What's inside

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

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Glycerin

Humectant
0 / 0 Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconGood for Scar Healing IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

Pvp

Emulsion Stabilising
0 / 0

Water

Skin Conditioning

Cellulose Acetate

Volcanic Sand

Skin Conditioning

Sodium Chloride

Masking

Lactococcus Ferment Lysate

Skin Conditioning
Helps reduce Skin Redness IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract

Antioxidant
Antioxidant IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconGood for Dark Spots Icon

Kaolin

Abrasive
0 / 0 Exfoliant IconHelps fight Acne IconGood for Oily Skin IconGood for Minimizing Pores Icon

Cichorium Intybus Root Extract

Masking

Rubus Idaeus Leaf Extract

Skin Conditioning

Silica

Abrasive
Exfoliant IconGood for Oily Skin IconGood for Minimizing Pores Icon

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Masking
Coconut Derived IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

Hamamelis Virginiana Bark/Leaf/Twig Extract

Skin Conditioning
Can worsen Dry Skin Icon

Bisabolol

Antioxidant
Antioxidant IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps reduce irritation IconHelps reduce Skin Redness IconGood for Scar Healing IconGood for Barrier Repair Icon

Lactic Acid

Buffering
AHA IconHelps with Anti-Aging IconHelps brighten skin IconGood for Oily Skin IconGood for Minimizing Pores IconGood for Scar Healing IconGood for Dark Spots IconGood for Skin Texture IconMay worsen Eczema IconMay worsen Rosacea Icon

Caprylyl Glycol

Emollient
Fatty Alcohol Icon

Salix Nigra Bark Extract

Skin Protecting

Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract

Skin Conditioning

Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract

Skin Conditioning

Corallina Officinalis Extract

Skin Conditioning
Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps reduce Skin Redness Icon

Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract

Skin Conditioning

Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Extract

Emulsion Stabilising
Fragrance Icon

Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate

Antimicrobial
Not safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Solanum Melongena Fruit Extract

Skin Conditioning

Citrus Grandis Peel Extract

Astringent
Fragrance Icon

Citrus Clementina Fruit Extract

Skin Conditioning

Citrus Limon Peel Extract

Emollient

Citrus Tangerina Peel Extract

Astringent

Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract

Emollient

Ananas Sativus Fruit Extract

Skin Conditioning

Zingiber Officinale Root Extract

Masking
Helps reduce irritation IconGood for Scar Healing Icon

Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract

Masking
Fragrance IconHelps reduce irritation IconHelps reduce Skin Redness Icon

Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract

Skin Conditioning

Fragaria Chiloensis Fruit Extract

Skin Conditioning
Helps hydrate Dry Skin Icon

Lavandula Angustifolia Extract

Skin Conditioning
May cause irritation IconEU Allergen Icon

Prunus Armeniaca Fruit Extract

Skin Conditioning

Punica Granatum Fruit Extract

Antioxidant
Antioxidant IconHelps reduce irritation IconGood for Dark Spots Icon

Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract

Skin Conditioning
Helps hydrate Dry Skin Icon

Rubus Idaeus Fruit Extract

Astringent

Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract

Skin Conditioning
Helps reduce irritation Icon

Curcuma Longa Root Extract

Masking
Fragrance Icon

Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract

Skin Conditioning

Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract

Skin Conditioning

Prunus Persica Fruit Extract

Abrasive
Exfoliant Icon

Rosa Damascena Extract

Masking

Sodium Benzoate

Masking
Preservative Icon

Hexylene Glycol

Emulsifying
0-2 / 0-1

Potassium Sorbate

Preservative
Preservative Icon

Phenoxyethanol

Preservative
Preservative Icon

Limonene

Perfuming
Fragrance IconMay worsen Eczema IconMay cause irritation IconMay worsen Rosacea IconEU Allergen Icon

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Great Value 63% Works Well 60% Irritating 37%

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Emollient, Humectant, Skin Conditioning

Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.

Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.

Because it is not a free-fatty acid, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).

Learn more about Caprylyl Glycol
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting

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 Glycerin
Emulsifying, Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Hexylene Glycol is a multitasker ingredient that works as a solvent, humectant, emulsifier, viscosity reducer, and preservative booster.

It is able to dissolve both water and oil-soluble ingredients to stabilize tricky actives and make products spread more easily.

As a humectant, it pulls water into the skin. But it's a pretty minor moisturizing ingredient compared to other humectants, like glycerin.

Interestingly, it can act as a mild penetration enhancer. One in vitro study on human skin found a 12% concentration upped the absorption of mometasone furoate (a medicinal ingredient used to treat inflammatory skin conditions) up to 7%.

This ingredient is typically used at levels of 0.1-10% depending on the role it's playing.

A patch test study on eczema patients didn't find a significant increase in irritation versus the control group, but the potential for irritation rises at higher concentrations.

Learn more about Hexylene Glycol
Preservative

Potassium Sorbate is a preservative used to prevent yeast and mold in products. It is commonly found in both cosmetic and food products.

This ingredient comes from potassium salt derived from sorbic acid. Sorbic acid is a natural antibiotic and effective against fungus.

Both potassium sorbate and sorbic acid can be found in baked goods, cheeses, dried meats, dried fruit, ice cream, pickles, wine, yogurt, and more.

You'll often find this ingredient used with other preservatives.

Learn more about Potassium Sorbate
Masking, Preservative

Sodium Benzoate is a preservative. It's used in both cosmetic and food products to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria. It is typically produced synthetically.

Both the US FDA and EU Health Committee have approved the use of sodium benzoate. In the US, levels of 0.1% (of the total product) are allowed.

Sodium benzoate works as a preservative by inhibiting the growth of bacteria inside of cells. It prevents the cell from fermenting a type of sugar using an enzyme called phosphofructokinase.

It is the salt of benzoic acid. Foods containing sodium benzoate include soda, salad dressings, condiments, fruit juices, wines, and snack foods.

Studies for using ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate in cosmetics are lacking, especially in skincare routines with multiple steps.

We always recommend speaking with a professional, such as a dermatologist, if you have any concerns.

Learn more about Sodium Benzoate
Masking

Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.

You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.

You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.

You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.

Learn more about Sodium Chloride
Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Water. 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

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