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.
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.
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.
Stearic Acid doesn’t belong to aggressive acids. It’s a fatty acid that can be found in Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, and many natural butters and oils. The component is mostly used for formulation purposes. It makes the product spread and feel better. It’s one of the most important fatty acids in our skin cells.
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Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Roles: Skin conditioning, Fragrance
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride is an emollient that also hydrates the skin without leaving a fatty film. When applied, the component feels smooth and light. In haircare products, it’s also used for hydrating purposes. It makes hair silky, lowers tangling, and makes hair smooth.
It’s safe for most people, except for people with allergic reactions to coconut or palm oil because these oils are usually used for producing the component.
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.
Glyceryl Stearate SE is a nice moisturizing ingredient. It hydrates the upper layers of the skin and fills small wrinkles. In haircare products, it's used for making hair softer.
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Glyceryl Stearate SE
Roles: Emulsifying, Surfactant
Moisturizing
Softening
Comedogenic rating [ 3 ]
Bad for oily skin
Glyceryl Stearate SE is a nice moisturizing ingredient. It hydrates the upper layers of the skin and fills small wrinkles. In haircare products, it's used for making hair softer.
Sodium PCA is a nice moisturizer and skin softener. It contains amino acids and Sodium Hyaluronate. It’s part of the Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF) that is responsible for keeping the outer layer of the skin hydrated. If you don’t have enough NMF you can face dryness even if you don’t have other skin problems.
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PCA
Roles: Humectant, Moisturising
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Tilia Cordata (Linden) Flower Extract
Roles: Skin conditioning
Softening
Soothing
Anti-aging
Lightening
Tones up skin
Regeneration
Hair follicle nutrition
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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.
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Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Leaf Extract
Roles: Skin conditioning
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Diazolidinyl Urea
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Diethylhexyl Syringylidenemalonate
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Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Roles: Skin conditioning, Fragrance
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride is an emollient that also hydrates the skin without leaving a fatty film. When applied, the component feels smooth and light. In haircare products, it’s also used for hydrating purposes. It makes hair silky, lowers tangling, and makes hair smooth.
It’s safe for most people, except for people with allergic reactions to coconut or palm oil because these oils are usually used for producing the component.
Triethanolamine is a pH adjuster. It is a toxic component that can be absorbed by the skin and detected in blood later. It can be a dermal irritant. Though it's considered safe, you should think before using it in skincare. There are many products on the market without Triethanolamine.
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Tocopheryl AcetateVitaminsAntioxidant
Roles: Skin conditioning
Softening
Nutrifying
Tocopheryl Acetate is a form of Vitamine E. It’s used as an alternative to Tocopherol because it is more stable in the formulation. It has all the positive effects of Tocopherol plus better stability. It’s a brilliant component. It conditions and nourishes the skin helping it to resist aging. It also helps to protect the skin from the sun. High concentrations of Tocopheryl Acetate can lead to irritation and allergic reactions.
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Allantoin
Roles: Skin conditioning
Moisturizing
Pore Shrinking
Softening
Soothing
Regeneration
Good for dry skin
Good for oily skin
Allantoin usually doesn’t catch too much attention, but it is an essential ingredient for sensitive, dry, and problem skin. It is a good moisturizer that makes skin hydrated. But manufacturers love it because of its strong soothing effect. It also exfoliates dead cells, stimulates recovery of your skin, and helps to protect the skin from the sun, frost, and similar negative impacts.
The component is researched very well and its soothing activity is confirmed by scientists. Used in concentration between 0.5-2%.
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Methylparaben
Roles: Fragrance, Preservative
Parabens
Methylparaben is an effective preservative. It is a controversial ingredient in terms of safety. In 2006 there was a laboratory test showed that this component can increase the sun sensitivity of the skin cells. That’s why it’s a good idea to use sunscreen after you use this component.
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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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Rosa Canina (Dog Rose) Seed Oil
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Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate)Vitamins
Roles: Skin conditioning
Softening
Anti-aging
Regeneration
Hair structure improvement
Malassezia unsafe
Comedogenic rating [ 3 ]
Good for dry skin
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Hydrolyzed Collagen
Roles: Skin conditioning, Antistatic, Emollient, Film former, Hair conditioning, Humectant
Moisturizing
Soothing
Elasticity improvement
Nutrifying
Rejuvenation
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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.
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Propylparaben
Roles: Fragrance, Preservative
Parabens
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Octyldodecanol
Roles: Emollient, Fragrance, Solvent
Moisturizing
Softening
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Tetrasodium EDTA
Roles: Chelating
Tetrasodium EDTA is a formulation component. It is a pH adjuster and chelate. It prevents other components from reacting with each other making the product live longer.
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Sodium Hydroxide
Roles: Buffering
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.
