Mild Milk Cleanser

Solvent. Water. The main vehicle for our Milk Cleanser.

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.

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 the vegetable, organic kind, made from rapeseed, corn and soy.

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.

Skin conditioning and preservative. Sodium levulinate is the sodium salt of levulinic acid, an organic acid that in this case is derived from sugarcane. Together with sodium anisate and plant derived glycerin, it makes up the preservation system we use for our Milk Cleanser. At the appropriate pH, the salts transform into acid, and voilà – product preserved.

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).

Antimicrobial, flavouring agent and preservative. The salt form of star anis derived organic acid. The other half of our preservation system.

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 European hardwood.

Gel forming, thickening and emulsion stabilising. A natural and commonly used thickener in cosmetics, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide produced from sugars through fermentation. Fun fact: it derives its name from the species of bacteria used in the fermentation process, Xanthomonas campestris.

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.