What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
HumectantButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin ConditioningCetearyl Alcohol
EmollientCocos Nucifera Oil
MaskingAmodimethicone
Brassicamidopropyl Dimethylamine
Skin ConditioningOlea Europaea Fruit Oil
MaskingHydrolyzed Theobroma Cacao Seed Meal
Skin ConditioningPrunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin ConditioningTriticum Vulgare Germ Oil
EmollientPEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
EmulsifyingCeteareth-20
CleansingAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin ConditioningHydrolyzed Soy Protein
HumectantPanthenol
Skin ConditioningAspartic Acid
MaskingParfum
MaskingCyclopentasiloxane
EmollientIodopropynyl Butylcarbamate
PreservativeDMDM Hydantoin
PreservativeBenzophenone-3
UV AbsorberTocopheryl Acetate
AntioxidantTetrasodium EDTA
Simethicone
EmollientBHT
AntioxidantWater, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Amodimethicone, Brassicamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Hydrolyzed Theobroma Cacao Seed Meal, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Ceteareth-20, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Panthenol, Aspartic Acid, Parfum, Cyclopentasiloxane, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, DMDM Hydantoin, Benzophenone-3, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Simethicone, BHT
Water
Skin ConditioningCetearyl Alcohol
EmollientGlycerin
HumectantSimmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
EmollientIsododecane
EmollientC13-15 Alkane
SolventStearamidopropyl Dimethylamine
EmulsifyingDimethiconol
EmollientAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin ConditioningParfum
MaskingHoney
HumectantGlutamic Acid
HumectantHydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Skin ConditioningCaprylyl Methicone
Skin ConditioningGlyceryl Caprylate
EmollientPolysorbate 60
EmulsifyingCaprylhydroxamic Acid
Disodium EDTA
BHT
AntioxidantPotassium Sorbate
PreservativeSodium Benzoate
MaskingBenzyl Alcohol
PerfumingCoumarin
PerfumingLinalool
PerfumingBenzyl Salicylate
PerfumingWater, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Isododecane, C13-15 Alkane, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Dimethiconol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Parfum, Honey, Glutamic Acid, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Caprylyl Methicone, Glyceryl Caprylate, Polysorbate 60, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Benzyl Alcohol, Coumarin, Linalool, Benzyl Salicylate
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.
Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.
It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceBHT 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.
Learn more about Cetearyl 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 GlycerinParfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.
Also called "fragrance", this ingredient can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.
For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.
The term 'parfum' or '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 by INCI standards.
One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.
The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Learn more about ParfumWater. 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