What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCoco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Peat
Skin ConditioningGlycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
Bleaching
PEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate
Cleansing
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Emulsifying
Disodium EDTA
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract
Antioxidant
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Water, Coco-Glucoside, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Peat, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, PEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Disodium EDTA, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Dehydroacetic Acid, Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract, Potassium Sorbate
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate
CleansingSodium Cocoamphoacetate
CleansingDecyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Coco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Curcuma Longa Root Extract
Masking
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Brassica Oleracea Capitata Leaf Extract
Skin ConditioningCitrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil
Masking
Chlorophyllin-Copper Complex
Antioxidant
Phytonadione Epoxide
AstringentTeprenone
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Citric Acid
Buffering
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningSodium Bicarbonate
Abrasive
Limonene
Perfuming
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Decyl Glucoside, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Coco-Glucoside, Curcuma Longa Root Extract, Benzyl Alcohol, Brassica Oleracea Capitata Leaf Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil, Chlorophyllin-Copper Complex, Phytonadione Epoxide, Teprenone, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Citric Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Bicarbonate, Limonene
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Benzyl Alcohol is an aromatic alcohol with several roles: it's a preservative, solvent, and mild fragrance component with a floral scent.
This ingredient has been deemed safe for use in cosmetic formulations at concentrations up to 5%, and up to 10% in hair dyes. You'll typically see 0.5-2% in most rinse-off or leave-on products.
As a preservative, it works by disrupting the membrane of microbial proteins. This helps keep bacteria and fungi from growing in your products.
The sensitization picture is actually quite assuring as well:of nearly 71,000 patients patch tested with benzyl alcohol, only 0.21% showed a positive reaction with most of them being weakly positive.
This led researchers to conclude that benzyl alcohol cannot be regarded as a significant contact allergen.
It is worth noting this ingredient is classified as one of the EU's regulated fragrance allergens and restricted to 1% in finished products.
Labels must also declare it in concentrations above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.
At concentrations around 5%, localized redness and itching can appear as a direct irritant response and not as a true allergic reaction.
Learn more about Benzyl AlcoholCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride (aka MCT Oil) is a lightweight emollient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It is considered a skin-softener by helping to prevent moisture loss.
Though it behaves like an oil, it is not technically one due to its chemical composition. One perk of this ingredient is that it is very stable, resistant to oxidation, and unlikely to go rancid.
In practice, that translates to a long shelf life and a consistently elegant skin feel.
While there is an assumption Caprylic Triglyceride can clog pores due to it being derived from coconut oil, there is no research supporting this. Just patch test if you have concerns.
Fractionated coconut oil and MCT Oil are both listed as Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride according to INCI. This is because INCI names are based on the ingredient’s final chemical composition and not its marketing name or source.
This ingredient is treated as the gold standard fungal acne safe oil. Even though it is coconut derived, the problematic lauric acid is stripped out.
This leaves just caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) acid. These chain lengths actually trend antifungal; a 2020 study found caprylic acid was enough to disrupt Malassezia furfur cell membrane, with a caprylic acid derivative damaging membrane structures at concentrations as low as 0.2%.
Learn more about Caprylic/Capric TriglycerideCoco-Glucoside is a surfactant, or a cleansing ingredient. It is made from glucose and coconut oil.
Surfactants help gather dirt, oil, and other pollutants from your skin to be rinsed away.
This ingredient is considered gentle and non-comedogenic. However, it may still be irritating for some.
Learn more about Coco-GlucosideDehydroacetic Acid is a synthetic preservative that keeps your products safe from microbes.
As an organic acid, it penetrates microbial cell walls and disrupts cellular metabolism. This makes it effective against bacteria, yeast, and mold.
It is effective at low concentrations (<0.6%). Clinical studies have found it to be non-irritating, non-sensitizing, and non-photosensitizing.
Learn more about Dehydroacetic AcidGlycerin (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
