What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Biosaccharide Gum-1
Humectant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Arbutin
Antioxidant
Dipropylene Glycol
HumectantOctanediol
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Glutathione
Aminopropyl Ascorbyl Phosphate
Antioxidant
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Acetyl Tyrosine
Skin ConditioningSaxifraga Sarmentosa Extract
Skin ConditioningPaeonia Suffruticosa Seed Oil
Emollient
Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract
Astringent
Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid
Antioxidant
Oleanolic Acid
Skin ConditioningDipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Humectant
Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6
Emulsion StabilisingHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
PEG-60 Almond Glycerides
Emulsifying
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingCitric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Sulfite
Preservative
Water, Glycerin, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Niacinamide, Propylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Arbutin, Dipropylene Glycol, Octanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Glutathione, Aminopropyl Ascorbyl Phosphate, Panthenol, Acetyl Tyrosine, Saxifraga Sarmentosa Extract, Paeonia Suffruticosa Seed Oil, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid, Oleanolic Acid, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Hydroxyacetophenone, PEG-60 Almond Glycerides, Sodium Hyaluronate, Carbomer, Citric Acid, Sodium Sulfite
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 GlycerinWater. 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
