What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin ConditioningSesamum Indicum Seed Oil
EmollientCetearyl Alcohol
EmollientGlycerin
HumectantCeteareth-20
CleansingCetyl Alcohol
EmollientRosa Canina Fruit Oil
EmollientOenothera Biennis Oil
EmollientBorago Officinalis Seed Oil
EmollientTocopherol
AntioxidantCucumis Sativus Fruit Extract
EmollientArctium Lappa Root Extract
Skin ConditioningUrtica Dioica Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCitric Acid
BufferingPhenoxyethanol
PreservativeBenzyl Alcohol
PerfumingWater, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Ceteareth-20, Cetyl Alcohol, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Oenothera Biennis Oil, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Arctium Lappa Root Extract, Urtica Dioica Leaf Extract, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol
Water
Skin ConditioningShea Butter Ethyl Esters
EmollientGlycerin
HumectantAloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
EmollientAlbizia Julibrissin Bark Extract
MaskingDarutoside
Skin ConditioningAlcohol Denat.
AntimicrobialTerminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract
AntioxidantSodium Hyaluronate
HumectantHydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate
HumectantAscophyllum Nodosum Extract
Skin ConditioningAsparagopsis Armata Extract
Skin ProtectingTocopherol
AntioxidantBenzyl Alcohol
PerfumingDehydroacetic Acid
PreservativeSodium Hydroxide
BufferingWater, Shea Butter Ethyl Esters, Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Albizia Julibrissin Bark Extract, Darutoside, Alcohol Denat., Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract, Asparagopsis Armata Extract, Tocopherol, Benzyl Alcohol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Benzyl Alcohol is most commonly used as a preservative. It also has a subtle, sweet smell. Small amounts of Benzyl Alcohol is not irritating and safe to use in skincare products. Most Benzyl Alcohol is derived from fruits such as apricots.
Benzyl Alcohol has both antibacterial and antioxidant properties. These properties help lengthen the shelf life of products. Benzyl Alcohol is a solvent and helps dissolve other ingredients. It can also improve the texture and spreadability.
Alcohol comes in many different forms. Different types of alcohol will have different effects on skin. This ingredient is an astringent alcohol.
Using high concentrations of these alcohols are drying on the skin. They may strip away your skin's natural oils and even damage your skin barrier. Astringent alcohols may also irritate skin.
Other types of astringent alcohols include:
According to the National Rosacea Society based in the US, you should be mindful of products with these alcohols in the top half of ingredients.
Any type of sanitizing product will have high amounts of alcohol to help kill bacteria and viruses.
Learn more about Benzyl AlcoholGlycerin (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 GlycerinTocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.
Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skinâs lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.
Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.
You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.
There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.
Learn more about TocopherolWater. 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