What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
No key ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningDihydroxyacetone
Skin ConditioningAlcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Glycerin
Humectant
Erythrulose
TanningRubus Idaeus Seed Oil
Emollient
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Caramel
Cosmetic ColorantTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPolysorbate 80
Emulsifying
Parfum
Masking
Limonene
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Hexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Benzyl Salicylate
Perfuming
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingBenzoic Acid
Masking
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Water, Dihydroxyacetone, Alcohol Denat., Glycerin, Erythrulose, Rubus Idaeus Seed Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Caramel, Tocopheryl Acetate, Xanthan Gum, Polysorbate 80, Parfum, Limonene, Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Salicylate, Sodium Hydroxide, Benzoic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, Phenoxyethanol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Alcohol Denat. is an alcohol with a denaturant property. It is created by mixing ethanol with other additives.
The "denat" part just means "denatured"; common denaturants include Denatonium Benzoate, t-butyl alcohol, and Diethyl Phthalate. This step makes the alcohol undrinkable (and lets brand skip taxes related to beverage alcohol).
This ingredient gets a bad rep because it is irritating and drying due to its astringent property. Astringents draw out natural oils in tissue to constrict pores and dry out your skin.
However, alcohol denat. is not all that bad.
Due to its low molecular weight, alcohol denat. tends to evaporate quickly. One study on pig skin found half of applied alcohol evaporated in 10 seconds and less than 3% stayed on skin.
This also helps other ingredients become better absorbed upon application.
Studies are conflicted about whether this ingredient causes skin dehydration. One study from 2005 found adding emollients to propanol-based sanitizer decreased skin dryness and irritation. Another study found irritation only occurs if your skin is already damaged.
Small amounts of alcohol are generally tolerated by oily skin or people who live in humid environments.
The rule of thumb is this ingredient will probably not affect your skin much if it is near the end of an ingredients list.
One thing to note:
People with ALDH2 (aldehyde dehydrogenase 2) deficiency may experience skin irritation from continued alcohol use. About 8% of the world's population have this deficiency.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has determined denatured alcohols to be safe for use in concentrations between 0.05% and 12% (depending on which denaturant is used).
Also...
This ingredient has antimicrobial and solvent properties.
The antimicrobial property helps preserve products and increase their shelf life. As a solvent, it helps dissolve other ingredients.
Look for formulas that contain glycerin, hyaluronic acid, or panthenol if you want to offset any drying effect.
This ingredient will trip away your skin's natural oils/lipids that help it lock in moisture. This can worsen dryness, trigger eczema flare-ups, and aggravate rosacea.
Be sure to patch test any product with this ingredient if you have dry or sensitive skin, eczema, or rosacea.
Learn more about Alcohol Denat.Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is the filtered, stabilized liquid pressed from the inner gel of the aloe vera leaf.
In cosmetics, it shows up as either soothing active or a water-replacement base. It is roughly 98-99% water and the last 1-2% is an interesting mix of polysaccharides, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.
The polysaccharides do most of the work: they bind water at the skin surface for a light, non-greasy hydration boost. And one of the polysaccharides, glycomannan, is linked to fibroblast stimulation + collagen synthesis. This is also why aloe has such a long track record in wound and burn healing.
This ingredient is also calming with anti-inflammatory and mild antimicrobial activity, making it a great pick for sensitive, irritated, or post-sun skin.
Realistic expectations matter though; the solid evidence is mostly limited to hydration, soothing, and wound support. Deeper claims about anti-aging or sun protection are not well backed, and science reviews note it does not prevent radiation-induced skin injury.
Because it plays well with almost everything, it's commonly used as a base alongside other actives like niacinamide or vitamin C.
Typical usage concentrations range from 0.5% (where hydration benefits already show up) all the way to 90%+ (where it replaces water as the main base).
The safety for this ingredient is well-establish as well. Overall, this is a great supporting ingredient for those who want a boost in hydration.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceBenzoic Acid is an organic acid that shows up in cosmetics as a preservative. It helps keep a product from spoiling by holding back the growth of yeast, mold, and some bacteria.
This ingredient also functions as a fragrance ingredient that helps mask the unpleasant scent of other ingredients.
The way it works is worth understanding; benzoic acid works when the formula is acidic. It is able to sneak into a microbe's cell and mess up how it functions to stop it from growing in an acidic product.
However, the acid switches to an inactive form and stops working if a product isn't acidic enough (above ~5 pH). This is why you'll often see it in low pH products or teamed up with other preservatives to cover the gap.
Safety wise, it's one of the better studied preservatives out there.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 5%.
A large international review found this ingredient had no effects on the human body and had low irritation potential.
Just so you know, real world use is usually much lower than the 5% ceiling (usually 1% of less).
The EU caps it at 2.5% in rinse-off products, 1.7% in oral care, and 0.5% in leave-on products.
One thing worth mentioning (it's nothing to worry about): some people get a little stinging or flushing where they apply it. This isn't a true allergy; it's a temporary and harmless reaction. This is the same kind of mild tingle you might notice from sorbic acid.
Learn more about Benzoic AcidWe don't have a description for Caramel yet.
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 AcidDihydroxyacetone, or DHA, is the active ingredient in self-tanners.
It's a simply sugar that reacts with the free amino acids in your outermost layer of skin to produce brown-colored compounds called melanoidins.
DHA does not penetrate living skin cells, does not interact with melanocytes, and does not affect actualy melanin production.
There's a "safety controversy" that largely stems from misinterpreted studies:
Once concern is that DHA can generate unstable molecules that can damage cells (free radicals) when exposed to sunlight. This only happens in the outermost layer of dead skin cells and wearing SPF on top takes care of it.
The DNA damage claim comes from lab studies that doused living skin cells in much higher concentrations of DHA than you'd ever find in a self-tanner. That's not really a meaningful comparison to putting self-tanning lotion on your skin.
Regulatory bodies around the world, including the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) and the U.S. FDA consider it safe for use in cosmetics when applied topically (maximum 10%, and most self-tanners contain between 3-5%).
Learn more about DihydroxyacetoneWe don't have a description for Erythrulose yet.
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 GlycerinPhenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).
It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.
On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.
Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).
You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.
Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.
Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.
Learn more about PhenoxyethanolWater. 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 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
