The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser Versus Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser Versus Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

This cream cleanser uses mild cleansing ingredients, but contains alcohol that may feel drying for some.

This mild cream cleanser is made to cleanse without leaving your skin tight or dry.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Glycerin

Coco-Glucoside

Betaine

Cetearyl Alcohol

Stearic Acid

Phenoxyethanol

Benzyl Alcohol

Xanthan Gum

Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer

Inulin

Ethylhexylglycerin

Sodium Hydroxide

Dehydroacetic Acid

Polyquaternium-10

Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate

Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate

Sodium Hyaluronate

Lecithin

Water, Glycerin, Coco-Glucoside, Betaine, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Xanthan Gum, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Inulin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Dehydroacetic Acid, Polyquaternium-10, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Lecithin

Panthenol

Niacinamide

Pantolactone

Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate

Sodium Benzoate

Citric Acid

Water, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Panthenol, Niacinamide, Pantolactone, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid

Reviews

Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

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

Cetearyl 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.

A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.

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.

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!

Xanthan 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.

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