Super Serum Body Wash

Olay

Where to buy Possibly in stock

About this product

The Olay Super Serum Body Wash is a misc. Our analysis of its 27 ingredients (18 low-risk) rates it Excellent (90/100). Based on its ingredients, it looks well-suited to oily / acne-prone skin. Heads up: it contains fragrance, which can irritate sensitive or reactive skin.

Vegan-friendly Reef-safe

Summarised from our ingredient analysis — not brand marketing copy.

At a glance

Type
Misc
Ingredients
27
Low-risk
18
Fragrance
Contains fragrance
Origin
United States

The evidence

Quick Product Notes

Paraben-Free Sulfate-Free Alcohol-Free Silicone-Free EU Allergen-Free Fungal Acne (Malassezia) Safe

Notable Effects & Ingredients

No Notable Effects & Ingredients

Ingredients Related to Skin Types

Good   Bad — tap a skin type to see which ingredients · estimated from ingredient functions
Dry Skin 3/7
Good for dry skin
Glyceryl Oleate Glycerin Petrolatum
Caution for dry skin
Glyceryl Oleate Sodium Trideceth Sulfate Xanthan Gum Glycerin Trideceth-3 Salicylic Acid Sodium Hydroxide
Oily/Acne-Prone Skin 1/1
Good for oily/acne-prone skin
Salicylic Acid
Caution for oily/acne-prone skin
Petrolatum
Sensitive Skin 3/8
Good for sensitive skin
Glycerin Tocopheryl Acetate Petrolatum
Caution for sensitive skin
Glyceryl Oleate Sodium Citrate Sodium Chloride Glycerin Salicylic Acid Citric Acid Sodium Benzoate Methylisothiazolinone

Ingredients list

27 total
Lower hazard (1) Higher hazard (7)
All27 Skin Conditioning13 Viscosity Controlling7 Fragrance7 Hair Conditioning6 Masking5 Preservative4 Perfuming3 Viscosity Increasing Agent3
EWG CIR Ingredient Name & Cosmetic Functions Notes
1
Water
(Solvent)
4
Petrolatum
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning Agent Occlusive, Skin Protecting, Emollient, Moisturising, Uv Absorber)
Bad for Oily Skin
Bad for Oily Skin
1
A
Sodium Trideceth Sulfate
(Cleansing, Emulsifying, Foaming, Surfactant)
2
A
Glycerin
(Denaturant, Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Humectant, Oral Care Agent, Oral Health Care Drug, Skin Protecting, Viscosity Decreasing Agent, Perfuming, Solvent)
Good for Dry Skin
Good for Dry Skin
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
Sodium Chloride
(Bulking Agent, Masking, Oral Care Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
4
B
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
(Antistatic Agent, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Sufactant, Foam Boosting, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
4
B
Salicylic Acid
(Antiacne Agent, Antidandruff Agent, Corn/Callus/Wart Remover, Denaturant, Exfoliant, Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Keratolytic, Masking, Preservative)
Good for Oily Skin
Good for Oily Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
PARFUM
(Fragrance, Perfuming)
1
B
Trideceth-3
(Emulsifying, Surfactant)
1
A
Niacinamide
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Smoothing)
1
Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4
(Skin Conditioning)
ASCORBIC ACID
(Antioxidant, Buffering, Fragrance, Skin Conditioning)
3
Tocopheryl Acetate
(Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning)
Bad for Oily Skin
Bad for Oily Skin
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
(Skin Conditioning, Viscosity Controlling)
1
A
Sodium Citrate
(Ph Adjuster, Buffering Agent, Chelating, Masking)
1
A
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
(Antistatic Agent, Hair Conditioning, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Film Forming, Skin Conditioning, Viscosity Controlling)
2
A
Citric Acid
(Chelating Agent, Fragrance, Ph Adjuster, Buffering Agent, Masking)
Bad for Sensitive Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
3
A
Sodium Benzoate
(Fragrance, Preservative, Anticorrosive, Masking)
1
A
Xanthan Gum
(Binding Agent, Emulsion Stabilising, Skin Conditioning, Surfactant Emulsifying Agent, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Binding, Gel Forming, Viscosity Controlling)
1
A
Glyceryl Oleate
(Fragrance, Skin Conditioning, Emollient, Emulsifying, Surfactant, Perfuming)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM
(Antistatic, Skin Conditioning Emollient, Skin Protecting, Solvent)
1
A
Disodium EDTA
(Chelating Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
3
B
Sodium Hydroxide
(Denaturant, Ph Adjuster, Buffering Agent)
1
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
(Emulsion Stabilising, Film Forming, Viscosity Controlling)
6
B
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
(Preservative)
7
B
Methylisothiazolinone
(Preservative)
2
CI 17200
(Cosmetic Colorant)

My Ingredient Notes

No personal ingredient notes yet. Save ingredients to your profile to get good/bad alerts here.

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Key ingredients

Petrolatum
Skin Protecting, Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant, Skin Protecting
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Skin Conditioning
Salicylic Acid
Exfoliant, Skin Conditioning
Niacinamide
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4
Skin Conditioning

Benefits

No standout benefits flagged for this product.

