What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningAlcohol Denat.
Antimicrobial
Glycerin
Humectant
Dimethicone
Emollient
Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate
Emollient
PEG-20 Stearate
Emulsifying
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Nylon-12
Paraffin
Perfuming
Silica
Abrasive
Kaolin
Abrasive
CI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantCI 42090
Cosmetic ColorantGlyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Zinc Gluconate
Skin Conditioning
Glycolic Acid
Buffering
Triethanolamine
BufferingDimethiconol
Emollient
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate
Emulsion StabilisingChlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Ascorbyl Glucoside
Antioxidant
Capryloyl Salicylic Acid
Exfoliating
Tetrasodium EDTA
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion StabilisingParfum
Masking
Water, Alcohol Denat., Glycerin, Dimethicone, Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate, PEG-20 Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Nylon-12, Paraffin, Silica, Kaolin, CI 19140, CI 42090, Glyceryl Stearate, Zinc Gluconate, Glycolic Acid, Triethanolamine, Dimethiconol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Chlorphenesin, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Butylene Glycol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Parfum
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleansing
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing
Glycerin
Humectant
Sodium Chloride
MaskingCoco-Betaine
Cleansing
PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate
Emulsifying
Hexylene Glycol
EmulsifyingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingPEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides
EmulsifyingZinc Gluconate
Skin Conditioning
Tetrasodium EDTA
Polyquaternium-47
Skin ConditioningMenthol
Masking
Capryloyl Salicylic Acid
Exfoliating
Citric Acid
Buffering
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Capryloyl Salicylic Acid comes from salicylic acid, the famous acne-fighting BHA.
It usually goes by a more common name of LHA, or lipohydroxy acid.
Like salicylic acid, this ingredient is a chemical exfoliant that can help break down the oil in your pores and reduce inflammation.
Though studies for LHA do show it to be less effective than salicylic acid. To be fair, salicylic acid is the reigning monarch of acne treatments.
However, a study from 2009 found LHA to be comparable to BPO, making it a good alternative for people with sensitive skin. Another study of 14 patients found a significant decrease in comedones after using LHA.
Another pro of LHA? It is less irritating than salicylic acid due to its large molecule size.
Large molecules cannot penetrate skin as well, so they are gentler on the skin. LHA is much less penetrative than salicylic acid.
An in-vitro study (not done on a living organism) found only 6% of LHA penetrated past the statum corneum compared to 58% of salicylic acid. An in-vivo (done on a living organism) analysis revealed ~17% of LHA was still present in the top layer of skin after 4 days, versus ~9% of salicylic acid.
Interestingly, a study from 2008 found LHA comparable to another famous acid, glycolic acid.
This study found about 10% of LHA is as effective as 20-50% of glycolic acid in treating hyperpigmentation and fine-lines.
Hydroxy acids have been found to stimulate skin protein, lipids, and thermal thickening. This may have anti-aging benefits.
Learn more about Capryloyl Salicylic AcidGlycerin (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 GlycerinTetrasodium EDTA is the salt formed from neutralizing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid with sodium hydroxide. It is a chelating agent and used to prevent metal ions from binding to other ingredients. This helps keep the product and ingredients stable.
Tetrasodium EDTA comes as a white solid and is soluble in water.
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 WaterZinc gluconate has antibacterial and wound healing properties. It is particularly effective against fighting inflammatory acne.
This ingredient is the zinc salt of the PHA gluconic acid. PHAs are gentle cousins to AHAs.
