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.
Cetearyl Alcohol is used mostly for formulation purposes. It’s a very good emulsifier and emulsion stabilizer. It helps the ingredients mix better and it makes the product spread on your skin evenly. It also makes the product thicker. It doesn’t belong to harmful alcohols and it will not dry your skin.
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Dimethicone
Roles: Skin conditioning, Antifoaming, Emollient
Silicones
Dimethicone is the most popular silicone. It makes the skin softer and forms a film adding smooth and silky feeling. This film not only improves how the skin feels but also works as a protective barrier. It also improves the visual appearance of your skin by filling small wrinkles. That's why some people think dimethicone removes wrinkles. Actually, it does not. It's just a visual effect.
One of the most important characteristics of this component is that it helps to spread other ingredients evenly on the surface to provide good coverage. It's very important because you want all your skin cells to receive an equal proportion of the components.
Dimethicone is considered as safe, but remember that it is rather difficult to wash off! This may lead to clogged pores and acne if you use it too often and don't wash off quite well.
Sorbitol is usually used for making different gels. It helps the product to keep water and it helps to deliver active components deeper into the skin. It is a moisturizing and soothing component. It is usually accepted well by all skin types.
Propylene Glycol is a useful componet with many positive effects. It’s a very good moisturizer. It helps to deliver ingredients into deeper layers of the skin. It creates a protective layer on the skin preventing water loss. The component is researched very well and doesn’t have notable side effects. It’s used even for making food.
Stearyl Alcohol creates a barrier on the skin's surface lowering the evaporation of water and making it hydrated for a longer time. This barrier helps the skin to recover after deep cleansing. It also makes the skin look smooth. Though it belongs to alcohols, it's a fatty alcohol and it doesn't make your skin dry.
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Phenoxyethanol
Roles: Fragrance, Preservative
Antiseptic
Phenoxyethanol is one of the most popular preservatives. It kills bacteria and makes the product live longer. Manufacturers like this ingredient because it can dissolve in any liquid, even in oils.
Another purpose of this component is the fixation of aromas in perfumery. Phenoxyethanol is also used as a strong antiseptic and a good antibacterial agent. It is widely used in dermatological cosmetics alongside natural antiseptics such as chamomile, sage, and calendula.
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil protects the skin from dryness. It’s a very effective organic moisturizer. In hair care, it creates a protective film around hair protecting it. It has slight comedogenic activity, meaning the product may clog pores if there is too much Coconut oil in it.
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.
Roles: Binding, Emulsion stabilizer, Film former, Stabilising, Viscosity controlling
Hydroxyethylcellulose doesn’t provide any notable skincare benefits. It’s used for formulation purposes. It’s a very effective emulsifier and thickening agent. It also improves the product’s texture and feel. It allows manufacturers to use less surfactant making the product safer for your skin.
Cetrimonium Chloride is used mostly for formulation purposes and doesn't provide any strong skincare effects. Used mostly to help mix different components together. It also helps to increase the shelf life of the product. CIR safety report tells that this ingredient was found to be “…safe for use in rinse‐off products and …safe for use at concentrations of up to 0.25% in leave‐on products.”
In the European Union (EU), cetrimonium chloride and steartrimonium chloride were reported to be used as a preservative at up to 0.1%. They are also used in rinse-off hair care products at up to 2.5%, leave-on hair products at up to 1.0%, and in leave-on facial cream products at up to 0.5%.
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Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Roles: Skin conditioning, Antistatic, Film former, Hair conditioning, Viscosity controlling
Hair conditioning
Hair gloss
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride is a very good conditioner. Used mostly in haircare products. It can recover damaged hair and make them shine much better.
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Polyquaternium-37
Roles: Antistatic, Film former, Hair fixative
Antistatic
Hair conditioning
Hair gloss
Hair protection
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Aminopropyl Dimethicone
Roles: Hair conditioning
Hair conditioning
Hair gloss
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Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
Roles: Chelating
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Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate
Roles: Skin conditioning, Emollient
Softening
Hair conditioning
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PEG-4 Laurate
Roles: Emulsifying, Surfactant
PEG
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Citric AcidAntioxidantAHA
Roles: Buffering, Chelating, Fragrance, Masking
Cleansing
Exfoliating
Soothing
Lightening
Lifting
Hair growth stimulating
Citric Acid is one of the AHAs and it is a super useful component! It’s a great antioxidant. It acts as a soft peeling that removes dead cells and kills bacteria. It becomes even more effective if used with other cosmetic acids. Combined formulations are more active, but can irritate sensitive skin if used too often. The component can also whiten the skin and remove dark areas.
It can be an irritator due to its naturally lower pH level of 2.2. But manufacturers also use it as a pH adjuster so in most cases you will not have any issues.
Sodium Hydroxide is used mostly for formulation purposes. It helps to hold the pH level of a product. It also works as a chemical exfoliator that removes dead cells. Usually concentration of this component is low in skin care products and it’s used mostly for adjusting pH.
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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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".
