What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Tretinoin
Skin Conditioning
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
BHA
Antioxidant
BHT
Antioxidant
Cyclopentasiloxane
Emollient
Trimethylsiloxysilicate
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Methylparaben
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Dimethicone Crosspolymer
Emulsion Stabilising
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cetearyl Glucoside
Emulsifying
Ectoin
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingPolysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Water
Skin ConditioningTretinoin, Cetyl Alcohol, BHA, BHT, Cyclopentasiloxane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Glycerin, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Pentylene Glycol, Octyldodecanol, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Ectoin, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Polysorbate 60, Water
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Ascorbic Acid
Antioxidant
PPG-7/Succinic Acid Copolymer
Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vinyl Formamide Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingImidazolidinyl Urea
Preservative
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Disodium EDTA
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
PPG-14 Butyl Ether
Skin ConditioningBHT
Antioxidant
Decyl Oleate
Emollient
Oleth-10 Phosphate
SurfactantDicetyl Phosphate
EmulsifyingMethylparaben
Preservative
Ethylparaben
Preservative
Propylparaben
Preservative
Butylparaben
Masking
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Dimethiconol
Emollient
Cyclopentasiloxane
Emollient
Cyclomethicone
Emollient
Parfum
Masking
Water
Skin ConditioningNiacinamide, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbic Acid, PPG-7/Succinic Acid Copolymer, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vinyl Formamide Copolymer, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Propylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Cetearyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 60, Paraffinum Liquidum, PPG-14 Butyl Ether, BHT, Decyl Oleate, Oleth-10 Phosphate, Dicetyl Phosphate, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethiconol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclomethicone, Parfum, Water
Alternatives
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
BHT is a synthetic antioxidant and preservative.
As an antioxidant, it helps your body fight off free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells.
As a preservative, it is used to stabilize products and prevent them from degrading. Specifically, BHT prevents degradation from oxidation.
The concerns related to BHT come from oral studies; this ingredient is currently allowed for use by both the FDA and EU.
However, it was recently restricted for use in the UK as of April 2024.
Learn more about BHTCetearyl 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 AlcoholCyclopentasiloxane (D5) is a lightweight silicone that mostly acts as an emollient and solvent in cosmetics. Its the reason your products feel silky, fast-spreading, and non-greasy.
Since D5 is volatile, it does its thing and then evaporates off the skin quickly.
The safety profile of this ingredient is reassuring; the US CIR Expert Panel concluded D5 is safe as used in cosmetics and Health Canada concluded that D5 is not harmful to human health or the environment as currently used in cosmetics
There's a study that people mention about D5 in a rat study showing tumors. This study is related to long-term inhalation of high D5 levels.
Regulatory bodies have judged this study to be not applicable in topical skincare since skin absorption of D5 is very low and we're not really inhaling huge amounts of D5.
The only restriction for this ingredient is environmental. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) restricted D5 in wash-off cosmetics at or above 0.1% due to their persistence in water.
Learn more about CyclopentasiloxaneMethylparaben is a synthetic preservative and one of the most widely used in the world. It has a simple, but important job: prevent your products from going bad by stopping bacteria, yeast, and mold from growing.
Typical use levels are low, often 0.1-0.3%.
This is also one of the most heavily studied preservatives out there and major regulatory bodies have repeatedly given it the green light.
In 2023, the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) confirmed that this ingredient is safe up to 0.4% on its own, of up to 0.8% when mixed with other paraben esters.
Here's the science behind the noise behind parabens/hormones as well:
Methylparaben shows very weak estrogen-like activity in vitro tests (more than 1,000x weaker than your body's own estradiol). In vivo (live-organism) studies don't support a meaningful endocrine-disrupting effect either.
You get a stronger estrogenic effect from eating tofu, actually.
It's also a low sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon; they usually happen on damage or broken skin.
There is a caveat: France has proposed to formally re-examine its endocrine classification in 2025 so the regulatory conversation isn't fully closed as of yet.
But as it stands today, this ingredient is considered safe at permitted levels.
Learn more about MethylparabenPolysorbate 60 is used to help stabilize products. It is a surfactant and emulsifier. These properties help keep ingredients together in a product. Surfactants help reduce surface tension between ingredients with different states, such as liquids and solids. Emulsifiers help prevent oils and waters from separating.
Polysorbate 60 is sorbitol-based and created from the ethoxylation of sorbitan. Ethoxylation is a chemical reaction used to add ethylene oxide. Sorbitan is a the dehydrated version of sorbitol, a sugar found in fruits.
In this case, the 60 comes from reacting 60 units of ethylene oxide with sorbitan.
Polysorbates are commonly used in medicine and foods.
Learn more about Polysorbate 60Propylparaben is a preservative and one of the most widely used members of the paraben family (it's been used in cosmetics for over a century now).
It works by disrupting microbial cell membranes and enzymes, and is a broad-spectrum protector that works exceptionally well against molds, yeasts, and gram-positive bacteria.
You'll likely see it paired with methylparaben to cover the full range (including gram-negative bacteria).
This ingredient is effective at low concentrations (~0.2-0.5%) and stable across a wide pH range (4.5-7.5 pH). It's effectiveness drops off above pH 8 and it can lose potency when combined with non-ionic surfactants like polysorbate 80 due to micellization.
The regulatory bodies have concluded this ingredient to be safe as used in cosmetics. The EU has capped it at 0.14% and combined parabens are not to exceed 0.8%.
While parabens do cross the stratum corneum, only about 1% remains for absorption into the body. This is because most of it is metabolized within living skin.
Learn more about PropylparabenWater. 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
