What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningPrunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Rosa Canina Seed Oil
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Oenothera Biennis Oil
Emollient
Cetearyl Olivate
Sorbitan Olivate
Emulsifying
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil
Emollient
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract
AntimicrobialTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingCitric Acid
Buffering
Parfum
Masking
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Citronellol
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Water, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Glycerin, Rosa Canina Seed Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Oenothera Biennis Oil, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Parfum, Benzyl Alcohol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Citronellol, Geraniol
Water
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil
Emollient
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Ceteareth-20
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
Rosa Canina Fruit Oil
Emollient
Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Persea Gratissima Oil
Skin Conditioning
Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Equisetum Arvense Extract
AstringentArctium Lappa Root Extract
Skin Conditioning
Urtica Dioica Extract
AstringentPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Citrus Tangerina Peel Oil
Masking
Citrus Nobilis Peel Oil
Masking
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract
Skin Conditioning
Linalool
Perfuming
Limonene
Perfuming
Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Glycerin, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil, Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil, Tocopherol, Equisetum Arvense Extract, Arctium Lappa Root Extract, Urtica Dioica Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Citrus Tangerina Peel Oil, Citrus Nobilis Peel Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Linalool, Limonene
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.
Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.
It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.
Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceBenzyl 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 AlcoholCetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.
Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.
It plays several roles in a formula:
Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.
Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.
However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.
Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.
Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.
Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.
This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.
A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholGlycerin (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 GlycerinJojoba oil is one of the most well-studied plant-derived ingredients in cosmetics. It is an emollient with a special structure.
Because it is made up of 97-98% wax esters, it closely mirrors the linear monoesters found in human sebum. This makes it skin compatible, non-greasy, and lightweight.
Unlike other plant oils, jojoba wax doesn't easily penetrate skin. It mostly works in the uppermost layers as an emollient. This just means it forms a light barrier on the skin to help retain moisture.
Formulations with jojoba esters up to 90% reduced transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and increased barrier recovery by 81% (outperforming bisabolol at 47%).
Besides barrier support, the science also suggests jojoba to have anti-inflammatory effects and potential applications for skin infections, aging, and wound healing.
Fun fact: Indigenous cultures have used jojoba as a moisturizer and to help treat burns for centuries.
Fungal acne: The Malassezia yeast is known to metabolize fatty acids in the C11-24 range and jojoba's dominant fatty acid components fall into this range. This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Simmondsia Chinensis Seed OilWater. 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