Concerns

Not fungal acne (malassezia) safe
Methylisothiazolinone — higher EWG
May not suit dry skin
May not suit sensitive skin

EWG flags hazard, not real-world risk — ratings don't account for how much of an ingredient a product contains. Treat these as things to research, not verdicts. How we score →

Ingredients explained

Water
Solvent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Solvent
Sodium Trideceth Sulfate
Cleansing, Emulsifying
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A CleansingEmulsifyingFoamingSurfactant
Sodium Chloride
Bulking agent, Masking
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Bulking agentMaskingOral care agentViscosity controlling
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Antistatic agent, Hair conditioning
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR B Antistatic agentHair conditioningSkin conditioningSufactantFoam boostingViscosity increasing agentViscosity controlling
PARFUM
Fragrance, Perfuming
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A FragrancePerfuming
Trideceth-3
Emulsifying, Surfactant
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B EmulsifyingSurfactant
Niacinamide
Hair conditioning, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Hair conditioningSkin conditioningSmoothing
Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4
Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Skin conditioning
ASCORBIC ACID
Antioxidant, Buffering
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A AntioxidantBufferingFragranceSkin conditioning
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin conditioning, Viscosity controlling
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Skin conditioningViscosity controlling
Sodium Citrate
Ph adjuster, Buffering agent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Ph adjusterBuffering agentChelatingMasking
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Antistatic agent, Hair conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Antistatic agentHair conditioningViscosity increasing agentFilm formingSkin conditioningViscosity controlling
Sodium Benzoate
Fragrance, Preservative
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR A FragrancePreservativeAnticorrosiveMasking
Xanthan Gum
Binding agent, Emulsion stabilising
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Binding agentEmulsion stabilisingSkin conditioningSurfactant -emulsifying agentViscosity increasing agentBindingGel formingViscosity controlling
PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM
Antistatic, Skin conditioning emollient
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A AntistaticSkin conditioning emollientSkin protectingSolvent
+ 4 more — see the full ingredients list above
Petrolatum
Hair conditioning, Skin-conditioning agent - occlusive
Potentially comedogenic - can block poresRead moreShow less
EWG 4 Hair conditioningSkin-conditioning agent - occlusiveSkin protectingEmollientMoisturisingUv absorber Bad for Oily Skin
Glycerin
Denaturant, Fragrance
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 2 CIR A DenaturantFragranceHair conditioningHumectantOral care agentOral health care drugSkin protectingViscosity decreasing agentPerfumingSolvent Good for Dry SkinFungal-acne trigger
Salicylic Acid
Antiacne agent, Antidandruff agent
Skin irritation can occur at high concentrationRead moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR B Antiacne agentAntidandruff agentCorn/callus/wart removerDenaturantExfoliantFragranceHair conditioningSkin conditioningKeratolyticMaskingPreservative Good for Oily SkinBad for Sensitive Skin
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant, Skin conditioning
Potentially comedogenic - can block poresRead moreShow less
EWG 3 AntioxidantSkin conditioning Bad for Oily Skin
Citric Acid
Chelating agent, Fragrance
Skin irritation can occur at high concentrationRead moreShow less
EWG 2 CIR A Chelating agentFragrancePh adjusterBuffering agentMasking Bad for Sensitive Skin
Glyceryl Oleate
Fragrance, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceSkin conditioningEmollientEmulsifyingSurfactantPerfuming Fungal-acne trigger
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
Preservative
Moderate-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 6 CIR B Preservative
Methylisothiazolinone
Preservative
Higher-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 7 CIR B Preservative

How to use

How to use

  • 1 Morning only: Apply as the last step of your AM routine, after moisturiser, and reapply every ~2 hours of sun exposure.
  • 2 Wear SPF the next day: Acids and retinoids increase sun sensitivity — daily sunscreen is a must while using this.

General guidance from this product's category and active ingredients — always follow the directions on the package.

Trust & honesty

Pregnancy & breastfeeding

Contains ingredients some choose to avoid or double-check while pregnant or nursing.

Use with caution
BHA (salicylic) (Salicylic Acid)

Low-strength topical salicylic acid (BHA) is generally considered fine. Caution is usually reserved for high-strength leave-on products and salicylic peels.

This is general information, not medical advice. Pregnancy guidance varies and depends on concentration and your individual situation — always check with your doctor, midwife or pharmacist. How we flag this.

Effective levels — general guide

The concentrations these actives are typically effective at in research — not a measurement of this product.

Vitamin C (ascorbic) 5–20%

L-ascorbic acid is usually used at 5–20% (around 10–15% is common). Above ~20% adds little and tends to irritate more; it also needs a low pH to work.

ASCORBIC ACID

Niacinamide 2–5% (up to 10%)

Most research uses 2–5%; some formulas go to 10%. Very high levels can cause flushing in sensitive skin.

Niacinamide

BHA (salicylic) 0.5–2%

Salicylic acid is OTC-capped at 2%; 0.5–2% is the usual leave-on range. Much below that it acts more as a soothing agent than an exfoliant.

Salicylic Acid

INCI lists don't disclose amounts, and we don't claim to know this product's levels — these are the ranges these ingredients are usually effective at, so you can tell a real formula from "fairy-dusting" a marketed active. How we estimate this.

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