What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate
Cleansing
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Glycolate
BufferingOlea Europaea Leaf Extract
Perfuming
Glycolic Acid
Buffering
Hamamelis Virginiana Flower Water
AstringentAllantoin
Skin Conditioning
Echinacea Angustifolia Extract
MoisturisingCentipeda Cunninghamii Extract
Skin ConditioningCitrus Grandis Peel Oil
Masking
Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil
Masking
Fusanus Spicatus Wood Oil
Masking
Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil
Masking
Cedrus Atlantica Bark Oil
Masking
Passiflora Incarnata Extract
AstringentLinum Usitatissimum Seed Oil
Perfuming
Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningSaccharum Officinarum Extract
MoisturisingCitrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract
MaskingCitrus Medica Limonum Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningAcer Saccharum Extract
Skin ConditioningSalicylic Acid
Masking
Sodium Citrate
BufferingBenzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Water, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Xanthan Gum, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Sodium Glycolate, Olea Europaea Leaf Extract, Glycolic Acid, Hamamelis Virginiana Flower Water, Allantoin, Echinacea Angustifolia Extract, Centipeda Cunninghamii Extract, Citrus Grandis Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil, Fusanus Spicatus Wood Oil, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Cedrus Atlantica Bark Oil, Passiflora Incarnata Extract, Linum Usitatissimum Seed Oil, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Saccharum Officinarum Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum Fruit Extract, Acer Saccharum Extract, Salicylic Acid, Sodium Citrate, Benzyl Alcohol, Dehydroacetic Acid
Oryza Sativa Bran Water
Masking
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Emulsifying
Hamamelis Virginiana Flower Water
AstringentGlycerin
Humectant
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate
CleansingTheobroma Cacao Seed Butter
Emollient
Punica Granatum Fruit Extract
Antioxidant
Citrus Grandis Seed Extract
Astringent
Hyssopus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Skin Conditioning
Commiphora Myrrha Oil
Masking
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Citrus Grandis Peel Oil
Masking
Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil
Masking
Fusanus Spicatus Wood Oil
Masking
Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Citrus Medica Peel Oil
Cedrus Atlantica Bark Oil
Masking
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingDehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Citric Acid
Buffering
Oryza Sativa Bran Water, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Hamamelis Virginiana Flower Water, Glycerin, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter, Punica Granatum Fruit Extract, Citrus Grandis Seed Extract, Hyssopus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Commiphora Myrrha Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Citrus Grandis Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil, Fusanus Spicatus Wood Oil, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Citrus Medica Peel Oil, Cedrus Atlantica Bark Oil, Xanthan Gum, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Citric Acid
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 an aromatic alcohol with several roles: it's a preservative, solvent, and mild fragrance component with a floral scent.
This ingredient has been deemed safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 5%, and up to 10% in hair dyes. You'll typically see 0.5-2% in most rinse-off or leave-on products.
As a preservative, it works by disrupting the membrane of microbial proteins. This helps keep bacteria and fungi from growing in your products.
The sensitization picture is actually quite assuring as well:of nearly 71,000 patients patch tested with benzyl alcohol, only 0.21% showed a positive reaction with most of them being weakly positive.
This led researchers to conclude that benzyl alcohol cannot be regarded as a significant contact allergen.
It is worth noting this ingredient is classified as one of the EU's regulated fragrance allergens and restricted to 1% in finished products.
Labels must also declare it in concentrations above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.
At concentrations around 5%, localized redness and itching can appear as a direct irritant response and not as a true allergic reaction.
Learn more about Benzyl AlcoholThis ingredient comes from the bark of the Cedarwood tree.
Though this oil exhibits antibacterial and antioxidant activity, it is also contains skin-irritating fragrances such as limonene.
In 2023, it was listed as an EU known-allergen.
Learn more about Cedrus Atlantica Bark OilCitrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil is the oil from the bergamot orange and is primarily used as a fragrance. It has a "fresh" and "bright orange" scent.
The main aroma compounds found in this ingredient are limonene (~27-52%), linalool (~2-22%), and linalyl acetate (~27-40%). These are known EU fragrance allergens.
The term 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term. For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance.
When used topically, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil is a photosensitizer due to the furanocoumarin content. Furanocoumarins absorb UV-A and cause phytophotodermatitis; this can look like redness, blistering, and lasting brown pigmentation on sun-exposed skin.
Due to this, this ingredient is capped at 0.4% in leave-on products applied to sun exposed skin.
Many modern formulas used a "furanocoumarin-free" version that sidesteps the phototoxicity issue, but still contains the fragrance allergens.
Learn more about Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit OilCitrus Grandis Peel Oil is an essential oil that is derived from the peel of a Grapefruit. It is composed largely of limonene, which is a fragrance that can cause irritation for sensitive skin.
Dehydroacetic Acid is a synthetic preservative that keeps your products safe from microbes.
As an organic acid, it penetrates microbial cell walls and disrupts cellular metabolism. This makes it effective against bacteria, yeast, and mold.
It is effective at low concentrations (<0.6%). Clinical studies have found it to be non-irritating, non-sensitizing, and non-photosensitizing.
Learn more about Dehydroacetic AcidFusanus Spicatus Wood Oil is an oil.
Glycerin (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 GlycerinHamamelis Virginiana Flower Water is made used flower parts of the witch hazel plant. The witch hazel plant is native to eastern North America.
The name 'Hamamelis Virginiana Water' refers to the distillation while the name 'Witch Hazel' is used when it is an active drug ingredient. Unless it is specified to be non-alcohol, many types of witch hazel are distilled in denatured alcohol.
Read more about Witch Hazel Water here.
Learn more about Hamamelis Virginiana Flower WaterXanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.
On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.
Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.
Learn more about Xanthan Gum
