium Astrocaryum Murumuruate
EmollientBrassica Oleracea Italica Extract
AstringentBioflavonoids
Skin ConditioningCitrus Grandis Peel Oil
Masking
Palmitic Acid
Emollient
Sodium Isethionate
CleansingAloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil
Antioxidant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Quartz
Abrasive
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCitric Acid
Buffering
O-Cymen-5-Ol
Antimicrobial
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6
Emulsion StabilisingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingDisodium EDTA
Citral
Perfuming
Limonene
Perfuming
CI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Glycerin, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Kaolin, Glyceryl Stearate Se, PEG-100 Stearate, Propanediol, Coconut Acid, Butylene Glycol, Charcoal Powder, Sodium Astrocaryum Murumuruate, Brassica Oleracea Italica Extract, Bioflavonoids, Citrus Grandis Peel Oil, Palmitic Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Tocopheryl Acetate, Myristic Acid, Quartz, Stearic Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Citric Acid, O-Cymen-5-Ol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 60, Pentylene Glycol, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Caprylyl Glycol, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Citral, Limonene, CI 77891
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil comes from the seeds of the safflower plant. It is a skin conditioning agent that helps soften skin and keep it hydrated.
This seed oil has an unusual fatty acid profile: it is one of the highest linoleic acid plant oils out there (~55-77%). It also has low amounts of oleic acid, and this high-linoleic/low-oleic ratio gets people excited.
Linoleic acid helps maintain skin barrier integrity and is a building block for the ceramides in your stratum corneum. Notably, people with acne tend to have lower linoleic acid in their skin lipids as well (and this gets worse as acne gets more severe).
Overall, it's a lightweight, fast-absorbing oil that has a long safety track record. Lab testing has found it to be non-irritating for skin or eyes.
The Malassezia yeast can metabolize the fatty acids in this oil to grow; therefore this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Carthamus Tinctorius Seed OilCetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholCitric 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 AcidGlycerin (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 GlycerinPeg-100 Stearate is an emollient and emulsifier. As an emollient, it helps keep skin soft by trapping moisture in. On the other hand, emulsifiers help prevent oil and water from separating in a product.
PEGS are a hydrophilic polyether compound . There are 100 ethylene oxide monomers in Peg-100 Stearate. Peg-100 Stearate is polyethylene glycol ester of stearic acid.
Propanediol is an all-star ingredient. It softens, hydrates, and smooths the skin.Â
It’s often used to:
Propanediol is not likely to cause sensitivity and considered safe to use. It is derived from corn or petroleum with a clear color and no scent.
Learn more about PropanediolStearic Acid is a fatty acid that is already found in your skin. It's one of the free fatty acids that works alongside ceramides and cholesterols to maintain your barrier.
In cosmetics, it is a multitasker:
Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.
Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Stearic AcidWater. 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
