What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAzelaic Acid
Buffering
Propanediol
Solvent
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Acacia Senegal Gum
MaskingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingAllantoin
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningPolysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Sorbitan Isostearate
Emulsifying
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingHydrolyzed Gardenia Florida Extract
Antioxidant
Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningPolylysine
Water, Azelaic Acid, Propanediol, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Acacia Senegal Gum, Xanthan Gum, Allantoin, Glycerin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Isostearate, Maltodextrin, Sodium Hydroxide, Hydrolyzed Gardenia Florida Extract, Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract, Polylysine
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Dicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientRetinyl Acetate
Skin Conditioning
Dimethicone
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Phospholipids
Skin Conditioning
Squalane
Emollient
Glycine Soja Oil
Emollient
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingPolysorbate 60
Emulsifying
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Glycolipids
Skin ConditioningSodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Phytate
Sorbitan Isostearate
Emulsifying
Glycine Soja Sterols
Emollient
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
Antioxidant
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Hyaluronic Acid
Humectant
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Polysorbate 20
Emulsifying
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Propanediol, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Retinyl Acetate, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Phospholipids, Squalane, Glycine Soja Oil, Carbomer, Polysorbate 60, Tocopheryl Acetate, Glycolipids, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Phytate, Sorbitan Isostearate, Glycine Soja Sterols, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Lactate, Tocopherol, Polysorbate 20, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 a synthetic polymer. It helps improve the texture of products by adding thickness and gel-like feel.
It is also an emulsifer, meaning it prevents ingredients such as oil and water from separating. It also helps evenly disperse other ingredients.
Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Polysorbate 60 is used to help stabilize products. It is a surfactant and emulsifier. These properties help keep ingredients together in a product. Surfactants help reduce surface tension between ingredients with different states, such as liquids and solids. Emulsifiers help prevent oils and waters from separating.
Polysorbate 60 is sorbitol-based and created from the ethoxylation of sorbitan. Ethoxylation is a chemical reaction used to add ethylene oxide. Sorbitan is a the dehydrated version of sorbitol, a sugar found in fruits.
In this case, the 60 comes from reacting 60 units of ethylene oxide with sorbitan.
Polysorbates are commonly used in medicine and foods.
Learn more about Polysorbate 60Propanediol is an all-star ingredient. It softens, hydrates, and smooths the skin.Â
It’s often used to:
Propanediol is not likely to cause sensitivity and considered safe to use. It is derived from corn or petroleum with a clear color and no scent.
Learn more about PropanediolSodium 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 HydroxideSorbitan Isostearate is an emulsifer. It is created from isostearic acid and sorbitol.
As an emulsifier, it keeps the water and oil ingredients from separating. This keeps formulas stable and smooth.
In a 24 hour occlusive patch test on 56 subjects, 10% sorbitan isostearate was completely non-irritating. Most formulas use less than 10%.
Because it's a fatty acid ester, it may not be fungal acne safe since the Malassezia yeast can utilize it as a nutrient source.
Learn more about Sorbitan IsostearateWater. 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
