What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningLactobacillus/Arundinaria Gigantea Ferment Filtrate
Skin ConditioningSodium Chloride
MaskingPhytantriol
HumectantTocopherol
Antioxidant
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract
Emollient
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Glycerin, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Lactobacillus/Arundinaria Gigantea Ferment Filtrate, Sodium Chloride, Phytantriol, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Water
Skin ConditioningCocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleansing
Lauryl Glucoside
CleansingGlycerin
Humectant
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingSodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
CleansingSodium Cocoamphoacetate
CleansingInulin
Skin Conditioning
Parfum
Masking
Benzyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Polyquaternium-7
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Saccharide Isomerate
Humectant
Argan Oil Glycereth-8 Esters
Cleansing
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Skin ConditioningCitric Acid
Buffering
Sodium Chloride
MaskingAlpha-Glucan Oligosaccharide
Cleansing
Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
Sodium Citrate
BufferingHexyl Cinnamal
Perfuming
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Lauryl Glucoside, Glycerin, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Inulin, Parfum, Benzyl Alcohol, Polyquaternium-7, Potassium Sorbate, Saccharide Isomerate, Argan Oil Glycereth-8 Esters, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Alpha-Glucan Oligosaccharide, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Sodium Citrate, Hexyl Cinnamal
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 AcidCocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineGlycerin (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 GlycerinThis ingredient is derived from guar gum. It is a skin conditioning agent that creates a thin, breathable film to reduce water loss during cleansing.
This leaves the skin feeling soft rather than stripped and also contributes to a creamier lather.
Due to the large molecule size, this ingredient is unlikely to penetrate skin.
Learn more about Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium ChlorideHelianthus Annuus Seed Oil is a plant oil derived from the seeds of a sunflower.
It is rich in fatty acids, primarily linoleic acid and oleic acid. This gives it emollient and skin conditioning properties.
The reason this ingredient is so effective is because it forms a thin film on the skin that reduces transepidermal water loss (TEWL) while supplying linoleic acid to the stratum corneum to improve barrier strength.
The high linoleic acid content is particularly noteworthy for acne-prone skin.
Research suggests that acne-prone skin tends to be deficient in linoleic acid in sebum. Topical application may help replenish this to support a healthier follicular environment and less comedone-promoting sebum.
One randomized study found sunflower seed oil preserved skin barrier integrity in adult volunteers with and without atopic dermatitis (outperforming olive oil).
This ingredient is well-studied, gentle, and an effective emollient suitable for most skin types.
On fungal acne: This ingredient may not be Fungal acne (Malassezia folliculitis) safe. This is because it contains fatty acids with carbon chain lengths in the C11-C24 range.
Learn more about Helianthus Annuus Seed OilPotassium 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 SorbateChances 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 ChlorideSodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate is a cleansing agent and emulsifier. It is a surfactant derived from sarcosine, and a common source is coconut oil.
As a surfactant, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate helps lift dirts, oil, and other molecules to be washed away. In leave-on products, this ingredient is used as an emulsifier. Emulsifier help prevent ingredients such as oils and waters from separating.
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate is also commonly found as a foaming agent in shampoo, toothpaste, and shaving foam. It is amphiphilic, meaning it loves both water and fats.
Learn more about Sodium Lauroyl SarcosinateTocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.
Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.
Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.
You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.
There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.
Learn more about TocopherolWater. 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
