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.
2
Octocrylene
UV Protection
Octocrylene is an organic chemical sunscreen. It protects against UVA and UVB rays that can damage your skin or even lead to melanoma. It also stabilizes other sunscreen ingredients in a formulation and increases the water resistance of a product. It is approved by the FDA in concentrations of up to 10%. It’s not a very effective component on its own, that’s why manufacturers combine it with other chemical sunscreens.
Glycerin is one of the most outstanding and helpful skincare components. It's used in many skincare products because it works and provides notable results. It's one of the best moisturizers. Molecules of Glycerin can absorb water and deliver it into deep layers of the skin making it hydrated.
Niacinamide is a form of Vitamin B3 and it’s a superman in cosmetics. This ingredient is researched very well. It has a lot of positive reviews from scientists and experts. It's very important for healthy skin. The lack of this vitamin can cause dryness, itching, and sun sensitivity. The component removes small wrinkles and fine lines, heals wounds, and prevents the forming of cancer cells. It also makes the skin tone even by removing dark spots. It increases ceramide synthesis which increases the overall health of your skin. It fights acne and lowers pores.
Researches say that 4-5% of Niacinamide is the most effective concentration for skincare use.
8
Avobenzone
UV Protection
Avobenzone is the only chemical UV-protection component with a broad spectrum coverage. It can help to block both UVA I and UVA II rays. It's safe and it is allowed to use at a 3% concentration in the USA and a 5% concentration in the EU countries.
There is one problem: avobenzone loses efficiency when exposed to the sun. If you are outside, it loses 36% of its ability to block UV rays an hour after application. That's why it's recommended to reapply sunscreen every 2 hours.
9
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.
10
Sorbitan Stearate
Roles: Emulsifying, Fragrance, Surfactant
Softening
Malassezia unsafe
11
Silica
Silica is used for improving texture of the product. It helps the product to spread out evenly. Very often it’s used in different exfoliants as an abrasive. It's safe and non-toxic.
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.
15
Potassium Cetyl Phosphate
Roles: Emulsifying, Surfactant
Softening
16
Diisopropyl Sebacate
Roles: Skin conditioning, Emollient, Solvent
Softening
Hair conditioning
17
PEG-20
18
PEG-8 Laurate
Roles: Emulsifying, Surfactant
Softening
Malassezia unsafe
PEG
19
Zinc PCA
Roles: Skin conditioning, Humectant
20
Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer
Roles: Viscosity controlling
21
2-Oleamido-1,3-Octadecanediol
Roles: Skin conditioning, Emollient
22
Inulin Lauryl Carbamate
Roles: Emulsion stabilizer, Surfactant
Softening
23
CarnosineAntioxidant
Roles: Skin conditioning
Anti-aging
Elasticity improvement
Rejuvenation
Regeneration
Protection
24
Poloxamer 338
Roles: Cleansing, Surfactant
25
Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate
Roles: Emulsion stabilizer, Viscosity controlling
26
Disodium EDTA
Roles: Chelating, Viscosity controlling
Disodium EDTA is an emulsion stabilizer and chelating agent. It deactivates the metal ions preventing them from reacting with other active ingredients. It improves the stability of a cosmetic formula and keeps the product’s consistency, texture, and pH unchanged. It doesn’t have any skincare effects and is used for formulation purposes only.
Xanthan Gum is used as a thickener or rheology modifier and emulsion stabilizer. It doesn’t provide any notable skin-related effects and is used mostly for formulation purposes. It makes the product’s texture smooth and even. It’s a naturally-derived thickener. Notable fact: it can also be found in the food you eat every day, so it is 100% safe.
30
T-Butyl Alcohol
Roles: Fragrance, Solvent
31
BHTAntioxidant
Roles: Fragrance, Masking
BHT is a stabilizer and antioxidant. It helps to keep the product fresh for a long time, preventing the oxidization of components. It is stable even in high temperatures, that’s why it’s an essential component in some products. It also protects the skin from free radicals. As for safety, the component isn't researched very well. It’s considered to be safe in low concentrations. But there is still not enough scientific data collected.
Salicylic Acid is an amazing component for oily skin. It’s a famous BHA that chemically exfoliates dead cells, kills bacteria, and prevents acne. It works as a strong pores cleanser. AHAs are not effective for removing sebum from pores, while BHAs are leaders in this space. Salicylic Acid also helps to shrink pores, remove acne scars and make skin tone even. Pay attention: concentration matters! This ingredient is rather aggressive. It can lead to irritation in high concentrations. If your skin has never seen this component before test the product first.
33
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".