What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningBehentrimonium Methosulfate
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil
Emollient
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Ricinus Communis Seed Oil
Masking
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter
Skin Conditioning
Honey
Humectant
Hypericum Perforatum Flower Extract
Skin ConditioningTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Propanediol
Solvent
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Disodium EDTA
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialParfum
Masking
Water, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Honey, Hypericum Perforatum Flower Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Panthenol, Propanediol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Parfum
Water
Skin ConditioningBehentrimonium Methosulfate
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Oryza Sativa Bran Oil
Emollient
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Ricinus Communis Seed Oil
Masking
Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil
Emollient
Sorbitol
Humectant
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Oryza Sativa
Milk
Skin Conditioning
Rosa Canina Fruit Oil
Emollient
Ceteareth-20
CleansingUlmus Fulva Bark Extract
MoisturisingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Diethyl Phthalate
Masking
Water, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Persea Gratissima Oil, Oryza Sativa Bran Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Sorbitol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Oryza Sativa, Milk, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Ceteareth-20, Ulmus Fulva Bark Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Diethyl Phthalate
Reviews
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 JuiceBehentrimonium Methosulfate is an ammonium salt. It is mainly used to prevent static in haircare products as a surfactant.
Surfactants have differing ends: one side is hydrophilic while the other end is hydrophobic.
Surfactants also help your cleansers remove pollutants more easily from the skin.
Learn more about Behentrimonium MethosulfateCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (tea extract) is one of the most well-researched plant extracts in skincare with an impressive resume.
Black tea, green tea, and oolong tea are all harvested from the Camellia Sinensis plant.
Studies show green tea extract and its catechins (like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)) help your skin cells product energy more efficiently and reducing the number of free-radicals that can damage your skin from the inside.
In lab-grown skin models, this translated to younger, healthier, and stronger skin.
There's also good sun protection data; researchers saw less DNA damage and redness on human skin when green tea was applied before UVB exposure. And the more they applied, the better the protection.
Needless to say, this ingredient shouldn't replace your sunscreen. But it is a great supportive ingredient that you can already find in many sunscreens and antioxidant serums.
A 2009 study found a 2% green tea lotion was effective for mild-to-moderate acne thanks to its anti-inflammatory and mild antimicrobial activity.
The quality of the extract matters a lot here:
Good extracts contain 50-90% catechins while lower quality ones are mostly there for marketing. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the quality or source of their ingredients.
Human Repeated Insult Patch Testing showed no irritation or sensitization at use concentrations (0.86% in leave-on products and up to 30% as leaf water).
Learn more about Camellia Sinensis Leaf ExtractCaprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.
Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.
Because it is not a free-fatty acid or alcohol, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).
Learn more about Caprylyl GlycolCetearyl 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 AlcoholPhenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Ricinus Communis Seed Oil is the INCI name for castor oil.
Castor Oil helps moisturize the skin. It is rich in a fatty acid called ricinoleic acid. This fatty acid helps prevent moisture loss on the skin. This helps keep your skin soft and hydrated. Ricinoleic acid also has anti-inflammatory and pain reducing properties.
Besides hydrating the skin, castor oil is also used to hydrate hair. By keeping the hair shaft moisturized, breakage is decreased. More studies are needed to show castor oil's effective on stimulating hair growth.
Castor oil is created by cold-pressing castor seeds and then purifying the oil with heat. It was used in Ancient Egypt as fuel in lamps and to help treat eye irritation.
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.
Learn more about Ricinus Communis Seed OilWater. 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
