What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCoco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Coco-Betaine
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Zinc PCA
Humectant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingPhyllostachys Bambusoides Extract
Skin ConditioningInulin
Skin Conditioning
Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil
Perfuming
Sodium Chloride
MaskingBenzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Citric Acid
Buffering
Dehydroacetic Acid
Preservative
Glucose
Humectant
Sucrose
Humectant
Fructose
Humectant
Limonene
Perfuming
Water
Skin ConditioningCoco-Glucoside
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Alcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingVitis Vinifera Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingSodium Chloride
MaskingBoswellia Serrata Resin Extract
SmoothingZingiber Officinale Root Extract
Masking
Zinc PCA
Humectant
Sodium Citrate
BufferingParfum
Masking
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningSodium Hydroxide
BufferingCitric Acid
Buffering
Moringa Oleifera Seed Extract
Skin Conditioning
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Water, Coco-Glucoside, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat., Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Vitis Vinifera Fruit Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Chloride, Boswellia Serrata Resin Extract, Zingiber Officinale Root Extract, Zinc PCA, Sodium Citrate, Parfum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Citric Acid, Moringa Oleifera Seed Extract, Maltodextrin
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Citric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.
Like other AHAs, citric acid can exfoliate skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.
However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.
Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.
In skincare formulas, citric acid can:
While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.
Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Citric AcidCoco-Glucoside is a surfactant, or a cleansing ingredient. It is made from glucose and coconut oil.
Surfactants help gather dirt, oil, and other pollutants from your skin to be rinsed away.
This ingredient is considered gentle and non-comedogenic. However, it may still be irritating for some.
Learn more about Coco-GlucosideGlycerin (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 GlycerinChances 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 ChlorideWater. 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 WaterXanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.
On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.
Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.
Learn more about Xanthan GumZinc PCA is a clever two-in-one molecule: the zinc salt of pyrrolidone carboxylic acid (PCA).
Think of it as two useful things bonded together; the PCA half is one of your skin's own natural moisturizing factors (NMF) so it helps hold water in the upper layers. On the other hand, the zinc half does the heavy lifting on oil and bacteria.
The zinc part slows down an enzyme that turns testosterone into DHT, the hormone that tells your oil glands to pump out more sebum. Less of that signal means less oil. It also gently fights acne-causing bacteria and soothes redness/irritation.
This is why Zinc PCA often shows up in products for oily, breakout-prone skin and greasy scalps.
One lab study also hinted it might have a small anti-aging perk because it seemed to protect collagen from UVA damage and even helped the skin make a bit more of it. That last bit is still early research done in a dish and not real skin, so take it as a nice bonus rather than a promise for now.
As for scar healing, the picture is more "maybe" than a firm yes. Zinc itself plays a real role in wound repair because it is a cofactor for the enzymes involved in collagen building, calming inflammation, and helping new skin cells cover a wound. Lower zinc levels are also linked to slower healing.
Most of the scar healing research is on zinc oxide or oral zinc rather than zinc PCA specifically, with a focus on healing fresh wounds instead of scars that are already there.
Direct evidence that zinc PCA improves the look of established scars is still limited at this time. Though it would be fair to say zinc PCA supports the general skin-repair environment thanks to its zinc content .
This ingredient is water-soluble and plays nicely with other actives like niacinamide and salicylic acid. It works best at mildly acidic formulas (~4-6 pH) and is effective at low levels. Around 0.1% is enough to be active and finished products commonly use it anywhere up to 4%.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-drama multitasker that suits oily and acne-prone skin.
Learn more about Zinc PCA
