What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningDisodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
CleansingCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingSodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Lauryl Glucoside
CleansingCocamide DEA
Emulsifying
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Glycolic Acid
Buffering
Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids
CleansingZinc
Antioxidant
PCA
Humectant
Saccharide Isomerate
Humectant
Olive Oil PEG-7 Esters
Emollient
Betaine
Humectant
Imidazolidinyl Urea
Preservative
Menthol
Masking
Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil
Antioxidant
Polyquaternium-7
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
PEG-150 Distearate
Emulsifying
Disodium EDTA
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
Preservative
Methylisothiazolinone
Preservative
Water, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Coco-Glucoside, Lauryl Glucoside, Cocamide DEA, Salicylic Acid, Glycolic Acid, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids, Zinc, PCA, Saccharide Isomerate, Olive Oil PEG-7 Esters, Betaine, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Menthol, Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil, Polyquaternium-7, Propylene Glycol, PEG-150 Distearate, Disodium EDTA, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingSodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingPEG-150 Distearate
Emulsifying
Kojic Dipalmitate
Emollient
Xylitol
Humectant
Glucose
Humectant
Anhydroxylitol
Humectant
Phoenix Dactylifera Fruit Extract
EmollientSodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids
CleansingDisodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingPotassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Saccharide Isomerate
Humectant
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningBenzophenone-4
UV Absorber
Disodium EDTA
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Emulsifying
Alpha-Arbutin
Antioxidant
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, PEG-150 Distearate, Kojic Dipalmitate, Xylitol, Glucose, Anhydroxylitol, Phoenix Dactylifera Fruit Extract, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Sodium Hydroxide, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Saccharide Isomerate, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Benzophenone-4, Disodium EDTA, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Alpha-Arbutin
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
This ingredient is a mild surfactant made by sticking glucose onto a blend of fatty acids.
It does two jobs because it has a sugar head that loves water and a fatty tail that loves oil:
Typical use levels range from 10-20% in cleansers and 15-30% in shower products.
Once on your skin, your skin's glucoside hydrolases breaks it down into glucose and the parent fatty alcohols.
This ingredient is considered fungal acne safe because its fatty alcohol portion sits outside the Malassezia yeast's metabolization range.
Learn more about Caprylyl/Capryl GlucosideCocamidopropyl 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 BetaineDisodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlycerin (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 GlycerinPEG-150 Distearate is a hardworking ingredient that is usually found at the end of a lot of cleansers whose main job is to act as a micellar thickening agent for surfactant-based cleansers.
It works by physically linking up surfactant micelles already in a formula to bump up viscosity and gives products a pourable-but-not-runny body.
Safety-wise, it's been found safe in cosmetics with minimal skin irritation and no evidence of toxicity.
This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe; it's a diester of stearic acid (C18) that falls into the C11-24 range that the Malassezia yeast feeds on. In vitro studies have also shown the Malassezia can metabolize PEG stearates by cleaving the ester bond to release the fatty acid.
Learn more about PEG-150 DistearateSaccharide Isomerate comes from sugars found in corn. It is a skin hydrator.
The structure of this ingredient can be altered to be more similar to the carbohydrates found in our skin. This ability to mimic our skin gives it hydrating properties.
Specifically, saccharide Isomerate is a humectant. Humectants draw moisture from the air to our skin.
Research shows Saccharide Isomerate to be an effective moisturizer.
Learn more about Saccharide IsomerateWe don't have a description for Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids yet.
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate is a gentle, coconut-derived cleansing surfactant. It's most commonly found in "sulfate-free" cleansers.
As a taurate, it belongs to a class of anionic surfactants prized for being efficient at cleansing without harshness, good performance in hard water, stability across a wide pH range, and easily biodegradable.
It is able to lift away oil and grime and make a nice lather without stripping your skin, so it's a good pick for sensitive skin.
Safety-wise, it has a good record. The CIR Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe in cosmetics and concentrations go up to 11% in leave-on products or 13% in rinse-off products.
Despite being derived from coconut oil, this ingredient is fungal acne safe. It's a water-soluble surfactant with no fatty oils or esters left intact on skin for the Malassezia yeast to feed.
Learn more about Sodium Methyl Cocoyl TaurateWater. 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
