What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
PEG-15 Glyceryl Stearate
Emulsifying
Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Stearic Acid
Cleansing
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Squalane
Emollient
Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil
Emollient
Cocoglycerides
Emollient
Myristoyl/Palmitoyl Oxostearamide/Arachamide Mea
Skin ConditioningTocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Dimethicone
Emollient
Portulaca Oleracea Extract
Skin Conditioning
Cholesterol
Emollient
Methylparaben
Preservative
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Lactate
Buffering
Propylparaben
Preservative
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Ceramide AP
Skin Conditioning
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
BHT
Antioxidant
Parfum
Masking
Biosaccharide Gum-1
Humectant
Ubiquinone
Antioxidant
Glyceryl Caprylate
EmollientSodium Levulinate
Skin ConditioningP-Anisic Acid
Masking
Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-15 Glyceryl Stearate, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Squalane, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Cocoglycerides, Myristoyl/Palmitoyl Oxostearamide/Arachamide Mea, Tocopheryl Acetate, Niacinamide, Dimethicone, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Cholesterol, Methylparaben, Carbomer, Sodium Lactate, Propylparaben, Allantoin, Ceramide AP, 1,2-Hexanediol, BHT, Parfum, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Ubiquinone, Glyceryl Caprylate, Sodium Levulinate, P-Anisic Acid
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
BHT is a synthetic antioxidant and preservative.
As an antioxidant, it helps your body fight off free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells.
As a preservative, it is used to stabilize products and prevent them from degrading. Specifically, BHT prevents degradation from oxidation.
The concerns related to BHT come from oral studies; this ingredient is currently allowed for use by both the FDA and EU.
However, it was recently restricted for use in the UK as of April 2024.
Learn more about BHTCetearyl 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.
Learn more about Cetearyl AlcoholGlyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.
Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.
This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.
Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.
Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.
Learn more about Glyceryl StearateWater. 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
