What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Cleansing
Mandelic Acid
Antimicrobial
Maltooligosyl Glucoside
Skin ConditioningHydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate
HumectantDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingSalicylic Acid
Masking
Glycolic Acid
Buffering
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glyceryl Oleate
Emollient
Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
Cleansing
PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
Emulsifying
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
DMDM Hydantoin
Preservative
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
Preservative
Methylisothiazolinone
Preservative
Water, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Mandelic Acid, Maltooligosyl Glucoside, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Hydroxide, Salicylic Acid, Glycolic Acid, Polysorbate 20, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Allantoin, DMDM Hydantoin, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone
Myristic Acid
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Water
Skin ConditioningPotassium Hydroxide
BufferingPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Lauric Acid
Cleansing
Glycol Distearate
Emollient
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Xylitol
Humectant
Glucose
Humectant
Anhydroxylitol
Humectant
Nopalea Cochenillifera Extract
Skin ConditioningKojic Dipalmitate
Emollient
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Polyquaternium-7
Titanium Dioxide
Cosmetic Colorant
Sodium Metabisulfite
Antioxidant
BHT
Antioxidant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate
Antioxidant
Disodium EDTA
Glyceryl Glucoside
Humectant
Alpha-Arbutin
Antioxidant
Myristic Acid, Glycerin, Water, Potassium Hydroxide, Propylene Glycol, Stearic Acid, Decyl Glucoside, Lauric Acid, Glycol Distearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Xylitol, Glucose, Anhydroxylitol, Nopalea Cochenillifera Extract, Kojic Dipalmitate, Niacinamide, Sodium PCA, Glyceryl Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Polyquaternium-7, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Metabisulfite, BHT, Tocopherol, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Disodium EDTA, Glyceryl Glucoside, 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.
Decyl Glucoside is a plant-derived surfactant and emulsion stabilizer. It is created by reacting glucose with the fatty acids from plants.
Like all surfactants, it works by lowering the surface tension between water and oil. This makes it so that dirt, sebum, and makeup can be lifted off your skin and rinsed away. It also produces a dense and creamy foam.
Because it has a neutral charge, it is compatible with a wide range of ingredients and stays stable across a broad pH range/water hardiness conditions.
Patch testing has shown it to have the lowest irritation potential among common cleansing surfactants (like SLS).
Typical use levels range from 5-20% in rinse-off cleansers.
One thing worth knowing: The American Contact Dermatitis Society named the parent family, alkyl glucosides, "Allergen of the Year" in 2017. The prevalence of allergy is pretty low but be sure to patch test if you've reacted to "gentle" or sulfate-free cleansers before.
This ingredient is fungal acne safe because the fatty alcohol portion of this ingredient is not within the C11-24 chain length that Malassezia can metabolize.
Learn more about Decyl GlucosideGlycerin (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 GlycerinPropylene Glycol is a synthetic, colorless, odorless liquid that has been a staple in cosmetics for decades. It is a skin conditioning agent, humectant, and solvent.
As a humectant, it draw water to the skin to reduce flaking and restore suppleness. It's also a solvent that helps dissolve other actives and keeps formulas stable across temperature changes.
The CIR Expert Panel has confirmed this ingredient to be nontoxic and clinical studies show no sensitization at cosmetic use concentrations.
True allergic reactions are quite rare: a 15-year retrospective study of 6,751 patients found only 0.31% had a positive reaction (and less than half were considered clinically relevant).
It seemed that when sensitization does occur, it's most commonly linked to topical medication (like corticosteroids) and not cosmetics. Allergic contact dermatitis also appears largely limited to individuals with underlying skin conditions.
Overall, propylene glycol is a well-studied ingredient that most people can tolerate without issue.
Learn more about Propylene GlycolWater. 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
