What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium C16 Olefin Sulfonate
EmulsifyingCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Cocamide Mea
Emulsifying
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Salix Alba Bark Extract
Astringent
Hamamelis Virginiana Extract
Antiseborrhoeic
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glyceryl Oleate
Emollient
PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
Emulsifying
Sodium Chloride
MaskingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Triethylene Glycol
Masking
Disodium EDTA
Water, Sodium C16 Olefin Sulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Cocamide Mea, Sodium Lactate, Salicylic Acid, Salix Alba Bark Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana Extract, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Triethylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingAcrylates Copolymer
Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids
CleansingSodium PCA
Humectant
Betaine
Humectant
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba Gum
Emulsion StabilisingParfum
Masking
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Azadirachta Indica Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningLavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Disodium EDTA
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningMelaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil
Antioxidant
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Glycerin, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids, Sodium PCA, Betaine, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Polysorbate 20, Phenoxyethanol, Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba Gum, Parfum, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Azadirachta Indica Leaf Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Panthenol, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil
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 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 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 Water
