What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Coco-Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCharcoal Powder
Abrasive
Salicylic Acid
Masking
Cocamidopropyl Dimethylamine
Emulsifying
Levulinic Acid
Perfuming
Sodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningSodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningSodium Hydroxide
BufferingCitric Acid
Buffering
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Water
Skin ConditioningCoco-Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingAcrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Sodium Gluconate
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Coco-Betaine is the natural version of Cocamidopropyl Betaine. It is often derived from coconuts.
Coco-Betaine is a surfactant, meaning it helps remove dirt and oil from the skin.
Glycerin (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 GlycerinThis is the synthetic salt of gluconic acid, a form of PHA and mild exfoliant.
It is mainly used to stabilize oil and butter formulations from going bad. Sodium gluconate is a humectant, pH regulator, and chelating agent.
Chelating agents help neutralize unwanted metals from affecting the formulation.
Sodium gluconate is water-soluble.
Learn more about Sodium GluconateSodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.
Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.
"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.
Learn more about Sodium HydroxideWater. 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
