What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Phytate
Citric Acid
Buffering
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingHyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 Diaminobutyroyl Hydroxythreonine
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 Diaminohydroxybutyrate
Skin Conditioning
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Polysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Disodium Phosphate
BufferingSodium Phosphate
BufferingPalmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Propanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Sodium Phytate, Citric Acid, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Carbomer, Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Lactate, Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 Diaminobutyroyl Hydroxythreonine, Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 Diaminohydroxybutyrate, Polysorbate 20, Polysorbate 60, Disodium Phosphate, Sodium Phosphate, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingCarnosine
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningChlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingDisodium EDTA
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Hydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Ceramide NP
Skin Conditioning
Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate
Skin Conditioning
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Sucrose Stearate
EmollientPhytosphingosine
Skin Conditioning
Cholesterol
Emollient
Phospholipids
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide Ns
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide Ng
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide As
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide EOP
Skin Conditioning
Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Carbomer, Carnosine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Panthenol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Chlorphenesin, Allantoin, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Octyldodecanol, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Ceramide NP, Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sucrose Stearate, Phytosphingosine, Cholesterol, Phospholipids, Ceramide Ns, Ceramide Ng, Ceramide As, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Learn more about Butylene GlycolCarbomer is a high-molecular weight polymer of acrylic acid. It is used to form gels and thicken formulas.
Due to its large molecular size, carbomer has minimal skin penetration and is considered an inert ingredient.
A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.
Learn more about CarbomerGlycerin (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
