Alcohol Denatured is a great bacteria killer. Manufacturers often put it inside products to increase their shelf life.
3
Va/Butyl Maleate/Isobornyl Acrylate Copolymer
Roles: Film former
4
Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice
Roles: Skin conditioning
UV Protection
Moisturizing
Soothing
Healing
Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice is a natural juice received from Aloe leaves. It has been used in cosmetics for hundreds of ages. Scientists have discovered that it contains more than 200 nutrients: minerals, amino acids, vitamins, and so on. It’s a good component for calming irritated skin. It also helps to heal wounds, helps the skin regenerate faster, improves collagen syncretization, tones up, and moisturizes the skin. It also provides a slight UV-filtering effect.
Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil is a great vegetable oil to counter dryness. It reduces inflammation and it’s a very nice ingredient for people with redness, eczema, and rosacea. It’s accepted very well by humans skin because its chemical structure is very similar to sebum. That’s why it will hardly provoke any allergy. It’s a very good helper for people with dry skin.
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Cocamidopropyl Pg-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate
Roles: Antistatic, Hair conditioning
Softening
Antistatic
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Water
Roles: Solvent
Water is a great solvent. It’s neutral and doesn’t provide any strong positive or negative effects. It just helps components to mix better and to transport active components.
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Maltodextrin
Roles: Skin conditioning, Binding, Emulsion stabilizer, Film former, Hair conditioning
Maltodextrin is an organic sugar derived from corn, rice, or potato. It is a multipurpose ingredient. It is a skin softener, absorbent, and film-forming agent. But mostly it’s used because of its viscosity-controlling effect. It makes the product feel even. It is ruled safe by CIR for use in cosmetics.
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Aminomethyl Propanol
Roles: Buffering
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Fragrance
Roles: Deodorant, Fragrance, Masking
Fragrances
Fragrance is a mix of chemical ingredients (usually 20-30 chemicals but up to 200 sometimes) that help the product to smell better. It can hide many bad things. Synthetic fragrances may contain many different chemicals, but manufacturers don’t want to reveal each of them for some reason and hide them behind the word "Fragrance".
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Farnesol
Roles: Deodorant, Fragrance, Masking, Solvent
Acne fighting
Antifungal
Antiseptic
Deodorant
Anti dandruff
Allergens
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Eugenol
Roles: Fragrance, Masking
Allergens
Eugenol is a fragrance and one of the ingredients you should use carefully. It is in the list of 26 European Union fragrances that have to be labeled separately because of allergen potential. Laboratory studies show that the component is cytotoxic even at low concentrations. But no studies were performed on humans. In general, it's not the best skincare component.
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Linalool
Roles: Deodorant, Fragrance, Masking
Allergens
Linalool gives the product a nice and fresh lavender scent. It can be found in many essential oils. It oxidizes during air exposure and becomes allergenic. It can lead to irritation causing problems for people with sensitive skin. The threat is even higher if the product was opened several months ago. In such products, more Linalool is oxidized.
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Benzyl Salicylate
Roles: Fragrance, Masking
UV Protection
Allergens
Benzyl Salicylate is a fragrance component with a pleasant flower odor. It can be an allergy trigger and should be used carefully. Pay attention to this ingredient in a formulation if you have sensitive skin or if you have an allergy.
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Citronellol
Roles: Fragrance, Masking
Allergens
Citronellol makes the product smell better. It’s one of the most frequently used fragrance ingredients in the world. It smells like a fresh cut of apple peel mixed with a citrus scent. It’s also used to enhance flower scent. It has slight anti-bacterial activity.
Beware! This component is in the list of potential allergens and can cause allergic contact dermatitis.
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Citral
Roles: Flavoring, Fragrance, Masking
Allergens
Citral is a fragrance component responsible for a fresh citrus scent. It’s used as a masking agent to hide unpleasant aromas. Unfortunately, it’s considered to be an allergen and it is one of the 26 fragrances that have to be labeled separately in the European Union. Pay attention to this component if you have sensitive skin.
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Hydroxycitronellal
Roles: Fragrance, Masking
Allergens
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Limonene
Roles: Fragrance
Antiseptic
Allergens
Limonene provides a nice and fresh citrus scent. It can be found in many plants. It's used in cosmetics because of its low price and pleasant smell.
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Benzyl Benzoate
Roles: Antimicrobial, Fragrance, Masking, Solvent
Allergens
Benzyl Benzoate is a potentially harmful fragrance ingredient. It's one of the “EU 26 fragrances” that has to be labeled separately because of allergen potential. It's a good idea to avoid this component if you have sensitive skin.
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Amyl Cinnamal
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Coumarin
Roles: Fragrance, Masking
UV Protection
Allergens
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Geraniol
Roles: Fragrance, Masking
Allergens
Geraniol is a fragrance ingredient that gives product a nice rose scent. That’s why it’s used by many manufacturers. In addition to its pleasant scent, it also provides an antifungal effect increasing the shelf life of a product. There are several ways of obtaining this ingredient but all of them are chemical.
