What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingPolysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Potassium Cocoate
Emulsifying
PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
Emulsifying
Avena Sativa Kernel Extract
Abrasive
Camellia Sinensis Extract
Antioxidant
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingPanthenol
Skin Conditioning
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Lauryl Glucoside
CleansingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingHydroxypropyl Methylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Benzotriazolyl Butylphenol Sulfonate
UV AbsorberButeth-3
SolventTributyl Citrate
SolventTetrasodium EDTA
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
CI 16035
Cosmetic ColorantCI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Polysorbate 20, Potassium Cocoate, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract, Camellia Sinensis Extract, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Chloride, Panthenol, Allantoin, Lauryl Glucoside, Xanthan Gum, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Sodium Benzotriazolyl Butylphenol Sulfonate, Buteth-3, Tributyl Citrate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, CI 16035, CI 19140
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Acrylates Copolymer
Sodium Cocoamphoacetate
CleansingCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate
Cleansing
Sodium Chloride
MaskingSpirulina Platensis Extract
Skin ProtectingPropanediol
Solvent
Hamamelis Virginiana Leaf Extract
Skin Conditioning
Glycolic Acid
Buffering
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCoconut Acid
Cleansing
Sodium Cocoate
Cleansing
Tetrasodium EDTA
Caprylhydroxamic Acid
Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Sodium Chloride, Spirulina Platensis Extract, Propanediol, Hamamelis Virginiana Leaf Extract, Glycolic Acid, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Hydroxide, Xanthan Gum, Coconut Acid, Sodium Cocoate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Caprylhydroxamic Acid
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineGlycerin (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 GlycerinChances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideTetrasodium EDTA is the salt formed from neutralizing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid with sodium hydroxide. It is a chelating agent and used to prevent metal ions from binding to other ingredients. This helps keep the product and ingredients stable.
Tetrasodium EDTA comes as a white solid and is soluble in water.
Water. 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
