What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Dimethicone
Emollient
Betaine
Humectant
Proline
Skin Conditioning
Threonine
Glycine
Buffering
Arginine
Masking
Serine
Masking
Alanine
Masking
Lysine Hcl
Skin Conditioning
PCA
Humectant
Sodium PCA
Humectant
Glutamic Acid
Humectant
Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Lactate
Buffering
Sodium Phytate
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingHydrogenated Polydecene
EmollientTrideceth-6
EmulsifyingSodium Polyacrylate
Absorbent
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Water, Glycerin, Propanediol, Dimethicone, Betaine, Proline, Threonine, Glycine, Arginine, Serine, Alanine, Lysine Hcl, PCA, Sodium PCA, Glutamic Acid, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Sodium Lactate, Sodium Phytate, Carbomer, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Trideceth-6, Sodium Polyacrylate, Tocopherol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol
Water
Skin ConditioningNiacinamide
Smoothing
Propanediol
Solvent
PEG-6
HumectantPEG/PPG/Polybutylene Glycol-8/5/3 Glycerin
HumectantGlycerin
Humectant
Methyl Gluceth-20
Humectant
PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Emulsifying
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Vitreoscilla Ferment
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Biosaccharide Gum-1
Humectant
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Water, Niacinamide, Propanediol, PEG-6, PEG/PPG/Polybutylene Glycol-8/5/3 Glycerin, Glycerin, Methyl Gluceth-20, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Carbomer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Citric Acid, Vitreoscilla Ferment, Caprylyl Glycol, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Maltodextrin, Butylene Glycol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Carbomer 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 GlycerinPropanediol 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 PropanediolTocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
Learn more about TocopherolWater. 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
