Double Cleansing Set for Sensitised & Reactive skin

What each ingredient does

• Aqua: Solvent

  Water. The main vehicle for our water based products

• Betaine: Humectant and skin conditioning

  Betaine is highly purified sugar beet extract, chemically speaking an amino acid derivative, that maintains skin moisture balance and strengthens the skin barrier even under very dry conditions. It is a so-called osmolyte, controlling water balance in living cells. The one we use is made from Finnish sugar beets.

• Canola Oil: Emollient and skin conditioning

  Sustainably produced, deodorized and purified Swedish canola oil (from rapeseed oil) gently dissolves makeup and dirt. Canola oil is commonly used in cosmetics and is well-tolerated, skin wise. It is slightly higher in oleic acid (at around 60%), with linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids at a total of just over 30%, making it a good all-around oil for most, and especially for drier and eczema prone skins.

• Cetyl Alcohol: Thickening and emulsion stabilising

  A fatty alcohol made from RSPO certified palm oil. Please note that like sugar alcohols, e.g. glycerin or xylitol, fatty alcohols are not the same as denatured alcohol (ethanol); both sugar alcohols and fatty alcohols have moisturising and conditioning properties, whereas denatured alcohol has a completely different function in skincare products (and can be drying on skin).

• Cetyl Hydroxyethylcellulose: Thickening

  Basically the Gel in our Cleanser, cetyl hydroxyethylcellulose is a water-dispersible polymer. Made from natural, wood derived cellulose, which has been synthetically modified.

• Citric Acid: Buffering agent

  Citric acid is a commonly used buffering, i.e. pH adjusting, agent in cosmetics. It is made through bacterial fermentation and shifts the pH of the product into the acidic range. This is closer to the natural pH of the skin, which may range from 4 to 7, but is usually thought to be between 5 and 6, with recent studies, however, indicating it to be below 5.

• Glycerin: Humectant and skin protecting

  Technically a sugar alcohol, glycerin is one of the oldest, most common and most versatile humectants used in cosmetics. It moisturises and protects the skin, accelerates skin barrier recovery and has antimicrobial properties, among other things. We use vegetable, rapeseed-derived glycerin.

• Polyglyceryl-3 Dicitrates/Stearate: Emulsifying and surfactant

  An emulsifier, put simply, enables the mixing of water and oil into an emulsion. This particular one is gentle on the skin, non-ionic, based on glycerin, stearic acid and citric acid, and is made from rapeseed and RSPO certified palm oils.

• Polyglyceryl-4 Laurate and Polyglyceryl-6 Caprylate: Surfactants

  Low foaming, non-ionic surfactants, actually solubilisers, made from castor, rapeseed, palm and coconut oils. A surfactant acts as a cleansing agent and emulsifier. The combination we use has excellent and proven makeup removing capabilities, and is mild on the skin and eyes.

• Sodium Anisate: Antimicrobial, flavouring agent and preservative

  The salt form of star anis derived organic acid.

• Sodium Levulinate: Skin conditioning and preservative

  Sodium levulinate is the sodium salt of levulinic acid, which is an organic acid derived from in this case sugarcane.

• Xanthan Gum: Thickening, gel forming and emulsion stabilising

  A natural and commonly used mainly thickener and gelling agent in cosmetics, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide produced through Bacterial fermentation of pure culture Xanthomonas Campestris with protein and carbohydrate sources, in this case from soy or corn.

• Xylitol: Humectant and skin conditioning

  Xylitol is a sugar alcohol and moisturises and conditions skin, whilst possessing anti-bacterial properties. There is some interesting research that suggests xylitol has the ability to inhibit bacterial biofilm on skin, which in turn may be the cause of many skin issues. The one we use is made in Finland from Finnish oats, and has probiotic properties.