OuaiTreatment MasqueIngredients

Shea Butter is a great natural moisturizer everybody knows about. And it’s popular for a reason. It contains 5 essential fatty acids (palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and arachidonic), vitamins (A, D, E, F), and catechins, which are antioxidants. It moisturizes the skin and protects it from UV, cold, and other negative factors. It can be used on its own and will not harm your skin even in very high concentrations.

Panthenol is a proud member of a league of the best-performing components. It's a stable form of Vitamin B5 and is also known as Pro-Vitamin B5. It’s a very good and effective component for hydration, healing, and soothing irritated skin. It works so soft and gentle that it’s even recommended for people with skin problems like eczema.

In haircare products it’s used for protecting the fiber. It’s researched very well and doesn’t have any negative side effects.

Arginine is an essential amino acid. It works as an antioxidant when used in skincare products. It also helps the skin to regenerate and stay hydrated. In hair care, it is used to decrease damage from oxidative coloring or bleaching.

Glycine is the building block of skin proteins. But you should know one important thing: the body can produce this component itself and it will not accept the ingredient you put on your skin for this purpose. It will not help to improve your own glycine level. As a cosmetic component, it can work only on the surface of your skin.

Ethylhexylglycerin makes the skin softer, smoother and more hydrated. It acts deeply but without any heavy or sticky feeling. In haircare products, it works as a conditioner and scalp cleanser. It is safe but only in concentration below 8% in rinse-off products and below 2% in leave-on products. Can be an irritator in higher concentrations. In general, this component is great if you see it somewhere at the bottom of the list.

Isododecane is an emollient and a good base for colorants. Very often used in powders and shades because it spreads on the skin nicely. It also helps to soften the skin and helps to lower water loss making all the moisturizing components work better.

Propanediol is a good solvent, emollient and humectant. It helps to moisturize the skin and prevent moisture loss. In haircare products, it conditions hair and improves absorption of the product.

Pentylene Glycol is a great replacement for Propylene Glycol. It has very similar characteristics but it’s derived from plants (usually from corn). Natural cosmetics lovers will find this component very useful. It enhances the moisturizing effect of cosmetic products, improves the efficiency of preservatives and it’s an effective emulsifier. It’s approved by ECOCERT and COSMOS so it’s considered to be 100% safe and can be used in vegan products.

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".

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%.

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.

Polysorbate-60 is an emulsifier, foam stabilizer, and surfactant. It’s considered to be safe but if the product contains PEG ingredients, Polysorbate may produce 1,4-Dioxane which can be harmful to your health.

Radish Root Ferment Filtrate is a 100% natural preservative. It's not as strong as its chemical alternatives, but it can be used in organic products.

Sodium Lactate is very effective for recovering the natural lipid layer of the skin. It’s safe and doesn’t provoke negative reactions. It provides a strong moisturizing effect. It’s a nice soothing ingredient.

Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride is a very good conditioner. Used mostly in haircare products. It can recover damaged hair and make them shine much better.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Caprylyl Glycol is a vey popular skincare ingredient. It makes the product spread better and feel better on your skin. It’s a preservative and it improves the effect of other preservatives. It’s also a humectant which helps to retain water. It’s good for keeping your skin in good shape. But manufacturers use it as a supporting component rather than the main one.

Chlorphenesin is a popular preservative. It doesn’t provide any skin-related positive effects and is used to prevent bacterial growth inside a product. It’s a weak preservative but works much better with silicones.

Allowed concentration: no more than 0,3% for European Union countries.

Benzoic acid is a preservative and pH adjuster. Human skin accepts this component very nicely. It doesn’t cause irritation or other negative reactions. In 2017 there was a Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel meeting that confirmed the safety of this ingredient in skincare.

Sorbic Acid is a very effective synthetic preservative that is used even in food. It’s considered to be safe for use in cosmetic products. It’s great for increasing the shelf life of a product.

Benzyl Alcohol doesn’t belong to harmful alcohols and it will not dry your skin. It’s a stabilizing agent that prevents ingredients oxidization. Having this component in formulation the product will keep efficiency for a longer time. Benzyl Alcohol has a slight almond odor and is used as a fragrance ingredient very often.

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.

Hexyl Cinnamal is a fragrance component that gives the product pleasant cinnamon and light jasmine aroma. It’s also used to enhance other fragrances. It’s considered a skin sensitizer and manufacturers have to call out this component on an ingredient statement.

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.